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.

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

I will completely sweep away everything from the face of the earth, declares 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 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 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;

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

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

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 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.

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 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.

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 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.

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 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.

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

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 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.

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 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.

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

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,

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

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

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.

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 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.

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.