1 T his is the Word of the Lord which came to Zephaniah the son of Cushi, son of Godaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah son of Amon, king of Judah. The Day of the Lord Is Near

The word of the Lord which came unto Zephaniah the son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hizkiah, in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah.

2 “ I will take away everything from the earth,” says the Lord.

I will utterly consume all things from off the land, saith the Lord.

3 “ I will take away man and animal. I will take away the birds of the sky and the fish of the sea. I will destroy the sinful. And I will take man from off the earth,” says the Lord.

I will consume man and beast; I will consume the fowls of the heaven, and the fishes of the sea, and the stumblingblocks with the wicked; and I will cut off man from off the land, saith the Lord.

4 “ I will put out My hand against Judah and against all the people of Jerusalem. I will destroy from this place the rest of the people who worship Baal, and the names of the religious leaders who worship false gods.

I will also stretch out mine 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 Chemarims with the priests;

5 I will destroy those who bow down on the roofs to the stars of heaven, and those who bow down and make promises to the Lord and yet promise in the name of Milcom.

and them that worship the host of heaven upon the housetops; and them that worship and that swear by the Lord, and that swear by Malcham;

6 I will destroy those who have turned back from following the Lord, and those who have not looked for the Lord or prayed to Him.”

and them that are turned back from the Lord; and those that have not sought the Lord, nor enquired for him.

7 B e quiet before the Lord God! For the day of the Lord is near. The Lord has made a gift ready for the altar. He has made holy those whom He has asked to come.

Hold thy peace at the presence of the Lord God: for the day of the Lord is at hand: for the Lord hath prepared a sacrifice, he hath bid his guests.

8 “ On the day of the Lord’s gift, I will punish the leaders, the king’s sons, and all who dress themselves with strange clothes.

And it shall come to pass in the day of the Lord’s sacrifice, that I will punish the princes, and the king’s children, and all such as are clothed with strange apparel.

9 O n that day I will punish everyone who is quick to jump through the door, who fill the house of their owner with angry actions and lies.

In the same day also will I punish all those that leap on the threshold, which fill their masters’ houses with violence and deceit.

10 O n that day,” says the Lord, “a cry will be heard from the Fish Gate. A cry of sorrow will be heard from the new part of the city, and a loud noise from the hills.

And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord, that there shall be the noise of a cry from the fish gate, and an howling from the second, and a great crashing from the hills.

11 C ry in a loud voice, you people who live in the part of the city where people buy and sell. For all the traders of Canaan will be destroyed. All who weigh out silver will be cut off.

Howl, ye inhabitants of Maktesh, for all the merchant people are cut down; all they that bear silver are cut off.

12 A t that time I will look through Jerusalem with a light and will punish those who take it easy and do not care what happens. They say in their hearts, ‘The Lord will not do good or bad.’

And it shall come to pass at that time, that I will search Jerusalem with candles, and punish the men that are settled on their lees: that say in their heart, The Lord will not do good, neither will he do evil.

13 T heir riches will be taken from them and their houses will be laid waste. They will build houses but not live in them. They will plant grape-fields but not drink their wine.”

Therefore their goods shall become a booty, and their houses a desolation: they shall also build houses, but not inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, but not drink the wine thereof.

14 T he great day of the Lord is near. It is near and coming soon. Listen! The cry on the day of the Lord! The man of war will cry out with a bitter cry.

The great day of the Lord is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the Lord: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly.

15 T hat day is a day of anger, a day of trouble and suffering, a day when much will be destroyed, a day of darkness, a day of clouds and much darkness.

That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness,

16 I t is a day of the sound of a horn and the cry of battle against the strong cities and the high towers.

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

17 I will bring trouble to men so that they will walk like the blind, because they have sinned against the Lord. Their blood will be poured out like dust, and their flesh like body waste.

And I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the Lord: and their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as the dung.

18 T heir silver and gold will not be able to save them on the day of the Lord’s anger. All the earth will be destroyed in the fire of His jealousy. For all at once He will make an end of all the people of the earth.

Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the Lord’s wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.