Zephaniah 1

1 The word of Jehovah that 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.

The 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, the son of Amon, king of Judah.

2 I will utterly take away everything from off the face of the ground, saith Jehovah:

I will take away everything from the face of the earth, says the Lord.

3 I will take away man and beast; I will take away the fowl of the heavens and the fishes of the sea, and the stumbling-blocks with the wicked, and I will cut off mankind from off the face of the ground, saith Jehovah.

I will take away man and beast; I will take away the birds of the heaven and the fishes of the sea; causing the downfall of the evil-doers, and cutting man off from the face of the earth, says the Lord.

4 And I will stretch forth my hand upon Judah, and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and I will cut off the remnant of Baal from this place, the name of the Chemarim with the priests;

And my hand will be stretched out on Judah and on all the people of Jerusalem, cutting off the name of the Baal from this place, and the name of the false priests,

5 and them that bow down to the host of the heavens upon the housetops; and them that bow down to Jehovah, that swear by [him], and swear by Malcham;

And the worshippers of the army of heaven on the house-tops, and the Lord's worshippers who take oaths by Milcom,

6 and them that turn back from after Jehovah, and that do not seek Jehovah, nor inquire for him.

And those who are turned back from going after the Lord, and those who have not made prayer to the Lord or got directions from him.

7 Be silent at the presence of the Lord Jehovah; for the day of Jehovah is at hand; for Jehovah hath prepared a sacrifice, he hath hallowed his guests.

Let there be no sound before the Lord God: for the day of the Lord is near: for the Lord has made ready an offering, he has made his guests holy.

8 And it shall come to pass in the day of Jehovah's sacrifice, that I will punish the princes, and the king's sons, and all such as are clothed with foreign apparel.

And it will come about in the day of the Lord's offering, that I will send punishment on the rulers and the king's sons and all who are clothed in robes from strange lands.

9 And in that day will I punish all those that leap over the threshold, who fill their master's house with violence and deceit.

And in that day I will send punishment on all those who come jumping over the doorstep and make their master's house full of violent behaviour and deceit.

10 And in that day, saith Jehovah, there shall be the noise of a cry from the fish-gate, and a howling from the second [quarter], and a great crashing from the hills.

And in that day, says the Lord, there will be the sound of a cry from the fish doorway, and an outcry from the new town, and a great thundering from the hills, and cries of grief from the people of the Hollow;

11 Howl, ye inhabitants of Maktesh; for all the people of Canaan are cut down, all they that are laden with silver are cut off.

Because of the downfall of all the people of Canaan: all those who were weighted down with silver have been cut off.

12 And it shall come to pass at that time, [that] I will search Jerusalem with lamps, and punish the men that are settled on their lees, that say in their heart, Jehovah will not do good, neither will he do evil.

And it will come about at that time, that I will go searching through Jerusalem with lights; and I will send punishment on the men who have become like wine stored over-long, who say to themselves, The Lord will not do good and will not do evil.

13 And their wealth shall become a booty, and their houses a desolation; and they shall build houses, and not inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and not drink the wine thereof.

And their wealth will be violently taken away, and their houses will be made waste: they will go on building houses and never living in them, and planting vine-gardens but not drinking the wine from them.

14 The great day of Jehovah is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly. The voice of the day of Jehovah: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly.

The great day of the Lord is near, it is near and coming very quickly; the bitter day of the Lord is near, coming on more quickly than a man of war.

15 That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of ruin and desolation, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and gross darkness,

That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and sorrow, a day of wasting and destruction, a day of dark night and deep shade, a day of cloud and thick dark.

16 a day of the trumpet and alarm, against the fenced cities and against the high battlements.

A day of sounding the horn and the war-cry against the walled towns and the high towers.

17 And I will bring distress upon men, and they shall walk like blind men; for they have sinned against Jehovah; and their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as dung:

And I will send trouble on men so that they will go about like the blind, because they have done evil against the Lord: and their blood will be drained out like dust, and their strength like waste.

18 their silver and their gold shall not be able to deliver them, in the day of Jehovah's wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for a full end, yea, a sudden [end], shall he make of all them that dwell in the land.

Even their silver and their gold will not be able to keep them safe in the day of the Lord's wrath; but all the land will be burned up in the fire of his bitter wrath: for he will put an end, even suddenly, to all who are living in the land.