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¹The 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 completely remove all things From the face of the earth,” declares the LORD.

³“I will remove human and animal life; I will remove the birds of the sky And the fish of the sea, And the ruins along with the wicked; And I will eliminate mankind from the face of the earth,” declares the LORD.

⁴“So I will stretch out My hand against Judah And against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And I will eliminate the remnant of Baal from this place, And the names of the idolatrous priests along with the other priests.

⁵And those who bow down on the housetops to the heavenly lights, And those who bow down and swear to the LORD, but also swear by Milcom,

⁶And those who have turned back from following the LORD, And those who have not sought the LORD nor inquired of Him.”

⁷Be silent before the Lord GOD! For the day of the LORD is near, Because the LORD has prepared a sacrifice, He has consecrated His guests.

⁸“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.

⁹And on that day I will punish all who leap on the temple threshold, Who fill the house of their lord with violence and deceit.

¹⁰And on that day,” declares the LORD, “There will be the sound of a cry from the Fish Gate, Wailing from the Second Quarter, And a loud crash from the hills.

¹¹Wail, you inhabitants of the Mortar, Because all the people of Canaan will be destroyed; All who weigh out silver will be eliminated.

¹²And it will come about at that time That I will search Jerusalem with lamps, And I will punish the people Who are stagnant in spirit, Who say in their hearts, ‘The LORD will not do good nor harm!’

¹³Their 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.”

¹⁴The great day of the LORD is near, Near and coming very quickly; Listen, the day of the LORD! In it the warrior cries out bitterly.

¹⁵That day is a day of anger, 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,

¹⁶A day of trumpet and battle cry Against the fortified cities And the high corner towers.

¹⁷I will bring distress on mankind So that they will walk like those who are blind, Because they have sinned against the LORD; And their blood will be poured out like dust, And their flesh like dung.

¹⁸Neither their silver nor their gold Will be able to save them On the day of the LORD’S anger; And all the earth will be devoured By the fire of His jealousy, For He will make a complete end, Indeed a horrifying one, Of all the inhabitants of the earth.

¹Gather yourselves together, yes, join together, You nation without shame,

²Before the decree takes effect— The day passes like chaff— Before the burning anger of the LORD comes upon you, Before the day of the LORD’S anger comes upon you.

³Seek the LORD, All you humble of the earth Who have practiced His ordinances; Seek righteousness, seek humility. Perhaps you will remain hidden On the day of the LORD’S anger.

⁴For Gaza will be abandoned, And Ashkelon will become a desolation; The inhabitants of Ashdod will be driven out at noon, And Ekron will be uprooted.

⁵Woe to the inhabitants of the seacoast, The nation of the Cherethites! The word of the LORD is against you, Canaan, land of the Philistines; And I will eliminate you So that there will be no inhabitant.

⁶So the seacoast will become grazing places, With pastures for shepherds and folds for flocks.

⁷And the coast will be For the remnant of the house of Judah, They will drive sheep to pasture on it. In the houses of Ashkelon they will lie down at evening; For the LORD their God will care for them And restore their fortunes.

⁸“I have heard the taunting of Moab And the abusive speech of the sons of Ammon, With which they have taunted My people And boasted against their territory.

⁹Therefore, as I live,” declares the LORD of armies, The God of Israel, “Moab will assuredly be like Sodom, And the sons of Ammon like Gomorrah— Ground overgrown with weeds and full of salt mines, And a permanent desolation. The remnant of My people will plunder them, And the remainder of My nation will inherit them.”

¹⁰This they will have in return for their arrogance, because they have taunted and boasted against the people of the LORD of armies.

¹¹The LORD will be terrifying 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.

¹²“You also, Ethiopians, will be slain by My sword.”

¹³And He will stretch out His hand against the north And eliminate Assyria, And He will make Nineveh a desolation, Parched like the wilderness.

¹⁴Flocks will lie down in her midst, All animals that range in herds; Both the pelican and the hedgehog Will spend their nights in the tops of her pillars; Birds will sing in the window, Devastation will be on the threshold; For He has uncovered the cedar work.

¹⁵This is the presumptuous city That dwells securely, Who says in her heart, “I am, and there is no one besides me.” How she has become a desolation, A resting place for animals! Everyone who passes by her will hiss And wave his hand in contempt.

¹Woe to her who is rebellious and defiled, The oppressive city!

²She obeyed no voice, She accepted no discipline. She did not trust in the LORD, She did not approach her God.

³Her leaders within her are roaring lions, Her judges are wolves at evening; They have no bones to gnaw in the morning.

⁴Her prophets are insolent, treacherous men; Her priests have profaned the sanctuary. They have done violence to the Law.

⁵The LORD is righteous within her; He will do no injustice. Every morning He brings His justice to light; He does not fail. But the criminal knows no shame.

⁶“I have eliminated nations; Their corner towers are deserted. I have laid waste their streets, With no one passing by; Their cities have been laid waste, Without a person, without an inhabitant.

⁷I said, ‘You will certainly revere Me, You will accept discipline.’ So her dwelling will not be eliminated In accordance with everything that I have stipulated for her. Instead, they were eager to corrupt all their deeds.

⁸“Therefore wait for Me,” declares the LORD, “For the day when I rise up as a witness. Indeed, My decision is to gather nations, To assemble 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.

⁹For then I will restore to the peoples pure lips, So that all of them may call on the name of the LORD, To serve Him shoulder to shoulder.

¹⁰From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia My worshipers, My dispersed ones, Will bring My offerings.

¹¹On that day you will feel no shame Because of all your deeds By which you have rebelled against Me; For then I will remove from your midst Your proud, arrogant ones, And you will never again be haughty On My holy mountain.

¹²But I will leave among you A humble and lowly people, And they will take refuge in the name of the LORD.

¹³The remnant of Israel will do no wrong And tell no lies, Nor will a deceitful tongue Be found in their mouths; For they will feed and lie down With no one to frighten them.”

¹⁴Shout for joy, daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, Israel! Rejoice and triumph with all your heart, Daughter of Jerusalem!

¹⁵The LORD has taken away His judgments against you, He has cleared away your enemies. The King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst; You will no longer fear disaster.

¹⁶On that day it will be said to Jerusalem: “Do not be afraid, Zion; Do not let your hands fall limp.

¹⁷The LORD your God is in your midst, A victorious warrior. He will rejoice over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.

¹⁸I will gather those who are worried about the appointed feasts— They came from you, Zion; The disgrace of exile is a burden on them.

¹⁹Behold, I am going to deal at that time With all your oppressors; I will save those who limp And gather the scattered, And I will turn their shame into praise and fame In all the earth.

²⁰At that time I will bring you in, Even at the time when I gather you together; Indeed, I will make you famous and praiseworthy Among all the peoples of the earth, When I restore your fortunes before your eyes,” Says the LORD.