1The word of the Lord that came to Zephaniah son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hezekiah, during the reign of Josiah son of Amon king of Judah:

Judgment on the Whole Earth in the Day of the Lord

2“I will sweep away everything

from the face of the earth,”

declares the Lord.

3“I will sweep away both man and beast;

I will sweep away the birds in the sky

and the fish in the sea—

and the idols that cause the wicked to stumble.”1:3 The meaning of the Hebrew for this line is uncertain.

“When I destroy all mankind

on the face of the earth,”

declares the Lord,

4“I will stretch out my hand against Judah

and against all who live in Jerusalem.

I will destroy every remnant of Baal worship in this place,

the very names of the idolatrous priests—

5those who bow down on the roofs

to worship the starry host,

those who bow down and swear by the Lord

and who also swear by Molek,1:5 Hebrew Malkam

6those who turn back from following the Lord

and neither seek the Lord nor inquire of him.”

7Be silent before the Sovereign Lord,

for the day of the Lord is near.

The Lord has prepared a sacrifice;

he has consecrated those he has invited.

8“On the day of the Lord’s sacrifice

I will punish the officials

and the king’s sons

and all those clad

in foreign clothes.

9On that day I will punish

all who avoid stepping on the threshold,1:9 See 1 Samuel 5:5.

who fill the temple of their gods

with violence and deceit.

10“On that day,”

declares the Lord,

“a cry will go up from the Fish Gate,

wailing from the New Quarter,

and a loud crash from the hills.

11Wail, you who live in the market district1:11 Or the Mortar;

all your merchants will be wiped out,

all who trade with1:11 Or in silver will be destroyed.

12At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps

and punish those who are complacent,

who are like wine left on its dregs,

who think, ‘The Lord will do nothing,

either good or bad.’

13Their wealth will be plundered,

their houses demolished.

Though they build houses,

they will not live in them;

though they plant vineyards,

they will not drink the wine.”

14The great day of the Lord is near—

near and coming quickly.

The cry on the day of the Lord is bitter;

the Mighty Warrior shouts his battle cry.

15That day will be a day of wrath—

a day of distress and anguish,

a day of trouble and ruin,

a day of darkness and gloom,

a day of clouds and blackness—

16a day of trumpet and battle cry

against the fortified cities

and against the corner towers.

17“I will bring such distress on all people

that they will grope about like those who are blind,

because they have sinned against the Lord.

Their blood will be poured out like dust

and their entrails like dung.

18Neither their silver nor their gold

will be able to save them

on the day of the Lord’s wrath.”

In the fire of his jealousy

the whole earth will be consumed,

for he will make a sudden end

of all who live on the earth.

Judah and Jerusalem Judged Along With the Nations

Judah Summoned to Repent

1Gather together, gather yourselves together,

you shameful nation,

2before the decree takes effect

and that day passes like windblown chaff,

before the Lord’s fierce anger

comes upon you,

before the day of the Lord’s wrath

comes upon you.

3Seek the Lord, all you humble of the land,

you who do what he commands.

Seek righteousness, seek humility;

perhaps you will be sheltered

on the day of the Lord’s anger.

Philistia

4Gaza will be abandoned

and Ashkelon left in ruins.

At midday Ashdod will be emptied

and Ekron uprooted.

5Woe to you who live by the sea,

you Kerethite people;

the word of the Lord is against you,

Canaan, land of the Philistines.

He says, “I will destroy you,

and none will be left.”

6The land by the sea will become pastures

having wells for shepherds

and pens for flocks.

7That land will belong

to the remnant of the people of Judah;

there they will find pasture.

In the evening they will lie down

in the houses of Ashkelon.

The Lord their God will care for them;

he will restore their fortunes.

Moab and Ammon

8“I have heard the insults of Moab

and the taunts of the Ammonites,

who insulted my people

and made threats against their land.

9Therefore, as surely as I live,”

declares the Lord Almighty,

the God of Israel,

“surely Moab will become like Sodom,

the Ammonites like Gomorrah—

a place of weeds and salt pits,

a wasteland forever.

The remnant of my people will plunder them;

the survivors of my nation will inherit their land.”

10This is what they will get in return for their pride,

for insulting and mocking

the people of the Lord Almighty.

11The Lord will be awesome to them

when he destroys all the gods of the earth.

Distant nations will bow down to him,

all of them in their own lands.

Cush

12“You Cushites, too,

will be slain by my sword.”

Assyria

13He will stretch out his hand against the north

and destroy Assyria,

leaving Nineveh utterly desolate

and dry as the desert.

14Flocks and herds will lie down there,

creatures of every kind.

The desert owl and the screech owl

will roost on her columns.

Their hooting will echo through the windows,

rubble will fill the doorways,

the beams of cedar will be exposed.

15This is the city of revelry

that lived in safety.

She said to herself,

“I am the one! And there is none besides me.”

What a ruin she has become,

a lair for wild beasts!

All who pass by her scoff

and shake their fists.

Jerusalem

1Woe to the city of oppressors,

rebellious and defiled!

2She obeys no one,

she accepts no correction.

She does not trust in the Lord,

she does not draw near to her God.

3Her officials within her

are roaring lions;

her rulers are evening wolves,

who leave nothing for the morning.

4Her prophets are unprincipled;

they are treacherous people.

Her priests profane the sanctuary

and do violence to the law.

5The Lord within her is righteous;

he does no wrong.

Morning by morning he dispenses his justice,

and every new day he does not fail,

yet the unrighteous know no shame.

Jerusalem Remains Unrepentant

6“I have destroyed nations;

their strongholds are demolished.

I have left their streets deserted,

with no one passing through.

Their cities are laid waste;

they are deserted and empty.

7Of Jerusalem I thought,

‘Surely you will fear me

and accept correction!’

Then her place of refuge would not be destroyed,

nor all my punishments come upon her.

But they were still eager

to act corruptly in all they did.

8Therefore wait for me,”

declares the Lord,

“for the day I will stand up to testify.

I have decided to assemble the nations,

to gather the kingdoms

and to pour out my wrath on them—

all my fierce anger.

The whole world will be consumed

by the fire of my jealous anger.

Restoration of Israel’s Remnant

9“Then I will purify the lips of the peoples,

that all of them may call on the name of the Lord

and serve him shoulder to shoulder.

10From beyond the rivers of Cush

my worshipers, my scattered people,

will bring me offerings.

11On that day you, Jerusalem, will not be put to shame

for all the wrongs you have done to me,

because I will remove from you

your arrogant boasters.

Never again will you be haughty

on my holy hill.

12But I will leave within you

the meek and humble.

The remnant of Israel

will trust in the name of the Lord.

13They will do no wrong;

they will tell no lies.

A deceitful tongue

will not be found in their mouths.

They will eat and lie down

and no one will make them afraid.”

14Sing, Daughter Zion;

shout aloud, Israel!

Be glad and rejoice with all your heart,

Daughter Jerusalem!

15The Lord has taken away your punishment,

he has turned back your enemy.

The Lord, the King of Israel, is with you;

never again will you fear any harm.

16On that day

they will say to Jerusalem,

“Do not fear, Zion;

do not let your hands hang limp.

17The Lord your God is with you,

the Mighty Warrior who saves.

He will take great delight in you;

in his love he will no longer rebuke you,

but will rejoice over you with singing.”

18“I will remove from you

all who mourn over the loss of your appointed festivals,

which is a burden and reproach for you.

19At that time I will deal

with all who oppressed you.

I will rescue the lame;

I will gather the exiles.

I will give them praise and honor

in every land where they have suffered shame.

20At that time I will gather you;

at that time I will bring you home.

I will give you honor and praise

among all the peoples of the earth

when I restore your fortunes

before your very eyes,”

says the Lord.