\NormalFont\ShortTitle{Zephaniah}

{\MT Zephaniah



\par }\ChapOne{1}{\SH Introduction
\par }
{\PP \VerseOne{1}This is the prophetic message that the
{\ND{Lord}} gave to Zephaniah son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah. Zephaniah delivered this message during the reign of King Josiah son of Amon of Judah:


\par }{\SH The Lord’s Day of Judgment is Approaching
\par }
{\Q \VS{2}“I will destroy everything from the face of the earth,” says the
{\ND{Lord}}.


\par }{\Q \VS{3}“I will destroy people and animals;

\par }{\Q I will destroy the birds in the sky

\par }{\Q and the fish in the sea.

\par }{\Q (The idolatrous images of these creatures will be destroyed along with evil people.)

\par }{\Q I will remove humanity from the face of the earth,” says the
{\ND{Lord}}.


\par }{\Q \VS{4}“I will attack Judah

\par }{\Q and all who live in Jerusalem.

\par }{\Q I will remove from this place every trace of Baal worship,

\par }{\Q as well as the very memory of the pagan priests.


\par }{\Q \VS{5}I will remove those who worship the stars in the sky from their rooftops,

\par }{\Q those who swear allegiance to the
{\ND{Lord}} while taking oaths in the name of their ‘king,’


\par }{\Q \VS{6}and those who turn their backs on the
{\ND{Lord}}

\par }{\Q and do not want the
{\ND{Lord}}’s help or guidance.”


\par }{\Q \VS{7}Be silent before the Lord
{\ND{God}},

\par }{\Q for the
{\ND{Lord}}’s day of judgment is almost here.

\par }{\Q The
{\ND{Lord}} has prepared a sacrificial meal;

\par }{\Q he has ritually purified his guests.


\par }{\Q \VS{8}“On the day of the
{\ND{Lord}}’s sacrificial meal,

\par }{\Q I will punish the princes and the king’s sons,

\par }{\Q and all who wear foreign styles of clothing.


\par }{\Q \VS{9}On that day I will punish all who leap over the threshold,

\par }{\Q who fill the house of their master with wealth taken by violence and deceit.


\par }{\Q \VS{10}On that day,” says the
{\ND{Lord}},

\par }{\Q “a loud cry will go up from the Fish Gate,

\par }{\Q wailing from the city’s newer district,

\par }{\Q and a loud crash from the hills.


\par }{\Q \VS{11}Wail, you who live in the market district,

\par }{\Q for all the merchants will disappear

\par }{\Q and those who count money will be removed.


\par }{\Q \VS{12}At that time I will search through Jerusalem with lamps.

\par }{\Q I will punish the people who are entrenched in their sin,

\par }{\Q those who think to themselves,

\par }{\Q ‘The
{\ND{Lord}} neither rewards nor punishes.’


\par }{\Q \VS{13}Their wealth will be stolen

\par }{\Q and their houses ruined!

\par }{\Q They will not live in the houses they have built,

\par }{\Q nor will they drink the wine from the vineyards they have planted.


\par }{\Q \VS{14}The
{\ND{Lord}}’s great day of judgment is almost here;

\par }{\Q it is approaching very rapidly!

\par }{\Q There will be a bitter sound on the
{\ND{Lord}}’s day of judgment;

\par }{\Q at that time warriors will cry out in battle.


\par }{\Q \VS{15}That day will be a day of God’s anger,

\par }{\Q a day of distress and hardship,

\par }{\Q a day of devastation and ruin,

\par }{\Q a day of darkness and gloom,

\par }{\Q a day of clouds and dark skies,


\par }{\Q \VS{16}a day of trumpet blasts and battle cries.

\par }{\Q Judgment will fall on the fortified cities and the high corner towers.


\par }{\Q \VS{17}I will bring distress on the people

\par }{\Q and they will stumble like blind men,

\par }{\Q for they have sinned against the
{\ND{Lord}}.

\par }{\Q Their blood will be poured out like dirt;

\par }{\Q their flesh will be scattered like manure.


\par }{\Q \VS{18}Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to deliver them

\par }{\Q in the day of the
{\ND{Lord}}’s angry judgment.

\par }{\Q The whole earth will be consumed by his fiery wrath.

\par }{\Q Indeed, he will bring terrifying destruction on all who live on the earth.”




\par }\Chap{2}{\PP \par }
{\Q \VerseOne{1}Bunch yourselves together like straw, you undesirable nation,


\par }{\Q \VS{2}before God’s decree becomes reality and the day of opportunity disappears like windblown chaff,

\par }{\Q before the
{\ND{Lord}}’s raging anger overtakes you –

\par }{\Q before the day of the
{\ND{Lord}}’s angry judgment overtakes you!


\par }{\Q \VS{3}Seek the
{\ND{Lord}}’s favor, all you humble people of the land who have obeyed his commands!

\par }{\Q Strive to do what is right! Strive to be humble!

\par }{\Q Maybe you will be protected on the day of the
{\ND{Lord}}’s angry judgment.


\par }{\SH Judgment on Surrounding Nations
\par }
{\Q \VS{4}Indeed, Gaza will be deserted

\par }{\Q and Ashkelon will become a heap of ruins.

\par }{\Q Invaders will drive away the people of Ashdod by noon,

\par }{\Q and Ekron will be overthrown.


\par }{\Q \VS{5}Those who live by the sea, the people who came from Crete, are as good as dead.

\par }{\Q The
{\ND{Lord}} has decreed your downfall, Canaan, land of the Philistines:

\par }{\Q “I will destroy everyone who lives there!”


\par }{\Q \VS{6}The seacoast will be used as pasture lands by the shepherds

\par }{\Q and as pens for their flocks.


\par }{\Q \VS{7}Those who are left from the kingdom of Judah will take possession of it.

\par }{\Q By the sea they will graze,

\par }{\Q in the houses of Ashkelon they will lie down in the evening,

\par }{\Q for the
{\ND{Lord}} their God will intervene for them and restore their prosperity.


\par }{\Q \VS{8}“I have heard Moab’s taunts

\par }{\Q and the Ammonites’ insults.

\par }{\Q They taunted my people

\par }{\Q and verbally harassed those living in Judah.


\par }{\Q \VS{9}Therefore, as surely as I live,” says the
{\ND{Lord}} who commands armies, the God of Israel,

\par }{\Q “be certain that Moab will become like Sodom

\par }{\Q and the Ammonites like Gomorrah.

\par }{\Q They will be overrun by weeds,

\par }{\Q filled with salt pits,

\par }{\Q and permanently desolate.

\par }{\Q Those of my people who are left will plunder their belongings;

\par }{\Q those who are left in Judah will take possession of their land.”


\par }{\Q \VS{10}This is how they will be repaid for their arrogance,

\par }{\Q for they taunted and verbally harassed the people of the
{\ND{Lord}} who commands armies.


\par }{\Q \VS{11}The
{\ND{Lord}} will terrify them,

\par }{\Q for he will weaken all the gods of the earth.

\par }{\Q All the distant nations will worship the
{\ND{Lord}} in their own lands.


\par }{\Q \VS{12}“You Ethiopians will also die by my sword!”


\par }{\Q \VS{13}The
{\ND{Lord}} will attack the north

\par }{\Q and destroy Assyria.

\par }{\Q He will make Nineveh a heap of ruins;

\par }{\Q it will be as barren as the desert.


\par }{\Q \VS{14}Flocks and herds will lie down in the middle of it,

\par }{\Q as well as every kind of wild animal.

\par }{\Q Owls will sleep in the tops of its support pillars;

\par }{\Q they will hoot through the windows.

\par }{\Q Rubble will cover the thresholds;

\par }{\Q even the cedar work will be exposed to the elements.


\par }{\Q \VS{15}This is how the once-proud city will end up –

\par }{\Q the city that was so secure.

\par }{\Q She thought to herself, “I am unique! No one can compare to me!”

\par }{\Q What a heap of ruins she has become, a place where wild animals live!

\par }{\Q Everyone who passes by her taunts her and shakes his fist.




\par }\Chap{3}{\PP \par }
{\Q \VerseOne{1}The filthy, stained city is as good as dead;

\par }{\Q the city filled with oppressors is finished!


\par }{\Q \VS{2}She is disobedient;

\par }{\Q she refuses correction.

\par }{\Q She does not trust the
{\ND{Lord}};

\par }{\Q she does not seek the advice of her God.


\par }{\Q \VS{3}Her princes are as fierce as roaring lions;

\par }{\Q her rulers are as hungry as wolves in the desert,

\par }{\Q who completely devour their prey by morning.


\par }{\Q \VS{4}Her prophets are proud;

\par }{\Q they are deceitful men.

\par }{\Q Her priests defile what is holy;

\par }{\Q they break God’s laws.


\par }{\Q \VS{5}The just
{\ND{Lord}} resides within her;

\par }{\Q he commits no unjust acts.

\par }{\Q Every morning he reveals his justice.

\par }{\Q At dawn he appears without fail.

\par }{\Q Yet the unjust know no shame.


\par }{\SH The Lord’s Judgment will Purify
\par }
{\Q \VS{6}“I destroyed nations;

\par }{\Q their walled cities are in ruins.

\par }{\Q I turned their streets into ruins;

\par }{\Q no one passes through them.

\par }{\Q Their cities are desolate;

\par }{\Q no one lives there.


\par }{\Q \VS{7}I thought, ‘Certainly you will respect me!

\par }{\Q Now you will accept correction!’

\par }{\Q If she had done so, her home would not be destroyed

\par }{\Q by all the punishments I have threatened.

\par }{\Q But they eagerly sinned

\par }{\Q in everything they did.


\par }{\Q \VS{8}Therefore you must wait patiently for me,” says the
{\ND{Lord}},

\par }{\Q “for the day when I attack and take plunder.

\par }{\Q I have decided to gather nations together

\par }{\Q and assemble kingdoms,

\par }{\Q so I can pour out my fury on them –

\par }{\Q all my raging anger.

\par }{\Q For the whole earth will be consumed

\par }{\Q by my fiery anger.


\par }{\Q \VS{9}Know for sure that I will then enable

\par }{\Q the nations to give me acceptable praise.

\par }{\Q All of them will invoke the
{\ND{Lord}}’s name when they pray,

\par }{\Q and will worship him in unison.


\par }{\Q \VS{10}From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia,

\par }{\Q those who pray to me will bring me tribute.


\par }{\Q \VS{11}In that day you will not be ashamed of all your rebelliousness against me,

\par }{\Q for then I will remove from your midst those who proudly boast,

\par }{\Q and you will never again be arrogant on my holy hill.


\par }{\Q \VS{12}I will leave in your midst a humble and meek group of people,

\par }{\Q and they will find safety in the
{\ND{Lord}}’s presence.


\par }{\Q \VS{13}The Israelites who remain will not act deceitfully.

\par }{\Q They will not lie,

\par }{\Q and a deceitful tongue will not be found in their mouth.

\par }{\Q Indeed, they will graze peacefully like sheep and lie down;

\par }{\Q no one will terrify them.”


\par }{\Q \VS{14}Shout for joy, Daughter Zion!

\par }{\Q Shout out, Israel!

\par }{\Q Be happy and boast with all your heart, Daughter Jerusalem!


\par }{\Q \VS{15}The
{\ND{Lord}} has removed the judgment against you;

\par }{\Q he has turned back your enemy.

\par }{\Q Israel’s king, the
{\ND{Lord}}, is in your midst!

\par }{\Q You no longer need to fear disaster.


\par }{\Q \VS{16}On that day they will say to Jerusalem,

\par }{\Q “Don’t be afraid, Zion!

\par }{\Q Your hands must not be paralyzed from panic!


\par }{\Q \VS{17}The
{\ND{Lord}} your God is in your midst;

\par }{\Q he is a warrior who can deliver.

\par }{\Q He takes great delight in you;

\par }{\Q he renews you by his love;

\par }{\Q he shouts for joy over you.”


\par }{\Q \VS{18}“As for those who grieve because they cannot attend the festivals –

\par }{\Q I took them away from you;

\par }{\Q they became tribute and were a source of shame to you.


\par }{\Q \VS{19}Look, at that time I will deal with those who mistreated you.

\par }{\Q I will rescue the lame sheep

\par }{\Q and gather together the scattered sheep.

\par }{\Q I will take away their humiliation

\par }{\Q and make the whole earth admire and respect them.


\par }{\Q \VS{20}At that time I will lead you –

\par }{\Q at the time I gather you together.

\par }{\Q Be sure of this! I will make all the nations of the earth respect and admire you

\par }{\PP when you see me restore you,” says the
{\ND{Lord}}.


\par }