Zephaniah 1
1 The word of
the Lord which came to Zephaniah the son of Chusi, the son of Godolias, the
son of Amorias, the son of Ezekias, in the days of Josias son of Amon, king of
Juda.
2 Let there be an utter cutting off
from the face of the land, saith the Lord.
3 Let man and cattle be cut off; let
the birds of the air and the fishes of the sea be cut off; and the ungodly
shall fail, and I will take away the transgressors from the face of the land,
saith the Lord. 4 And I will stretch
out mine hand upon Juda, and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and I will
remove the names of Baal out of this place, and the names of the priests;
5 and them that worship the host of
heaven upon the house-tops; and them that worship and swear by the Lord, and
them that swear by their king; 6 and
them that turn aside from the Lord, and them that seek not the Lord, and them
that cleave not to the Lord.
7 Fear ye before the Lord God; for the
day of the Lord is near; for the Lord has prepared his sacrifice, and has
sanctified his guests. 8 And it shall
come to pass in the day of the Lord's sacrifice, that I will take vengeance on
the princes, and on the king's house, and upon all that wear strange apparel.
9 And I will openly take vengeance on
the porches in that day, on the men that fill the
house of the Lord their God with ungodliness and deceit.
10 And there shall be in that day,
saith the Lord, the sound of a cry from the gate of men slaying, and a howling
from the second gate, and a great crashing from the
hills. 11 Lament, ye that inhabit the
city that has been broken down, for all the people
has become like Chanaan; and all that were exalted by silver have been utterly
destroyed.
12 And it shall come to pass in that
day, that I will search Jerusalem with a candle, and
will take vengeance on the men that despise the things committed to them; but
they say in their hearts, The Lord will not do any good, neither will he do
any evil. 13 And their power shall be
for a spoil, and their houses for utter desolation; and they shall build
houses, but shall not dwell in them; and they shall plant vineyards, but shall
not drink the wine of them.
14 For the great day of the Lord
is near, it is near, and
very speedy; the sound of the day of the Lord is made bitter and harsh.
15 A mighty day of wrath is that day,
a day of affliction and distress, a day of desolation and destruction, a day
of gloominess and darkness, a day of cloud and vapour,
16 a day of the trumpet and cry
against the strong cities, and against the high towers.
17 And I will greatly afflict the
men, and they shall walk as blind men, because they have sinned against the
Lord; therefore he shall pour out their blood as dust, and their flesh as
dung. 18 And their silver and their
gold shall in nowise be able to rescue them in the day of the Lord's wrath;
but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy; for he will
bring a speedy destruction on all them that inhabit the land.