Judgment on the Whole Earth
1 The word of the LORD which came to Zephaniah the son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hizkiah, in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah.
2 I will completely consume all things off of the land, says the LORD.
3 I will consume man and beast; I will consume the birds of the heaven, and the fish of the sea, and the stumbling blocks with the wicked; and I will cut off man off of the land, says the LORD.
4 I will also stretch out my 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 Chemarims with the priests;
5 And those who worship the host of heaven upon the housetops; and those who worship and swear by the LORD, and swear by Malcham;
6 And those who are turned back from the LORD; and those who have not sought the LORD, nor inquired for him.
7 Hold your peace at the presence of the Lord GOD: for the day of the LORD is at hand: for the LORD has prepared a sacrifice, he has invited his guests.
8 And it shall come to pass in the day of the LORD'S sacrifice, that I will punish the princes, and the king's children, and all those who are clothed with strange apparel.
9 In the same day also will I punish all those who leap on the threshold, who fill their masters' houses with violence and deceit.
10 And it shall come to pass in that day, says the LORD, that there shall be the noise of a cry from the fish gate, and a howling from the second, and a great crashing from the hills.
11 Howl, you inhabitants of Maktesh, for all the merchant people are cut down; all those who carry silver are cut off.
12 And it shall come to pass at that time, that I will search Jerusalem with candles, and punish the men who are settled on their lees: who say in their heart, The LORD will not do good, neither will he do evil.
13 Therefore their goods shall become a plunder, and their houses a desolation: they shall also build houses, but not inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, but not drink the wine of them.
The Great Day of the Lord
14 The great day of the LORD is near, it is near, and hastens greatly, even the voice of the day of the LORD: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly.
15 That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of destruction and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness,
16 A day of the trumpet and alarm against the fortified 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 sudden end of all those who dwell in the land.