Zephaniah
1 The word of Jehovah that came to Zeph·a·niʹah* son of Cushʹi son of Ged·a·liʹah son of Am·a·riʹah son of Hez·e·kiʹah in the days of Jo·siʹah+ son of Aʹmon+ the king of Judah:
2 “I will completely sweep away everything from the surface of the ground,” declares Jehovah.+
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 stumbling blocks*+ along with the wicked ones;
And I will remove mankind from the surface of the ground,” declares Jehovah.
4 “I will stretch out my hand against Judah
And against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem,
And I will wipe out from this place every vestige* of Baʹal,+
The name of the foreign-god priests along with the priests,+
5 And those who bow down on the rooftops to the army of the heavens,+
And those who bow down and pledge loyalty to Jehovah+
While pledging loyalty to Malʹcam;+
6 And those who turn away from following Jehovah+
And who do not seek Jehovah or inquire of him.”+
7 Be silent before the Sovereign Lord Jehovah, for the day of Jehovah is near.+
Jehovah has prepared a sacrifice; he has sanctified those he invited.
8 “On the day of Jehovah’s sacrifice I will call to account the princes,
The sons of the king,+ and all those wearing foreign clothing.
9 I will call to account everyone who climbs onto the platform* on that day,
Those who fill their master’s house with violence and deception.
10 On that day,” declares Jehovah,
“There will be the sound of an outcry from the Fish Gate,+
A wailing from the Second Quarter of the city,+
And a loud crash from the hills.
11 Wail, you inhabitants of Makʹtesh,*
For all the tradesmen* have been done away with;*
All those weighing out silver have been destroyed.
12 At that time I will carefully search Jerusalem with lamps,
And I will call to account the complacent ones,* who say in their heart,
‘Jehovah will not do good, and he will not do bad.’+
13 Their wealth will be plundered and their houses will be devastated.+
They will build houses, but they will not occupy them;
And they will plant vineyards, but they will not drink wine from them.+
14 The great day of Jehovah is near!+
It is near and it is approaching very quickly!*+
The sound of the day of Jehovah is bitter.+
There a warrior cries out.+
15 That day is a day of fury,+
A day of distress and anguish,+
A day of storm and desolation,
A day of darkness and gloom,+
A day of clouds and thick gloom,+
16 A day of the horn and of the battle cry,+
Against the fortified cities and against the high corner towers.+