Zephaniah 1

¹ The word of the LORD that came to Zephaniah son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah son of Amon, king of Judah.

² "I will utterly sweep away everything
from the face of the earth,"
declares the LORD.

³ "I will sweep away man and beast;
I will sweep away the birds of the heavens
and the fish of the sea,
and the rubble with the wicked.
I will cut off mankind
from the face of the earth,"
declares the LORD.

⁴ "I will stretch out my hand against Judah
and against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
I will cut off from this place
the remnant of Baal
and the name of the idolatrous priests with the priests,

⁵ those who bow down on the rooftops
to the host of heaven,
those who bow down and swear to the LORD
and yet swear by Milcom,

⁶ those who have turned back from following the LORD,
who do not seek the LORD or inquire of him."

⁷ 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 "On the day of the LORD's sacrifice
I will punish the officials and the king's sons
and all who dress in foreign clothing.

⁹ On that day I will punish
everyone who leaps over the threshold,
who fills his master's house
with violence and fraud."

¹⁰ "On that day," declares the LORD,
"a cry will be heard from the Fish Gate,
a wail from the Second Quarter,
and a loud crash from the hills.

¹¹ Wail, O inhabitants of the Mortar!
For all the traders are cut off;
all who weigh out silver are destroyed.

¹² At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps,
and I will punish the men
who are complacent,
who settle on their dregs,
who say in their hearts,
'The LORD will not do good,
nor will he do harm.'

¹³ Their goods will be plundered
and their houses laid waste.
They will build houses but not inhabit them;
they will plant vineyards but not drink their wine."

¹⁴ The great day of the LORD is near,
near and hastening fast.
The sound of the day of the LORD is bitter;
the mighty man cries aloud there.

¹⁵ A day of wrath is that day,
a day of distress and anguish,
a day of ruin and devastation,
a day of darkness and gloom,
a day of clouds and thick darkness,

¹⁶ a day of trumpet blast and battle cry
against the fortified cities
and against the lofty battlements.

¹⁷ I will bring distress on mankind,
and they will walk like the blind,
because they have sinned against the LORD.
Their blood will be poured out like dust,
and their flesh like dung.

¹⁸ Neither their silver nor their gold
will be able to deliver them
on the day of the LORD's wrath.
In the fire of his jealousy
all the earth will be consumed,
for a full and sudden end
he will make of all the inhabitants of the earth.