1:1 The word of the LORD which came to Zephaniah son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah son of Amon, king of Judah:
1:2 “I will completely remove all things
From the face of the ①earth,” declares the LORD.
▷ ①Lit ground
1:3 “I will remove human and animal life;
I will remove the birds of the sky
And the fish of the sea,
And the ①ruins along with the wicked;
And I will eliminate mankind from the face of the ②earth,” declares the LORD.
▷ ①Or stumbling blocks ②Lit ground
1:4 “So I will stretch out My hand against Judah
And against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
And I will eliminate the remnant of Baal from this place,
And the names of the idolatrous priests along with the other priests.
1:5 And those who bow down on the housetops to the heavenly ①lights,
And those who bow down and swear to the LORD, but also swear by ②Milcom,
▷ ①Lit host; i.e., sun, stars, etc. ②Or their king; MT Malcam, prob. a variant spelling of Milcom, the Ammonite god
1:6 And those who have turned back from following the LORD,
And those who have not sought the LORD nor inquired of Him.”
1:7 ①Be silent before the Lord ②GOD!
For the day of the LORD is near,
Because the LORD has prepared a sacrifice,
He has consecrated His guests.
▷ ①Lit Hush ②Heb YHWH, usually rendered LORD
1:8 “Then it will come about on the day of the LORD’S sacrifice
That I will punish the princes, the king’s sons,
And all who clothe themselves with foreign garments.
1:9 And on that day I will punish all who leap on the temple threshold,
Who fill the house of their ①lord with violence and deceit.
▷ ①Or Lord
1:10 And on that day,” declares the LORD,
“There will be the sound of a cry from the Fish Gate,
Wailing from the ①Second Quarter,
And a loud crash from the hills.
▷ ①I.e., a district of Jerusalem
1:11 Wail, you inhabitants of the ①Mortar,
Because all the ②people of Canaan will be destroyed;
All who weigh out silver will be eliminated.
▷ ①I.e., a district of Jerusalem ②Or merchant people will
1:12 And it will come about at that time
That I will search Jerusalem with lamps,
And I will punish the people
Who are ①stagnant in spirit,
Who say in their hearts,
‘The LORD will not do good nor harm!’
▷ ①Lit thickening on their dregs
1:13 Their wealth will become plunder,
And their houses desolate;
Yes, they will build houses but not inhabit them,
And plant vineyards but not drink their wine.”
1:14 The great day of the LORD is near,
Near and coming very quickly;
Listen, the day of the LORD!
①In it the warrior cries out bitterly.
▷ ①Lit There
1:15 That day is a day of anger,
A day of trouble and distress,
A day of destruction and desolation,
A day of darkness and gloom,
A day of clouds and thick darkness,
1:16 A day of trumpet and battle cry
Against the fortified cities
And the high corner towers.
1:17 I will bring distress on mankind
So that they will walk like those who are blind,
Because they have sinned against the LORD;
And their blood will be poured out like dust,
And their flesh like dung.
1:18 Neither their silver nor their gold
Will be able to save them
On the day of the LORD’S anger;
And all the earth will be devoured
By the fire of His jealousy,
For He will make a complete end,
Indeed a horrifying one,
Of all the inhabitants of the earth.