~~~~~~1~~~~~ ~~~~~~1~~~~~ ~~~~~~1~~~~~ ~~~~~~1~~~~~ ~~~~~~1~~~~~ The word of Yahweh 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: “I will completely end all things From the face of the ground,” declares Yahweh. “I will end man and beast; I will end the birds of the sky And the fish of the sea And the ruins along with the wicked; And I will cut off man from the face of the ground,” declares Yahweh. “So I will stretch out My hand against Judah And against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And I will cut off the remnant of Baal from this place, And the names of the idolatrous priests along with the priests, And those who worship on the housetops the host of heaven, And those who worship and swear to Yahweh and yet swear by Milcom, And those who have turned back from following Yahweh, And those who have not sought Yahweh or inquired of Him.” Be silent before Lord Yahweh! For the day of Yahweh is near, For Yahweh has prepared a sacrifice; He has set apart His guests. “Then it will be on the day of Yahweh’s sacrifice That I will punish the princes, the king’s sons, And all who clothe themselves with foreign garments. “And I will punish on that day all who leap on the temple threshold, Who fill the house of their Lord with violence and deceit. “And it will be in that day,” declares Yahweh, “That there will be the sound of a cry from the Fish Gate And a wail from the Second Quarter And a great destruction from the hills. “Wail, O inhabitants of the Mortar, For all the people of Canaan will be silenced; All who weigh out silver will be cut off. “And it will be at that time That I will search Jerusalem with lamps, And I will punish the men Who are stagnant in spirit, Who say in their hearts, ‘Yahweh will not do good or evil!’ “And it will be that their wealth will become spoil And their houses desolate; Indeed, they will build houses but not inhabit them, And plant vineyards but not drink their wine.” Near is the great day of Yahweh, Near and coming very quickly; O the sound, the day of Yahweh! In it the mighty man cries out bitterly. A day of fury is that day, A day of trouble and distress, A day of destruction and desolation, A day of darkness and thick darkness, A day of clouds and dense gloom, A day of trumpet and loud shouting Against the fortified cities And the high corner towers. I will bring distress on men So that they will walk like the blind Because they have sinned against Yahweh; And their blood will be poured out like dust And their flesh like dung. Neither their silver nor their gold Will be able to deliver them On the day of the fury of Yahweh; And all the earth will be devoured In the fire of His jealousy, For He will make a complete destruction, Indeed a terrifying one, Of all the inhabitants of the earth. ~~~~~~2~~~~~ ~~~~~~2~~~~~ ~~~~~~2~~~~~ ~~~~~~2~~~~~ ~~~~~~2~~~~~ Gather yourselves together, indeed, gather, O nation without shame, Before the decree takes effect— The day passes like the chaff— Before the burning anger of Yahweh comes upon you, Before the day of Yahweh’s anger comes upon you. Seek Yahweh, All you humble of the earth Who have worked His justice; Seek righteousness, seek humility. Perhaps you will be hidden In the day of Yahweh’s anger. For Gaza will be forsaken And Ashkelon a desolation; Ashdod will be driven out at noon, And Ekron will be uprooted. Woe to the inhabitants of the seacoast, The nation of the Cherethites! The word of Yahweh is against you, O Canaan, land of the Philistines; And I will make you perish So that there will be no inhabitant. So the seacoast will be pastures, With caves for shepherds and folds for flocks. And the coast will be For the remnant of the house of Judah; They will feed upon it. In the houses of Ashkelon they will lie down at evening; For Yahweh their God will care for them And restore their fortune. “I have heard the reproach of Moab And the revilings of the sons of Ammon, With which they have reproached My people And magnified themselves against their territory. “Therefore, as I live,” declares Yahweh of hosts, The God of Israel, “Surely Moab will be like Sodom And the sons of Ammon like Gomorrah— A place possessed by nettles and salt pits, And a perpetual desolation. The remnant of My people will plunder them, And the remainder of My nation will inherit them.” This they will have in return for their pride because they have reproached and magnified themselves against the people of Yahweh of hosts. Yahweh will be fearsome to them, for He will starve all the gods of the earth; and all the coastlands of the nations will bow down to Him, everyone from his own place. “You also, O Ethiopians, will be slain by My sword.” And He will stretch out His hand against the north And cause Assyria to perish, And He will make Nineveh a desolation, Parched like the wilderness. Flocks will lie down in her midst, All the beasts of the nation; Both the pelican and the hedgehog Will lodge in the tops of her pillars; Their voice will sing in the window, Ruin will be on the threshold; For He has laid bare the cedar work. This is the exultant city Which inhabits securely, Who says in her heart, “I am, and there is no one besides me.” How she has become an object of horror, A resting place for beasts! Everyone who passes by her will hiss And wave his hand in contempt. ~~~~~~3~~~~~ ~~~~~~3~~~~~ ~~~~~~3~~~~~ ~~~~~~3~~~~~ ~~~~~~3~~~~~ Woe to her who is rebellious and defiled, The oppressive city! She did not listen to any voice; She did not receive discipline. She did not trust in Yahweh; She did not draw near to her God. Her princes in her midst are roaring lions; Her judges are wolves at evening; They leave nothing to gnaw for the morning. Her prophets are reckless, treacherous men; Her priests have profaned the sanctuary. They have done violence to the law. Yahweh is righteous in her midst; He will do no injustice. Every morning He brings His justice to light; He does not fail. But the unjust knows no shame. “I have cut off nations; Their corner towers are desolate. I have made their streets a waste, With no one passing by; Their cities are laid waste, Without a man, without an inhabitant. “I said, ‘Surely you will fear Me, Receive discipline.’ So her abode will not be cut off According to all that I have appointed concerning her. But they were eager to corrupt all their deeds. “Therefore wait for Me,” declares Yahweh, “For the day when I rise up as a witness. Indeed, My judgment is to assemble nations, To gather kingdoms, To pour out on them My indignation, All My burning anger; For all the earth will be devoured By the fire of My zeal. “For then I will change them to peoples with purified lips, That all of them may call on the name of Yahweh, To serve Him shoulder to shoulder. “From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia My worshipers, My scattered ones, Will bring My offerings. “In that day you will feel no shame Because of all your deeds By which you have transgressed against Me; For then I will remove from your midst Your proud, exulting ones, And you will never again be haughty On My holy mountain. “But I will cause to remain in your midst A lowly and poor people, And they will take refuge in the name of Yahweh. “The remnant of Israel will do no injustice And not speak falsehood, Nor will a deceitful tongue Be found in their mouths; For they will feed and lie down With no one to make them tremble.” Sing for joy, O daughter of Zion! Make a loud shout, O Israel! Be glad and exult with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem! Yahweh has taken away His judgments against you; He has cleared away your enemies. The King of Israel, Yahweh, is in your midst; You will fear evil no more. In that day it will be said to Jerusalem: “Do not fear, O Zion; Do not let your hands fall limp. “Yahweh your God is in your midst, A mighty one who will save. He will be joyful over you with gladness; He will be quiet in His love; He will rejoice over you with joyful singing. “I will assemble those who grieve about the appointed feasts— They were from you, O Zion; The reproach of exile is a burden on them. “Behold, I am going to deal at that time With all those who afflict you, And I will save the lame And gather the banished, And I will turn them—in their shame—into praise and a name In all the earth. “At that time I will bring you in, Even at the time when I gather you together; Indeed, I will give you to be a name and praise Among all the peoples of the earth, When I restore your fortunes before your eyes,” Says Yahweh.
