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Zephaniah 1
The word of Yahweh which came to Zephaniah the son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah. 2 I will utterly consume all things from off the face of the ground, says Yahweh. 3 I will consume man and beast; I will consume the birds of the heavens, and the fishes of the sea, and the stumblingblocks with the wicked; and I will cut off man from off the face of the ground, says Yahweh. 4 And I will stretch out my hand upon Judah, and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and I will cut off the remnant of Baal from this place, and the name of the Chemarim with the priests; 5 and them that worship the host of heaven upon the housetops; and them that worship, that swear to Yahweh and swear by Malcam; 6 and them that are turned back from following Yahweh; and those that have not sought Yahweh, nor inquired after him.
7 Hold your peace at the presence of the Sovereign Yahweh; for the day of Yahweh is at hand: for Yahweh has prepared a sacrifice, he has consecrated his guests. 8 And it shall come to pass in the day of Yahweh’s sacrifice, that I will punish the princes, and the king’s sons, and all such as are clothed with foreign apparel. 9 And in that day I will punish all those that leap over the threshold, that fill their master’s house with violence and deceit. 10 And in that day, says Yahweh, there shall be the noise of a cry from the fish gate, and a wailing from the second quarter, and a great crashing from the hills. 11 Wail, you inhabitants of Maktesh; for all the people of Canaan are undone; all they that were loaded with silver are cut off. 12 And it shall come to pass at that time, that I will search Jerusalem with lamps; and I will punish the men that are settled on their lees, that say in their heart, Yahweh will not do good, neither will he do evil. 13 And their wealth shall become a plunder, and their houses a desolation: also, they shall build houses, but shall not inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, but shall not drink the wine of them.
14 The great day of Yahweh is near, it is near and hastes greatly, even the voice of the day of Yahweh; the mighty man cries there bitterly. 15 That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of waste and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, 16 a day of the trumpet and alarm, against the fortified cities, and against the high battlements. 17 And I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against Yahweh; and their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as dung. 18 Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of Yahweh’s wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he will make an end, yes, a terrible end, of all them that dwell in the land.
Zephaniah 2
Gather yourselves together, even gather together, O nation that has no shame; 2 before the decree brings forth, before the day passes as the chaff, before the fierce anger of Yahweh comes upon you, before the day of Yahweh’s anger comes upon you. 3 Seek Yahweh, all you meek of the earth, that have kept his ordinances; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be you will be hid in the day of Yahweh’s anger.
4 For Gaza shall be forsaken, and Ashkelon a desolation; they shall drive out Ashdod at noonday, and Ekron shall be rooted up. 5 Woe to the inhabitants of the sea-coast, the nation of the Cherethites! The word of Yahweh is against you, O Canaan, the land of the Philistines; I will destroy you, that there shall be no inhabitant. 6 And the sea-coast shall be pastures, with cottages for shepherds and folds for flocks. 7 And the coast shall be for the remnant of the house of Judah; they shall feed their flocks upon them; in the houses of Ashkelon shall they lie down in the evening; for Yahweh their Elohim will visit them, and bring back their captivity.
8 I have heard the reproach of Moab, and the revilings of the children of Ammon, with which they have reproached my people, and magnified themselves against their border. 9 Therefore as I live, says Yahweh of hosts, the Elohim of Israel, Surely Moab shall be as Sodom, and the children of Ammon as Gomorrah, a possession of nettles, and salt separate pits, and a perpetual desolation: the residue of my people shall make a prey of them, and the remnant of my nation shall inherit them. 10 This shall they have for their pride, because they have reproached and magnified themselves against the people of Yahweh of hosts. 11 Yahweh will be terrible to them; for he will famish all the elohim of the earth; and men shall worship him, every one from his place, even all the isles of the nations.
12 You Ethiopians also, you shall be killed by my sword. 13 And he will stretch out his hand against the north, and destroy Assyria, and will make Nineveh a desolation, and dry like the wilderness. 14 And herds shall lie down in the middle of her, all the beasts of the nations: both the pelican and the porcupine shall lodge in the capitals of it; their voice shall sing in the windows; desolation shall be in the thresholds: for he hath laid bare the cedar-work. 15 This is the joyous city that dwelt carelessly, that said in her heart, I am, and there is none besides me: how she has become a desolation, a place for beasts to lie down in! Every one that passes by her shall hiss, and wag his hand.
Zephaniah 3
Woe to her that is rebellious and polluted! To the oppressing city! 2 She obeyed not the voice; she received not correction; she trusted not in Yahweh; she drew not near to her Elohim. 3 Her princes in the middle of her are roaring lions; her judges are evening wolves; they leave nothing till the next day. 4 Her prophets are light and treacherous persons; her priests have profaned the sanctuary, they have done violence to the law. 5 Yahweh in the middle of her is righteous; he will not do iniquity; every morning he brings his justice to light, he fails not; but the unjust knows no shame. 6 I have cut off nations; their battlements are desolate; I have made their streets waste, so that none passes by; their cities are destroyed, so that there is no man, so that there is no inhabitant. 7 I said, Only fear me; receive correction; so her dwelling shall not be cut off, according to all that I have appointed concerning her: but they rose early and corrupted all their doings.
8 Therefore wait for me, says Yahweh, until the day that I rise up to the prey; for my determination is to gather the nations, that I may assemble the kingdoms, to pour upon them my indignation, even all my fierce anger; for all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of my jealousy.
9 For then will I change to the peoples a pure language, that they may call upon the name of Yahweh, to serve him with one consent. 10 From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia my suppliants, even the daughter of my dispersed, shall bring my offering. 11 In that day shall you not be put to shame for all your doings, in which you have transgressed against me; for then I will take away out of the middle of you your proudly exulting ones, and you shall no more be haughty in my holy mountain. 12 But I will leave in the middle of you an afflicted and poor people, and they shall take refuge in the name of Yahweh. 13 The remnant of Israel shall not do iniquity, nor speak lies; neither shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth; for they shall feed and lie down, and none shall make them afraid.
14 Sing, O daughter of Zion: shout, O Israel; be glad and rejoice with all the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem. 15 Yahweh has taken away your judgments, he has cast out your enemy: the King of Israel, even Yahweh, is in the middle of you; you shall not fear evil any more. 16 In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem, Fear not; O Zion, let not your hands be slack. 17 Yahweh your Elohim is in the middle of you, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with joy; he will rest in his love; he will rejoice over you with singing. 18 I will gather them that sorrow for the solemn assembly, who were of you; to whom the burden upon her was a reproach. 19 Behold, at that time I will deal with all them that afflict you; and I will save that which is lame, and gather that which was driven away; and I will make them a praise and a name, whose shame has been in all the earth. 20 At that time will I bring you in, and at that time will I gather you; for I will make you a name and a praise among all the peoples of the earth, when I bring back your captivity before your eyes, says Yahweh.
