The word of the Lord that came to Zephaniah the son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah, (A)in the days of (B)Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah.

The Coming Judgment on Judah

(C)“I will utterly sweep away everything
    from the face of the earth,” declares the Lord.
“I will sweep away (D)man and beast;
    I will sweep away the birds of the heavens
    and (E)the fish of the sea,
and (F)the rubble[a] with the wicked.
    I will (G)cut off mankind
    from the face of the earth,” declares the Lord.

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Footnotes

  1. Zephaniah 1:3 Or stumbling blocks (that is, idols)

The word of the Lord that came to Zephaniah son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hezekiah, during the reign of Josiah(A) son of Amon(B) king of Judah:

Judgment on the Whole Earth in the Day of the Lord

“I will sweep away everything
    from the face of the earth,”(C)
declares the Lord.
“I will sweep away both man and beast;(D)
    I will sweep away the birds in the sky(E)
    and the fish in the sea—
    and the idols that cause the wicked to stumble.”[a]

“When I destroy all mankind
    on the face of the earth,”(F)
declares the Lord,(G)

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Footnotes

  1. Zephaniah 1:3 The meaning of the Hebrew for this line is uncertain.

“Therefore (A)wait for me,” declares the Lord,
    “for the day when I rise up to seize the prey.
For my decision is (B)to gather nations,
    to assemble kingdoms,
to pour out upon them my indignation,
    all my burning anger;
for in the fire of my jealousy
    (C)all the earth shall be consumed.

The Conversion of the Nations

“For at that time I will change the speech of the peoples
    to (D)a pure speech,
that all of them may call upon the name of the Lord
    and serve him with one accord.
10 (E)From beyond the rivers (F)of Cush
    my worshipers, the daughter of my dispersed ones,
    shall bring my offering.

11 (G)“On that day (H)you shall not be put to shame
    because of the deeds by which you have rebelled against me;
for then (I)I will remove from your midst
    your proudly exultant ones,
and (J)you shall no longer be haughty
    in my holy mountain.
12 But I will leave in your midst
    a people (K)humble and lowly.
(L)They shall seek refuge in the name of the Lord,
13     (M)those who are left in Israel;
they (N)shall do no injustice
    and speak no lies,
(O)nor shall there be found in their mouth
    a deceitful tongue.
(P)For they shall graze and lie down,
    and none shall make them afraid.”

Israel's Joy and Restoration

14 (Q)Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion;
    shout, O Israel!
Rejoice and exult with all your heart,
    O daughter of Jerusalem!
15 The Lord has taken away the judgments against you;
    he has cleared away your enemies.
(R)The King of Israel, (S)the Lord, is in your midst;
    you shall never again fear evil.
16 (T)On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem:
“Fear not, O Zion;
    (U)let not your hands grow weak.
17 (V)The Lord your God is in your midst,
    (W)a mighty one who will save;
(X)he will rejoice over you with gladness;
    he will quiet you by his love;
he will exult over you with loud singing.
18 I will gather those of you who mourn (Y)for the festival,
    so that you will no longer suffer reproach.[a]
19 Behold, at that time (Z)I will deal
    with all your oppressors.
And (AA)I will save the lame
    and gather the outcast,
and I will change (AB)their shame into (AC)praise
    and renown in all the earth.
20 (AD)At that time I will bring you in,
    at the time when I gather you together;
for I will make you renowned and praised
    among all the peoples of the earth,
(AE)when I restore your fortunes
    before your eyes,” says the Lord.

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Footnotes

  1. Zephaniah 3:18 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain

Therefore wait(A) for me,”
    declares the Lord,
    “for the day I will stand up to testify.[a]
I have decided to assemble(B) the nations,(C)
    to gather the kingdoms
and to pour out my wrath(D) on them—
    all my fierce anger.(E)
The whole world will be consumed(F)
    by the fire of my jealous anger.

Restoration of Israel’s Remnant

“Then I will purify the lips of the peoples,
    that all of them may call(G) on the name of the Lord(H)
    and serve(I) him shoulder to shoulder.
10 From beyond the rivers of Cush[b](J)
    my worshipers, my scattered people,
    will bring me offerings.(K)
11 On that day you, Jerusalem, will not be put to shame(L)
    for all the wrongs you have done to me,(M)
because I will remove from you
    your arrogant boasters.(N)
Never again will you be haughty
    on my holy hill.(O)
12 But I will leave within you
    the meek(P) and humble.
The remnant of Israel
    will trust(Q) in the name of the Lord.
13 They(R) will do no wrong;(S)
    they will tell no lies.(T)
A deceitful tongue
    will not be found in their mouths.(U)
They will eat and lie down(V)
    and no one will make them afraid.(W)

14 Sing, Daughter Zion;(X)
    shout aloud,(Y) Israel!
Be glad and rejoice(Z) with all your heart,
    Daughter Jerusalem!
15 The Lord has taken away your punishment,
    he has turned back your enemy.
The Lord, the King of Israel, is with you;(AA)
    never again will you fear(AB) any harm.(AC)
16 On that day
    they will say to Jerusalem,
“Do not fear, Zion;
    do not let your hands hang limp.(AD)
17 The Lord your God is with you,
    the Mighty Warrior who saves.(AE)
He will take great delight(AF) in you;
    in his love he will no longer rebuke you,(AG)
    but will rejoice over you with singing.”(AH)

18 “I will remove from you
    all who mourn over the loss of your appointed festivals,
    which is a burden and reproach for you.
19 At that time I will deal
    with all who oppressed(AI) you.
I will rescue the lame;
    I will gather the exiles.(AJ)
I will give them praise(AK) and honor
    in every land where they have suffered shame.
20 At that time I will gather you;
    at that time I will bring(AL) you home.
I will give you honor(AM) and praise(AN)
    among all the peoples of the earth
when I restore your fortunes[c](AO)
    before your very eyes,”
says the Lord.

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Footnotes

  1. Zephaniah 3:8 Septuagint and Syriac; Hebrew will rise up to plunder
  2. Zephaniah 3:10 That is, the upper Nile region
  3. Zephaniah 3:20 Or I bring back your captives