1 T he word of Jehovah that came unto 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.

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:

2 I will utterly take away everything from off the face of the ground, saith Jehovah:

“I will completely remove all things From the face of the earth,” declares the Lord.

3 I will take away man and beast; I will take away the fowl of the heavens and the fishes of the sea, and the stumbling-blocks with the wicked, and I will cut off mankind from off the face of the ground, saith Jehovah.

“I will remove man and beast; I will remove 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 earth,” declares the Lord.

4 A nd I will stretch forth my hand upon Judah, and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and I will cut off the remnant of Baal from this place, the name of the Chemarim with the priests;

“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.

5 a nd them that bow down to the host of the heavens upon the housetops; and them that bow down to Jehovah, that swear by, and swear by Malcham;

“And those who bow down on the housetops to the host of heaven, And those who bow down and swear to the Lord and yet swear by Milcom,

6 a nd them that turn back from after Jehovah, and that do not seek Jehovah, nor inquire for him.

And those who have turned back from following the Lord, And those who have not sought the Lord or inquired of Him.”

7 B e silent at the presence of the Lord Jehovah; for the day of Jehovah is at hand; for Jehovah hath prepared a sacrifice, he hath hallowed his guests.

Be silent before the Lord God! For the day of the Lord is near, For the Lord has prepared a sacrifice, He has consecrated His guests.

8 A nd it shall come to pass in the day of Jehovah's sacrifice, that I will punish the princes, and the king's sons, and all such as are clothed with foreign apparel.

“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.

9 A nd in that day will I punish all those that leap over the threshold, who fill their master's house with violence and deceit.

“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.

10 A nd in that day, saith Jehovah, there shall be the noise of a cry from the fish-gate, and a howling from the second, and a great crashing from the hills.

“On that day,” declares the Lord, “There will be the sound of a cry from the Fish Gate, A wail from the Second Quarter, And a loud crash from the hills.

11 H owl, ye inhabitants of Maktesh; for all the people of Canaan are cut down, all they that are laden with silver are cut off.

“Wail, O inhabitants of the Mortar, For all the people of Canaan will be silenced; All who weigh out silver will be cut off.

12 A nd it shall come to pass at that time, I will search Jerusalem with lamps, and punish the men that are settled on their lees, that say in their heart, Jehovah will not do good, neither will he do evil.

“It will come about 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, ‘The Lord will not do good or evil!’

13 A nd their wealth shall become a booty, and their houses a desolation; and they shall build houses, and not inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and not drink the wine thereof.

“Moreover, 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.”

14 T he great day of Jehovah is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly. The voice of the day of Jehovah: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly.

Near is the great day of the Lord, Near and coming very quickly; Listen, the day of the Lord! In it the warrior cries out bitterly.

15 T hat day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of ruin and desolation, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and gross darkness,

A day of wrath is that day, 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,

16 a day of the trumpet and alarm, against the fenced cities and against the high battlements.

A day of trumpet and battle cry Against the fortified cities And the high corner towers.

17 A nd I will bring distress upon men, and they shall walk like blind men; for they have sinned against Jehovah; and their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as dung:

I will bring distress on men So that they will walk like the blind, Because they have sinned against the Lord; And their blood will be poured out like dust And their flesh like dung.

18 t heir silver and their gold shall not be able to deliver them, in the day of Jehovah's wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for a full end, yea, a sudden, shall he make of all them that dwell in the land.

Neither their silver nor their gold Will be able to deliver them On the day of the Lord’s wrath; And all the earth will be devoured In the fire of His jealousy, For He will make a complete end, Indeed a terrifying one, Of all the inhabitants of the earth.