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 .
21 Gather yourselves together, yes, gather , O nation without shame , 2 Before the decree takes effect - The day passes like the chaff - Before e the burning anger of the Lord comes upon you, Before e the day of the Lord'S anger comes upon you. 3 Seek the Lord , All you humble of the earth Who have carried out His ordinances ; Seek righteousness , seek humility . Perhaps you will be hidden In the day of the Lord'S anger .
4 For Gaza will be abandoned And Ashkelon a desolation ; Ashdod will be driven out at noon And Ekron will be uprooted . 5 Woe to the inhabitants of the seacoast , The nation of the Cherethites ! The word of the Lord is against you, O Canaan , land of the Philistines ; And I will destroy you So that there will be no inhabitant . 6 So the seacoast will be pastures , With caves for shepherds and folds for flocks . 7 And the coast will be For the remnant of the house of Judah , They will pasture on it. In the houses of Ashkelon they will lie down at evening ; For the Lord their God will care for them And restore their fortune .
8 "I have heard the taunting of Moab And the revilings of the sons of Ammon , With which they have taunted My people And become arrogant against their territory . 9 "Therefore , as I live ," declares the Lord of hosts , The God of Israel , "Surely Moab will be like Sodom And the sons of Ammon like Gomorrah - A place possessed by nettles and salt pits , And a perpetual desolation . The remnant of My people will plunder them And the remainder of My nation will inherit them." 10 This they will have in return for their pride , because they have taunted and become arrogant against the people of the Lord of hosts . 11 The Lord will be terrifying to them, for He will starve all the gods of the earth ; and all the coastlands of the nations will bow down to Him, everyone from his own place .
12 "You also , O Ethiopians , will be slain by My sword ." 13 And He will stretch out His hand against the north And destroy Assyria , And He will make Nineveh a desolation , Parched like the wilderness . 14 Flocks will lie down in her midst , All beasts which range in herds ; Both the pelican and the hedgehog Will lodge in the tops of her pillars ; Birds will sing in the window , Desolation will be on the threshold ; For He has laid bare the cedar work . 15 This is the exultant city Which dwells securely , Who says in her heart , " I am, and there is no one besides me." How she has become a desolation , A resting place for beasts ! Everyone who passes by her will hiss And wave his hand in contempt.
31 Woe to her who is rebellious and defiled , The tyrannical city ! 2 She heeded no voice , She accepted no instruction . She did not trust in the Lord , She did not draw near to her God . 3 Her princes within her are roaring lions , Her judges are wolves at evening ; They leave nothing for the morning . 4 Her prophets are reckless , treacherous men ; Her priests have profaned the sanctuary . They have done violence to the law . 5 The Lord is righteous within her; He will do no injustice . Every morning He brings His justice to light ; He does not fail . But the unjust knows no shame . 6 "I have cut off nations ; Their corner towers are in ruins . I have made their streets desolate , With no one passing by; Their cities are laid waste , Without e a man , without e an inhabitant . 7 "I said , 'Surely you will revere Me, Accept instruction .' So her dwelling will not be cut off According to all that I have appointed concerning her. But they were eager to corrupt all their deeds .
8 "Therefore wait for Me," declares the Lord , "For the day when I rise up as a witness . Indeed , My decision is to gather nations , To assemble kingdoms , To pour out on them My indignation , All My burning anger ; For all the earth will be devoured By the fire of My zeal . 9 "For then I will give to the peoples purified lips , That all of them may call on the name of the Lord , To serve Him shoulder to shoulder . 10 "From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia My worshipers , My dispersed ones, Will bring My offerings . 11 "In that day you will feel no shame Because of all your deeds By which you have rebelled against Me; For then I will remove from your midst Your proud , exulting ones , And you will never e again be haughty On My holy mountain . 12 "But I will leave among you A humble and lowly people , And they will take refuge in the name of the Lord . 13 "The remnant of Israel will do no wrong And tell no lies , Nor will a deceitful tongue Be found in their mouths ; For they will feed and lie down With no one to make them tremble ."
14 Shout for joy , O daughter of Zion ! Shout in triumph, O Israel ! Rejoice and exult with all your heart , O daughter of Jerusalem ! 15 The Lord has taken away His judgments against you, He has cleared away your enemies . The King of Israel , the Lord , is in your midst ; You will fear disaster no more . 16 In that day it will be said to Jerusalem : " Do not be afraid , O Zion ; Do not let your hands fall limp . 17 "The Lord your God is in your midst , A victorious warrior . He will exult over you with joy , He will be quiet in His love , He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy . 18 "I will gather those who grieve about the appointed feasts - They came from you, O Zion; The reproach of exile is a burden on them. 19 "Behold , I am going to deal at that time With all your oppressors , I will save the lame And gather the outcast , And I will turn their shame into praise and renown In all the earth . 20 "At that time I will bring you in, Even at the time when I gather you together; Indeed , I will give you renown and praise Among all the peoples of the earth , When I restore your fortunes before your eyes ," Says the Lord .
11 In the second year of Darius the king , on the first day of the sixth month , the word of the Lord came by the prophet Haggai to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel , governor of Judah , and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak , the high priest , saying , 2 "Thus says the Lord of [13]hosts , 'This people says , "The time has not come , even the time for the house of the Lord to be rebuilt .""' 3 Then the word of the Lord came by Haggai the prophet , saying , 4 "Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses while this house lies desolate ?" 5 Now therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts , "[14]Consider e e your ways ! 6 "You have sown much , but [15]harvest little ; you eat , but there is not enough to be satisfied ; you drink , but there is [16]not enough to become drunk ; you put on clothing , but no one is warm enough; and he who earns , earns wages to put into a purse with holes ." 7 Thus says the Lord of hosts , "[17]Consider e e your ways ! 8 "Go up to the [18]mountains , bring wood and rebuild the [19]temple , that I may be pleased with it and be glorified ," says the Lord . 9 " You look for much , but behold , it comes to little ; when you bring it home , I blow it away. Why e ?" declares the Lord of hosts , "Because of My house which lies desolate , while each of you runs to his own house . 10 "Therefore e , because of you the sky has withheld [20]its dew and the earth has withheld its produce . 11 "I called for a drought on the land , on the mountains , on the grain , on the new wine , on the oil , on what the ground produces , on men , on cattle , and on all the labor of [21]your hands ."
12 Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel , and Joshua the son of Jehozadak , the high priest , with all the remnant of the people , obeyed the voice of the Lord their God and the words of Haggai the prophet , as the Lord their God had sent him. And the people [22] showed reverence for the Lord . 13 Then Haggai , the messenger of the Lord , spoke [23]by the commission of the Lord to the people saying , " ' I am with you,' declares the Lord ." 14 So the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel , governor of Judah , and the spirit of Joshua the son of Jehozadak , the high priest , and the spirit of all the remnant of the people ; and they came and worked on the house of the Lord of hosts , their God , 15 on the twenty-fourth e day of the sixth month in the second year of Darius the king .
21 On the twenty-first e of the seventh month , the word of the Lord came by Haggai the prophet saying , 2 "Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel , governor of Judah , and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak , the high priest , and to the remnant of the people saying , 3 'Who is left among you who saw this temple in its former glory ? And how do you see it now ? Does it not seem to you like nothing in comparison ? 4 'But now take courage , Zerubbabel ,' declares the Lord , 'take courage also, Joshua son of Jehozadak , the high priest , and all you people of the land take courage ,' declares the Lord , 'and work ; for I am with you,' declares the Lord of hosts . 5 'As for the promise which I made you when you came out of Egypt , My Spirit is abiding in your midst ; do not fear !' 6 "For thus says the Lord of hosts , ' Once more in a little while , I am going to shake the heavens and the earth , the sea also and the dry land . 7 'I will shake all the nations ; and they will come with the wealth of all nations , and I will fill this house with glory ,' says the Lord of hosts . 8 'The silver is Mine and the gold is Mine,' declares the Lord of hosts . 9 'The latter glory of this house will be greater than the former ,' says the Lord of hosts , 'and in this place I will give peace ,' declares the Lord of hosts ."
10 On the twenty-fourth e of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius , the word of the Lord came to Haggai the prophet , saying , 11 "Thus says the Lord of hosts , ' Ask now the priests for a ruling : 12 'If a man carries holy meat in the fold of his garment , and touches bread with this fold , or cooked food , wine , oil , or any other food , will it become holy ?' " And the priests answered , "No ." 13 Then Haggai said , " If one who is unclean from a corpse touches any of these , will the latter become unclean ?" And the priests answered , "It will become unclean ." 14 Then Haggai said , " ' So is this people . And so is this nation before Me,' declares the Lord , 'and so is every work of their hands ; and what they offer there is unclean . 15 'But now , do consider e from this day onward : before e one stone was placed on another in the temple of the Lord , 16 from that time when one came to a grain heap of twenty measures, there would be only ten ; and when one came to the wine vat to draw fifty measures , there would be only twenty . 17 'I smote you and every work of your hands with blasting wind , mildew and hail ; yet you did not come back to Me,' declares the Lord . 18 'Do consider e from this day onward , from the twenty-fourth e day of the ninth month; from the day when the temple of the Lord was founded , consider e : 19 'Is the seed still in the barn ? Even including the vine , the fig tree , the pomegranate and the olive tree , it has not borne fruit. Yet from this day on I will bless you."'
20 Then the word of the Lord came a second time to Haggai on the twenty-fourth e day of the month , saying , 21 "Speak to Zerubbabel governor of Judah , saying , 'I am going to shake the heavens and the earth . 22 'I will overthrow the thrones of kingdoms and destroy the power of the kingdoms of the nations ; and I will overthrow the chariots and their riders , and the horses and their riders will go down , everyone by the sword of another .' 23 'On that day ,' declares the Lord of hosts , 'I will take you, Zerubbabel , son of Shealtiel , My servant ,' declares the Lord , 'and I will make you like a signet ring, for I have chosen you,' " declares the Lord of hosts .
