Zephaniah 1

1 The word of the Lord, that was maad to Sofonye, sone of Chusi, sone of Godolie, sone of Amasie, sone of Ezechie, in the daies of Josie, the sone of Amon, king of Juda.

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 Y gaderinge schal gadere alle thingis fro the face of erthe, seith the Lord;

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

3 Y gaderynge man and beeste, Y gaderynge volatils of heuene, and fischis of the see; and fallyngis of vnpitouse men schulen be, and Y schal leese men fro face of erthe, seith the Lord.

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 Y schal stretche out myn hond on Juda, and on alle dwellers of Jerusalem; and Y schal lese fro this place the relifs of Baal, and the names of keperis of housis, with prestis;

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 hem that worschipen on roouys the knyythod of heuene, and worschipen, and sweren in the Lord, and sweren in Melchon;

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

6 and whiche ben turned awei bihynde the bak of the Lord, and whiche `souyten not the Lord, nether enserchiden hym.

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 ye stille fro the face of the Lord God, for niy is the dai of the Lord; for the Lord made redi a sacrifice, halewide hise clepid men.

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 schal be, in the dai of sacrifice of the Lord, Y schal visite on princes, and on sones of the kyng, and on alle that ben clothid with pilgrimys, ether straunge, clothing.

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 Y schal visite on ech that proudli entrith on the threisfold in that dai, whiche fillen the hous of her Lord God with wickidnesse and gile.

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 ther schal be in that dai, seith the Lord, a vois of cry fro the yate of fischis, and yellynge fro the secounde yate, and greet defoulyng fro litle hillis.

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 Yelle ye, dwelleris of Pila; al the puple of Canaan was stille togidere, alle men wlappid in siluer perischiden.

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 schal be, in that tyme Y schal seke Jerusalem with lanternes, and Y schal visite on alle men piyt in her darstis, whiche seien in her hertis, The Lord schal not do wel, and he schal not do yuele.

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 the strengthe of hem schal be in to rauyschyng, and the housis of hem in to desert; and thei schulen bilde housis, and schulen not enhabite; and thei schulen plaunte vyneyerdis, and thei schulen not drynke the wyn of hem.

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 Nyy is the greet dai of the Lord, niy and swift ful myche; the vois of the dai of the Lord is bittir, a strong man schal be in tribulacioun there.

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 `The ilke dai is a dai of wraththe, dai of tribulacioun and angwisch, dai of nedynesse and wretchidnesse, dai of derknessis and myist, dai of cloude and whirlewynd,

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 dai of trumpe and noise on strong citees and on hiye corneris.

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

17 And Y schal troble men, and thei schulen walke as blynde, for thei han synned ayens the Lord; and the blood of hem schal be sched out as erthe, and the bodies of hem schulen be as tordis.

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 But and the siluer of hem, and gold of hem, schal not mowe delyuere hem in the dai of wraththe of the Lord; in fier of his feruour al erthe schal be deuourid, for he schal make ende with haastyng to alle men enhabitynge the erthe.

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.