Zephaniah 1

1The word of the Lord which came to Zephaniah the son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah son of Amon, king of Judah.

2'Let all things be totally consumed from the face of the earth,' says the Lord.

3'Let man and cattle cease. Let the birds of the air and the fish of the sea be consumed. I shall drive mankind from the face of the land,' says the Lord.

4'I shall stretch out My hand against Judah and against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And I shall remove the names of Baal from this place and the names of the priests—

5those who worship the host of heaven on the housetops and who swear oaths by the Lord and who swear oaths by their king—

6those who turn away from the Lord, neither seeking the Lord nor holding steadfastly to Him.

7'Fear before the presence of the Lord God, for the day of the Lord is at hand. The Lord has prepared His sacrifice; He has sanctified His guests.

8And it shall be in the day of the Lord's sacrifice that I shall take vengeance on the princes and on the king's house, and upon all clothed with strange garments.

9And I will openly take vengeance upon all those in the gates in that day, on those who fill the house of the Lord their God with ungodliness and deceit.

10'And in that day,' says the Lord, 'there will be from the gate the sound of shouting from men killing, and a wailing from the second gate along with a great destruction from the hills.

11Mourn, those of you dwelling here, being cut down in pieces; for all the people are like Canaan. All those exalting in silver are utterly destroyed.

12'And it shall come to pass in that day that I shall search Jerusalem with a lamp and shall take vengeance on the men having scorned their charge, the ones saying in their hearts, 'The Lord shall not do any good, nor shall He do any harm.'

13And their power will be for plundering and their houses for complete destruction. And they will build houses, but will not live in them; and they will plant vineyards, but will not drink of their wine.

14'For the great day of the Lord is near. It is near and quick. The sound of the day of the Lord is bitter and harsh.

15A mighty day of wrath has been appointed: a day of affliction and distress, a day of unseasonable happenings and destruction, a day of gloom and darkness, a day of cloud and vapor,

16a day of the trumpet and shouting against the fortified cities and the high towers.

17I will greatly afflict the men, and they will walk as blind men, for they sinned against the Lord; and He shall pour out their blood as dust and their flesh as dung.

18Their silver and gold shall not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the Lord, but the whole land shall be consumed by the fire of His zeal; for He will bring about a speedy end to all those who dwell in the land.