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.

This is the message that the Lord gave to Zephaniah. He was the son of Cushti, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah. This happened when Josiah, son of Amon, was king of Judah.

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

I will completely sweep away everything from the face of the earth, declares 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 sweep away people and animals, I will sweep away the birds of the air and the fish of the sea. I will overthrow the wicked; I will destroy human beings from the face of the earth.

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;

I will strike Judah and everyone who lives in Jerusalem. I will destroy all that remains of their Baal worship along with their pagan priests so that even their names will be forgotten.

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;

I will destroy those who go up to the rooftops to bow down before the sun, moon, and stars. They also bow down and swear allegiance to the Lord, but then they do the same to Milcom.

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

I will destroy those who once worshiped the Lord but don't anymore. They don't seek the Lord or ask for my help.

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.

Be silent before the Lord God! For the day of the Lord is near: the Lord has prepared a sacrifice and consecrated his guests.

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.

Then on the day of the Lord's sacrifice I will punish the officials and the king's sons, and those who follow pagan ways.

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.

I will also punish those who jump over the threshold. On that day I will punish those who fill up their masters' houses using violence and deception.

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.

On that day, declares the Lord, a cry of grief will come from the Fish Gate, a wailing from the Second Quarter, and a loud crash from the hills.

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.

Those who live in the Market District will wail in sorrow, for all the merchants are destroyed, along with those who trade in silver.

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.

At that time I will search through Jerusalem with lamps and I will punish those self-satisfied people, who are like wine left on its dregs, who say to themselves, “The Lord will not do good, nor will he 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.

Their possessions will be looted; their houses will be demolished. They will build houses, but not live in them; they will plant vineyards, but not drink the wine.

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 and approaching rapidly. It will be a bitter day—even warriors will cry out loud.

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,

It will be a day of anger, a day of trouble and distress, a day of disaster and ruin, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness,

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

a day of trumpet calls and battle cries against fortified cities and watchtowers.

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:

I will bring trouble on humanity, making them walk like blind people because they have sinned against the Lord. Their blood will be spilled like so much dust; their intestines like dung.

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.

Their silver and their gold won't help to save them on the day of the Lord's anger. The whole earth will be burned up by the fire of his jealous anger. He will make sure the end of the people of the world is sudden and complete.