Zephaniah 1

¹ The word of Yahweh that was addressed to Zephaniah son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah, in the reign of Josiah son of Amon, king of Judah.

² I mean to sweep away everything off the face of the earth – it is Yahweh who speaks.

³ I mean to sweep away men and beasts, the birds of the air and the fish of the sea, I mean to send the wicked staggering, and wipe man off the face of the earth – it is Yahweh who speaks.

⁴ I am going to raise my hand against Judah and against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and from this place I will wipe out Baal, to the very last vestige of him, even to the name of his spurious priests,

⁵ those who prostrate themselves on the roofs before the array of heaven, those who prostrate themselves before Yahweh but swear by Milcom,[*a]

⁶ those who turn aside from Yahweh, who do not seek Yahweh, who will not bother with him.

⁷ Silence before the Lord Yahweh! For the day of Yahweh is near. Yes, Yahweh has prepared a sacrifice, he has consecrated his guests.

⁸ On the day of Yahweh’s sacrifice, I will punish the ministers, the royal princes, and all those who dress themselves in foreign style.

⁹ On that day I mean to punish all those who are near the throne, those who fill the palace of their lord with violence and deceit.

¹⁰ On that day – it is Yahweh who speaks – a shout will be raised from the Fish Gate, from the new town, howls, from the hills, a great uproar.

¹¹ Men of the Mortar, howl! For the whole brood of Canaan[*c] has been destroyed, the weighers of silver are all wiped out.

¹² When that time comes I will search Jerusalem by torchlight, and punish the men who are stagnating on their lees, those who say in their hearts, ‘Yahweh has no power for good or for evil’.

¹³ Then their wealth will be given up to looting, their households to plundering. They built houses, did they? They will not live in them. They planted vineyards, did they? They will not drink their wine.

¹⁴ The great day of Yahweh is near, near, and coming with all speed. How bitter the sound of the day of Yahweh, the day when the warrior shouts his cry of war.

¹⁵ A day of wrath, that day, a day of distress and agony, a day of ruin and of devastation, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of cloud and blackness,

¹⁶ a day of trumpet blast and battle cry against fortified town and high corner-tower.

¹⁷ I am going to bring such distress on men that they will grope like the blind (because they have sinned against Yahweh); their blood will be scattered like dust, their corpses like dung.

¹⁸ Neither their silver nor their gold will have any power to save them. On the day of the anger of Yahweh, in the fire of his jealousy, all the earth will be consumed. For he means to destroy, yes, to make an end of all the inhabitants of the earth.