- 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 son of Amon king of Judah:
- "I will sweep away everything from
the face of the earth," declares the LORD.
- "I will sweep away both men and animals;
I will sweep away the birds of the air and the fish of the sea. The wicked
will have only heaps of rubble when I cut off man from the face of the earth,"
declares the LORD.
- "I will stretch out my hand against
Judah and against all who live in Jerusalem. I will cut off from this place
every remnant of Baal, the names of the pagan and the idolatrous priests
--
- those who bow down on the roofs to worship
the starry host, those who bow down and swear by the LORD and who also swear
by Molech,
- those who turn back from following the
LORD and neither seek the LORD nor inquire of him.
- Be silent before the Sovereign LORD, for
the day of the LORD is near. The LORD has prepared a sacrifice; he has consecrated
those he has invited.
- On the day of the LORD'S sacrifice I will
punish the princes and the king's sons and all those clad in foreign clothes.
- On that day I will punish all who avoid
stepping on the threshold, who fill the temple of their gods with violence
and deceit.
- "On that day," declares the LORD,
"a cry will go up from the Fish Gate, wailing from the New Quarter,
and a loud crash from the hills.
- Wail, you who live in the market district;
all your merchants will be wiped out, all who trade with silver will be
ruined.
- At that time I will search Jerusalem with
lamps and punish those who are complacent, who are like wine left on its
dregs, who think, 'The LORD will do nothing, either good or bad.'
- Their wealth will be plundered, their houses
demolished. They will build houses but not live in them; they will plant
vineyards but not drink the wine.
- "The great day of the LORD is near
-- near and coming quickly. Listen! The cry on the day of the LORD will
be bitter, the shouting of the warrior there.
- That day will be a day of wrath, a day
of distress and anguish, a day of trouble and ruin, a day of darkness and
gloom, a day of clouds and blackness,
- a day of trumpet and battle cry against
the fortified cities and against the corner towers.
- I will bring distress on the people and
they will walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the LORD.
Their blood will be poured out like dust and their entrails like filth.
- Neither their silver nor their gold will
be able to save them on the day of the LORD'S wrath. In the fire of his
jealousy the whole world will be consumed, for he will make a sudden end
of all who live in the earth."
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