Zephaniah 1:1-3

English Standard Version

1 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

²^(C)“I will utterly sweep away everything
    from the face of the earth,” declares the Lord.
³“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

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

Zephaniah 3:8-20

English Standard Version

⁸“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

⁹“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.
¹²But 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!
¹⁵The 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.
¹⁸I will gather those of you who mourn ^(Y)for the festival,
    so that you will no longer suffer reproach.^[a]
¹⁹Behold, 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.