Day of Judgment on Judah

1The 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 [a]earth,” declares the LORD.

3“I will remove human and animal life;

I will remove the birds of the sky

And the fish of the sea,

And the [b]ruins along with the wicked;

And I will eliminate mankind from the face of the [c]earth,” declares the LORD.

4“So I will stretch out My hand against Judah

And against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

And I will eliminate the remnant of Baal from this place,

And the names of the idolatrous priests along with the other priests.

5“And those who bow down on the housetops to the heavenly [d]lights,

And those who bow down and swear to the LORD, but also swear by [e]Milcom,

6And those who have turned back from following the LORD,

And those who have not sought the LORD nor inquired of Him.”

7[f]Be silent before the Lord [g]GOD!

For the day of the LORD is near,

Because 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 on that day I will punish all who leap on the temple threshold,

Who fill the house of their [h]lord with violence and deceit.

10“And on that day,” declares the LORD,

“There will be the sound of a cry from the Fish Gate,

Wailing from the [i]Second Quarter,

And a loud crash from the hills.

11“Wail, you inhabitants of the [j]Mortar,

Because all the [k]people of Canaan will be destroyed;

All who weigh out silver will be eliminated.

12“And it will come about at that time

That I will search Jerusalem with lamps,

And I will punish the people

Who are [l]stagnant in spirit,

Who say in their hearts,

‘The LORD will not do good nor harm!’

13“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.”

14The great day of the LORD is near,

Near and coming very quickly;

Listen, the day of the LORD!

[m]In it the warrior cries out bitterly.

15That day is a day of anger,

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,

16A day of trumpet and battle cry

Against the fortified cities

And the high corner towers.

17I will bring distress on mankind

So that they will walk like those who are blind,

Because they have sinned against the LORD;

And their blood will be poured out like dust,

And their flesh like dung.

18Neither their silver nor their gold

Will be able to save them

On the day of the LORD’S anger;

And all the earth will be devoured

By the fire of His jealousy,

For He will make a complete end,

Indeed a horrifying one,

Of all the inhabitants of the earth.

[a] 2 Lit ground
[b] 3 Or stumbling blocks
[c] 3 Lit ground
[d] 5 Lit host; i.e., sun, stars, etc.
[e] 5 Or their king; MT Malcam, prob. a variant spelling of Milcom, the Ammonite god
[f] 7 Lit Hush
[g] 7 Heb YHWH, usually rendered LORD
[h] 9 Or Lord
[i] 10 I.e., a district of Jerusalem
[j] 11 I.e., a district of Jerusalem
[k] 11 Or merchant people will
[l] 12 Lit thickening on their dregs
[m] 14 Lit There