Zephaniah 1

1 The word of the Lord which came unto Zephanyah the son of Cushi, the son of Gedalyah, the son of Amaryah, the son of Chizkiyah, in the days of Josiah the son of Amon the king of Judah.

Yahweh’s word 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 remove, utterly remove all things from off the face of the earth, saith the Lord.

I will utterly sweep away everything from the surface of the earth, says Yahweh.

3 I will remove man and beast; I will remove the fowls of the heaven, and the fishes of the sea, and the stumbling blocks together with the wicked; and I will cut off man from off the face of the earth, saith the Lord.

I will sweep away man and animal. I will sweep away the birds of the sky, the fish of the sea, and the heaps of rubble with the wicked. I will cut off man from the surface of the earth, says Yahweh.

4 And I will stretch out my hand over Judah, and over all the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and I will cut off the remnant of Ba'al from this place, the name of his ministers with his priests;

I will stretch out my hand against Judah and against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem. I will cut off the remnant of Baal from this place—the name of the idolatrous and pagan priests,

5 And those that bow themselves down on the roofs of houses to the host of heaven; and those that bow themselves down that are sworn [to be true] to the Lord and still swear by Malkom;

those who worship the army of the sky on the housetops, those who worship and swear by Yahweh and also swear by Malcam,

6 And those that are turned away from following the Lord; and those that have not sought for the Lord, and have not inquired of him.

those who have turned back from following Yahweh, and those who haven’t sought Yahweh nor inquired after him.

7 Be silent in the presence of the Lord Eternal; for nigh is the day of the Lord; for the Lord hath prepared a slaughter, he hath bidden his invited guests.

Be silent at the presence of the Lord Yahweh, for the day of Yahweh is at hand. For Yahweh has prepared a sacrifice. He has consecrated his guests.

8 And it shall come to pass on the day of the Lord's slaughter, that I will inflict punishment on the princes, and on the king's sons, and on all such as are clothed in garments of a foreign land.

It will happen in the day of Yahweh’s sacrifice that I will punish the princes, the king’s sons, and all those who are clothed with foreign clothing.

9 And I will inflict punishment on all those that leap over the threshold on that day, who fill the house of their master with violence and deceit.

In that day, I will punish all those who leap over the threshold, who fill their master’s house with violence and deceit.

10 And it shall come to pass on that day, saith the Lord, that there shall be a loud cry of lamentation from the fish-gate, and a wailing from the second, and [that of] a great breach from the hills.

In that day, says Yahweh, there will be the noise of a cry from the fish gate, a wailing from the second quarter, and a great crashing from the hills.

11 Wail, ye inhabitants of the mortar-street, for destroyed are all the trading people; cut off are all that were laden with silver.

Wail, you inhabitants of Maktesh, for all the people of Canaan are undone! All those who were loaded with silver are cut off.

12 And it shall come to pass at that time, that I will search Jerusalem through with lights; and I will inflict punishment on the men that are at rest on their lees, that say in their heart, The Lord will not do good, nor will he do evil.

It will happen at that time, that I will search Jerusalem with lamps, and I will punish the men who are settled on their dregs, who say in their heart, “Yahweh will not do good, neither will he do evil.”

13 And their wealth shall become a booty, and their houses shall be made desolate; and they will build houses, but they shall not inhabit them; and they will plant vineyards, but they shall not drink their wine.

Their wealth will become a plunder, and their houses a desolation. Yes, they will build houses, but won’t inhabit them. They will plant vineyards, but won’t drink their wine.

14 Nigh is the great day of the Lord, it is nigh, and hasteneth greatly, [there is] the noise of the day of the Lord: bitterly crieth there the mighty man.

The great day of Yahweh is near. It is near and hurries greatly, the voice of the day of Yahweh. The mighty man cries there bitterly.

15 A day of wrath is that day, a day of distress and anxiety, a day of wasting and desolation, a day of darkness and obscurity, a day of clouds and tempestuous gloom,

That day is a day of wrath, a day of distress and anguish, a day of trouble and ruin, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness,

16 A day of the cornet and alarm, against the fenced cities, and against the high battlements.

a day of the trumpet and alarm against the fortified cities and against the high battlements.

17 And I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk about like the blind, because against the Lord have they sinned: and their blood shall be poured out like the dust, and their flesh like the dung.

I will bring such distress on men that they will walk like blind men because they have sinned against Yahweh. Their blood will be poured out like dust and their flesh like dung.

18 Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them on the day of the Lord's wrath; through the fire of whose zeal the whole land shall be devoured; for destruction, yea, quite sudden, will he prepare for all the inhabitants of the land.

Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to deliver them in the day of Yahweh’s wrath, but the whole land will be devoured by the fire of his jealousy; for he will make an end, yes, a terrible end, of all those who dwell in the land.