The Day of the LORD's Wrath
11 The word of the Lord which came to Zephaniah the son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah. 2 "I will utterly consume everything From the face of the land," Says the Lord; 3 "I will consume man and beast; I will consume the birds of the heavens, The fish of the sea, And the stumbling blocks [1] along with the wicked. I will cut off man from the face of the land," Says the Lord. 4 "I will stretch out My hand against Judah, And against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem. I will cut off every trace of Baal from this place, The names of the idolatrous priests [2] with the pagan priests-- 5 Those who worship the host of heaven on the housetops; Those who worship and swear oaths by the Lord, But who also swear by Milcom; [3] 6 Those who have turned back from following the Lord, And have not sought the Lord, nor inquired of Him."
7 Be silent in the presence of the Lord God; For the day of the Lord is at hand, For the Lord has prepared a sacrifice; He has invited [4] His guests. 8 "And it shall be, In the day of the Lord's sacrifice, That I will punish the princes and the king's children, And all such as are clothed with foreign apparel. 9 In the same day I will punish All those who leap over the threshold, [5] Who fill their masters' houses with violence and deceit. 10 "And there shall be on that day," says the Lord, "The sound of a mournful cry from the Fish Gate, A wailing from the Second Quarter, And a loud crashing from the hills. 11 Wail, you inhabitants of Maktesh! [6] For all the merchant people are cut down; All those who handle money are cut off. 12 "And it shall come to pass at that time That I will search Jerusalem with lamps, And punish the men Who are settled in complacency, [7] Who say in their heart, 'The Lord will not do good, Nor will He do evil.' 13 Therefore their goods shall become booty, And their houses a desolation; They shall build houses, but not inhabit them; They shall plant vineyards, but not drink their wine."
14 The great day of the Lord is near; It is near and hastens quickly. The noise of the day of the Lord is bitter; There the mighty men shall cry out. 15 That day is a day of wrath, A day of trouble and distress, A day of devastation and desolation, A day of darkness and gloominess, A day of clouds and thick darkness, 16 A day of trumpet and alarm Against the fortified cities And against the high towers. 17 "I will bring distress upon men, And they shall walk like blind men, Because they have sinned against the Lord; Their blood shall be poured out like dust, And their flesh like refuse." 18 Neither their silver nor their gold Shall be able to deliver them In the day of the Lord's wrath; But the whole land shall be devoured By the fire of His jealousy, For He will make speedy riddance Of all those who dwell in the land.
The Day of the LORD's Wrath
11 A word of Jehovah that hath been unto Zephaniah son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezikiah, in the days of Josiah son of Amoz, king of Judah: 2 I utterly consume all from off the face of the ground, An affirmation of Jehovah. 3 I consume man and beast, I consume fowl of the heavens, and fishes of the sea, And the stumbling-blocks—the wicked, And I have cut off man from the face of the ground, An affirmation of Jehovah, 4 And stretched out My hand against Judah, And against all inhabiting Jerusalem, And cut off from this place the remnant of Baal, The name of the idolatrous priests, with the priests, 5 And those bowing themselves On the roofs to the host of the heavens, And those bowing themselves, Swearing to Jehovah, and swearing by Malcham, 6 And those removing from after Jehovah, And who have not sought Jehovah, nor besought Him.
7 Hush! because of the Lord Jehovah, For near 'is' a day of Jehovah, For prepared hath Jehovah a sacrifice, He hath sanctified His invited ones. 8 And it hath come to pass, In the day of the sacrifice of Jehovah, That I have laid a charge on the heads, And on sons of the king, And on all putting on strange clothing. 9 And I have laid a charge on every one Who is leaping over the threshold in that day, Who are filling the house of their masters 'With' violence and deceit. 10 And there hath been in that day, An affirmation of Jehovah, The noise of a cry from the fish-gate, And of a howling from the Second, And of great destruction from the hills. 11 Howl, ye inhabitants of the hollow place, For cut off hath been all the merchant people, Cut off have been all bearing silver. 12 And it hath come to pass, at that time, I search Jerusalem with lights, And I have laid a charge on the men Who are hardened on their preserved things, Who are saying in their heart: Jehovah doth no good, nor doth He evil. 13 And their wealth hath been for a spoil, And their houses for desolation, And they have built houses, and do not inhabit, And they have planted vineyards, And they do not drink their wine.
14 Near 'is' the great day of Jehovah, Near, and hasting exceedingly, The noise of the day of Jehovah, Bitterly shriek there doth a mighty one. 15 A day of wrath 'is' that day, A day of adversity and distress, A day of waste and desolation, A day of darkness and gloominess, A day of cloud and thick darkness. 16 A day of trumpet and shouting against the fenced cities, And against the high corners. 17 And I have sent distress to men, And they have walked as the blind, For against Jehovah they have sinned, And poured out is their blood as dust, And their flesh 'is' as dung. 18 Even their silver, even their gold, Is not able to deliver them in a day of the wrath of Jehovah, And in the fire of His jealousy consumed is the whole land, For only a hastened end doth He make Of all the inhabitants of the land!
The Day of the LORD's Wrath
11 The Lord gave this message to Zephaniah when Josiah son of Amon was king of Judah. Zephaniah was the son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah. 2 "I will sweep away everything from the face of the earth," says the Lord . 3 "I will sweep away people and animals alike. I will sweep away the birds of the sky and the fish in the sea. I will reduce the wicked to heaps of rubble, and I will wipe humanity from the face of the earth," says the Lord . 4 "I will crush Judah and Jerusalem with my fist and destroy every last trace of their Baal worship. I will put an end to all the idolatrous priests, so that even the memory of them will disappear. 5 For they go up to their roofs and bow down to the sun, moon, and stars. They claim to follow the Lord, but then they worship Molech, too. 6 And I will destroy those who used to worship me but now no longer do. They no longer ask for the Lord 's guidance or seek my blessings."
7 Stand in silence in the presence of the Sovereign Lord, for the awesome day of the Lord 's judgment is near. The Lord has prepared his people for a great slaughter and has chosen their executioners. 8 "On that day of judgment," says the Lord, "I will punish the leaders and princes of Judah and all those following pagan customs. 9 Yes, I will punish those who participate in pagan worship ceremonies, and those who fill their masters' houses with violence and deceit. 10 "On that day," says the Lord, "a cry of alarm will come from the Fish Gate and echo throughout the New Quarter of the city. And a great crash will sound from the hills. 11 Wail in sorrow, all you who live in the market area, for all the merchants and traders will be destroyed. 12 "I will search with lanterns in Jerusalem's darkest corners to punish those who sit complacent in their sins. They think the Lord will do nothing to them, either good or bad. 13 So their property will be plundered, their homes will be ransacked. They will build new homes but never live in them. They will plant vineyards but never drink wine from them.
14 "That terrible day of the Lord is near. Swiftly it comes- a day of bitter tears, a day when even strong men will cry out. 15 It will be a day when the Lord 's anger is poured out- a day of terrible distress and anguish, a day of ruin and desolation, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness, 16 a day of trumpet calls and battle cries. Down go the walled cities and the strongest battlements! 17 "Because you have sinned against the Lord, I will make you grope around like the blind. Your blood will be poured into the dust, and your bodies will lie rotting on the ground." 18 Your silver and gold will not save you on that day of the Lord 's anger. For the whole land will be devoured by the fire of his jealousy. He will make a terrifying end of all the people on earth.
The Day of the LORD's Wrath
11 The word of the Lord which came to Zephani'ah the son of Cushi, son of Gedali'ah, son of Amari'ah, son of Hezeki'ah, in the days of Josi'ah the son of Amon, king of Judah. 2 "I will utterly sweep away everything from the face of the earth," says the Lord. 3 "I will sweep away man and beast; I will sweep away the birds of the air and the fish of the sea. I will overthrow the wicked; I will cut off mankind from the face of the earth," says the Lord. 4 "I will stretch out my hand against Judah, and against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and I will cut off from this place the remnant of Ba'al and the name of the idolatrous priests; 5 those who bow down on the roofs to the host of the heavens; those who bow down and swear to the Lord and yet swear by Milcom; 6 those who have turned back from following the Lord, who do not seek the Lord or inquire of him."
7 Be silent before the Lord GOD! For the day of the Lord is at hand; the Lord has prepared a sacrifice and consecrated his guests. 8 And on the day of the Lord'S Sacrifice--"i will punish the officials and the king's sons and all who array themselves in foreign attire. 9 On that day I will punish every one who leaps over the threshold, and those who fill their master's house with violence and fraud." 10 "On that day," says the Lord, "a cry will be heard from the Fish Gate, a wail from the Second Quarter, a loud crash from the hills. 11 Wail, O inhabitants of the Mortar! For all the traders are no more; all who weigh out silver are cut off. 12 At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps, and I will punish the men who are thickening upon their lees, those who say in their hearts, 'The Lord will not do good, nor will he do ill.' 13 Their goods shall be plundered, and their houses laid waste. Though they build houses, they shall not inhabit them; though they plant vineyards, they shall not drink wine from them."
14 The great day of the Lord is near, near and hastening fast; the sound of the day of the Lord is bitter, the mighty man cries aloud there. 15 A day of wrath is that day, a day of distress and anguish, a day of ruin and devastation, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness, 16 a day of trumpet blast and battle cry against the fortified cities and against the lofty battlements. 17 I will bring distress on men, so that they shall walk like the blind, because they have sinned against the Lord; their blood shall be poured out like dust, and their flesh like dung. 18 Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them on the day of the wrath of the Lord. In the fire of his jealous wrath, all the earth shall be consumed; for a full, yea, sudden end he will make of all the inhabitants of the earth.