The Day of the LORD's Wrath

11 The word of the Lord which came to Zephaniah son of Cushi , son of Gedaliah , son of Amariah , son of Hezekiah , in the days of Josiah son of Amon , king of Judah : 2 "I will completely remove all things From the face of the [1]earth ," declares the Lord . 3 "I will remove man and beast ; I will remove the birds of the sky And the fish of the sea , And the [2] ruins along with the wicked ; And I will cut off man from the face of the [3]earth ," declares the Lord . 4 "So I will stretch out My hand against Judah And against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem . And I will cut off the remnant of Baal from this place , And the names of the idolatrous priests along with the priests . 5 "And those who bow down on the housetops to the host of heaven , And those who bow down and swear to the Lord and yet swear by [4] Milcom , 6 And those who have turned back from following the Lord , And those who have not sought the Lord or inquired of Him."

7 [5] Be silent before e the Lord [6]GOD ! For the day of the Lord is near , For the Lord has prepared a sacrifice , He has consecrated His guests . 8 "Then it will come about on the day of the Lord'S sacrifice That I will punish the princes , the king's sons And all who clothe themselves with foreign garments . 9 "And I will punish on that day all who leap on the temple threshold , Who fill the house of their [7]lord with violence and deceit . 10 "On that day ," declares the Lord , "There will be the sound of a cry from the Fish Gate , A wail from the [8] Second Quarter, And a loud crash from the hills . 11 "Wail , O inhabitants of the [9]Mortar , For all the [10]people of Canaan will be silenced ; All who weigh out silver will be cut off . 12 "It will come about at that time That I will search Jerusalem with lamps , And I will punish the men Who are [11] stagnant in spirit , Who say in their hearts , 'The Lord will not do good or evil !' 13 "Moreover, their wealth will become plunder And their houses desolate ; Yes, they will build houses but not inhabit them, And plant vineyards but not drink their wine ."

14 Near is the great day of the Lord , Near and coming very quickly ; Listen , the day of the Lord ! [12]In it the warrior cries out bitterly . 15 A day of wrath is that day , A day of trouble and distress , A day of destruction and desolation , A day of darkness and gloom , A day of clouds and thick darkness , 16 A day of trumpet and battle cry Against the fortified cities And the high corner towers . 17 I will bring distress on men So that they will walk like the blind , Because they have sinned against the Lord ; And their blood will be poured out like dust And their flesh like dung . 18 Neither e their silver nor their gold Will be able to deliver them On the day of the Lord'S wrath ; And all the earth will be devoured In the fire of His jealousy , For He will make a complete end , Indeed a terrifying one, Of all the inhabitants of the earth .