Bible Gateway passage: Zephaniah 1 - English Standard Version (2024)

1The 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.
⁴“I will stretch out my hand against Judah
and against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem;
^(H)and I will cut off from this place the remnant of Baal
and the name of the idolatrous priests along with the priests,
^5(I)those who bow down on the roofs
to the host of the heavens,
^(J)those who bow down and swear to the Lord
and yet swear by ^(K)Milcom,^[b]
6(L)those who have turned back from following the Lord,
^(M)who do not seek the Lord or inquire of him.”

The Day of the Lord Is Near

^7(N)Be silent before the Lord God!
For ^(O)the day of the Lord is near;
^(P)the Lord has prepared a sacrifice
and ^(Q)consecrated his guests.
⁸And on the day of the Lord's sacrifice—
^(R)“I will punish the officials and the king's sons
and ^(S)all who array themselves in foreign attire.
⁹On that day I will punish
everyone ^(T)who leaps over the threshold,
and those who fill their master's^[c] house
with violence and fraud.

¹⁰“On that day,” declares the Lord,
“a cry will be heard from ^(U)the Fish Gate,
^(V)a wail from ^(W)the Second Quarter,
a loud crash from the hills.
^11(X)Wail, O inhabitants of the Mortar!
For all the traders^[d] are no more;
all who weigh out silver are cut off.
¹²At that time ^(Y)I will search Jerusalem with lamps,
and I will punish the men
^(Z)who are complacent,^[e]
(AA)those who say in their hearts,
‘The Lord will not do good,
nor will he do ill.’
¹³Their goods shall be ^(AB)plundered,
and their houses laid waste.
^(AC)Though they build houses,
they shall not inhabit them;
^(AD)though they plant vineyards,
they shall not drink wine from them.”

^14(AE)The great day of the Lord is near,
near and hastening fast;
the sound of the day of the Lord is bitter;
^(AF)the mighty man cries aloud there.
^15(AG)A day of wrath is that day,
a day of distress and anguish,
a day of ^(AH)ruin and devastation,
^(AI)a day of darkness and gloom,
^(AJ)a day of clouds and thick darkness,
^16(AK)a day of trumpet blast and battle cry
^(AL)against the fortified cities
and against the lofty battlements.

^17(AM)I will bring distress on mankind,
so that they shall walk ^(AN)like the blind,
because they have sinned against the Lord;
^(AO)their blood shall be poured out like dust,
and their flesh ^(AP)like dung.
^18(AQ)Neither their silver nor their gold
shall be able to deliver them
on the day of the wrath of the Lord.
^(AR)In the fire of his jealousy,
^(AS)all the earth shall be consumed;
^(AT)for a full and sudden end
he will make of all the inhabitants of the earth.