Zephaniah 1

¹The word of the Lord that came to Zephaniah the son of Cushi , son of Gedaliah , son of Amariah , son of Hezekiah , in the days of Josiah the son of Amon , king of Judah .

²I will utterly sweep away everything from the face of the earth , declares the Lord.

³I will sweep away man and beast ; I will sweep away the birds of the heavens and the fish of the sea , and the rubble with the wicked . I will cut off mankind from the face of the earth , declares the Lord.

⁴I 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 Baal and the name of the idolatrous priests along with the priests ,

⁵those 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 ,

⁶those who have turned back from following the Lord, who do not seek the Lord or inquire of him.

⁷Be silent before the Lord God! For the day of the Lord is near ; the Lord has prepared a sacrifice and consecrated his guests .

⁸And 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 .

⁹On that day I will punish everyone who leaps over the threshold , and those who fill their master’s house with violence and fraud .

¹⁰On that day , declares the Lord, a cry will be heard from the Fish Gate , a wail from the Second Quarter, a loud crash from the hills .

¹¹Wail , O inhabitants of the Mortar ! For all the traders are no more; all who weigh out silver are cut off .

¹²At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps , and I will punish the men who are complacent , those who say in their hearts , The Lord will not do good , nor will he do ill .

¹³Their 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.

¹⁴The 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 .

¹⁵A 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 ,

¹⁶a day of trumpet blast and battle cry against the fortified cities and against the lofty battlements .

¹⁷I will bring distress on mankind , 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 .

¹⁸Neither 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 jealousy , all the earth shall be consumed ; for a full and sudden end he will make of all the inhabitants of the earth .