Judgment on the Whole Earth
1 The word of the Lord, which came unto Zephaniah the son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hezekiah, in the days of ⓐJosiah, the son of ⓑAmon king of Judah.
2 I will surely destroy all things from off the land, saith the Lord.
3 I will destroy man and beast: I will destroy the [1]fowls of the heaven, and the fishes of the sea, and ruins shall be to the wicked, and I will cut off man from off the land, saith the Lord.
4 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 [2]Chemarims with the Priests,
5 And them that worship the host of heaven upon the housetops, and them that worship and swear by the Lord, and swear by [3]Milcam.
6 And them that are turned back from the Lord, and those that have not sought the Lord, nor inquired for him.
7 Be still at the presence of the Lord God: for the day of the Lord is at hand: for the Lord hath prepared a sacrifice, and hath sanctified his guests.
8 And it shall be in the day of the Lord’s sacrifice, that I will visit the princes and the king’s children, and all such as are clothed with [4]strange apparel.
9 In the same day also will I visit all those that [5]dance upon the threshold so proudly, which fill their masters’ houses by cruelty and deceit.
10 And in that day, saith the Lord, there shall be a noise, and cry from the [6]fish gate, and an howling from the second gate, and a great destruction from the hills.
11 Howl ye inhabitants of [7]the low place: for the company of the merchants is destroyed: all they that bear silver, are cut off.
12 And at that time will I search Jerusalem with [8]lights, and visit the men that are frozen [9]in their dregs, and say in their hearts, The Lord will neither do good nor do evil.
13 Therefore their goods shall be spoiled, and their houses waste: ⓒthey shall also build houses, but not inhabit them, and they shall plant vineyards, but not drink the wine thereof.
The Great Day of the Lord
14 The great day of the Lord is near: it is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the Lord: [10]the strong man shall cry there bitterly.
15 ⓓThat day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and heaviness, a day of destruction and desolation, a day of obscurity and darkness, a day of clouds and blackness,
16 A day of the trumpet and alarm against the strong cities, and against the high towers.
17 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 ⓔ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.