ZEPHANIAH 1 [†]The word of the LORD that came to Zephaniah the son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah, a in the days of b Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah.
2[^][†] c “I will utterly sweep away everything
from the face of the earth,” declares the LORD.
3[†] “I will sweep away d man and beast;
I will sweep away the birds of the heavens
and d the fish of the sea,
and e the rubble [1] with the wicked.
I will f cut off mankind
from the face of the earth,” declares the LORD.
4[†] “I will stretch out my hand against Judah
and against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem;
g and I will cut off from this place the remnant of Baal
and the name of the idolatrous priests along with the priests,
5[†] h those who bow down on the roofs
to the host of the heavens,
i those who bow down and swear to the LORD
and yet swear by j Milcom,
6[†] k those who have turned back from following the LORD,
l who do not seek the LORD or inquire of him.”
7[^][†] m Be silent before the Lord GOD!
For n the day of the LORD is near;
o the LORD has prepared a sacrifice
and p consecrated his guests.
8[†] And on the day of the LORD’s sacrifice—
q “I will punish the officials and the king’s sons
and r all who array themselves in foreign attire.
9[†] On that day I will punish
everyone s who leaps over the threshold,
and those who fill their master’s [2] house
with violence and fraud.
10[†] “On that day,” declares the LORD,
“a cry will be heard from t the Fish Gate,
u a wail from v the Second Quarter,
a loud crash from the hills.
11[†] w Wail, O inhabitants of the Mortar!
For all the traders [3] are no more;
all who weigh out silver are cut off.
12[†] At that time x I will search Jerusalem with lamps,
and I will punish the men
z those who say in their hearts,
‘The LORD will not do good,
nor will he do ill.’
13[†] Their goods shall be a plundered,
and their houses laid waste.
b Though they build houses,
they shall not inhabit them;
c though they plant vineyards,
they shall not drink wine from them.”
14[†] d The great day of the LORD is near,
near and hastening fast;
the sound of the day of the LORD is bitter;
e the mighty man cries aloud there.
15[†] f A day of wrath is that day,
a day of distress and anguish,
a day of g ruin and devastation,
h a day of darkness and gloom,
h a day of clouds and thick darkness,
16[†] i a day of trumpet blast and battle cry
j against the fortified cities
and against the lofty battlements.
17[†] k I will bring distress on mankind,
so that they shall walk l like the blind,
because they have sinned against the LORD;
m their blood shall be poured out like dust,
and their flesh n like dung.
18[†] o Neither their silver nor their gold
shall be able to deliver them
on the day of the wrath of the LORD.
p In the fire of his jealousy,
q all the earth shall be consumed;
r for a full and sudden end
he will make of all the inhabitants of the earth.