The Book of Zephaniah

Chapter 1
1 The word of Yahweh 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 shall terminate, yea terminate everything off the surface of the ground, averring is Yahweh.
3 I shall terminate human and beast. I shall terminate the flyer of the heavens And the fish of the sea, And the stumbling blocks with the wicked. And I will cut humanity off the surface of the ground, averring is Yahweh.
4 I will stretch out My hand over Judah, And over all dwellers of Jerusalem; And I will cut off the name of Baal from this place, And the name of the idolatrous priests with the priests,
5 And those worshipping on the housetops to the host of the heavens, And those worshipping swearing to Yahweh and swearing by Milcom,
6 And those turned away from following Yahweh, who do not seek Yahweh, nor inquire of Him.
7 Be quelled at the presence of my Lord Yahweh, For near is the day of Yahweh! For Yahweh prepares a sacrifice; He sanctifies His called ones.
8 It will be in the day of Yahweh’s sacrifice That I visit evil on the chiefs and on the king’s sons, And on all those clothed in foreign clothing.
9 And I will visit evil on everyone leaping over the threshold in that day, Those filling the house of their lords with violence and deceit.
10 There will come in that day, averring is Yahweh, The sound of a cry from the Fish Gate, And a howling from the Second Quarter, And a great breaking from the hills:
11 Howl, dwellers of the Mortar, For all the trafficker people will be stilled; All transporters of silver will be cut off.
12 It will be at that season I shall search Jerusalem with lamps, And I will visit evil on the men who are curdled on their lees, Those saying in their heart, Yahweh shall not do good, Nor shall He do evil.
13 Their estate will be robbed, And their houses a desolation; Though they build houses, yet they shall not dwell in them; Though they plant vineyards, yet they shall not drink their wine.
14 Near is the great day of Yahweh! Near and exceedingly swift! The sound of the day of Yahweh will be bitter! There the master shall raise the battlecry!
15 A day of rage will be that day, A day of distress and constraint, A day of thunderstorm and ruination, A day of darkness and gloominess, A day of cloud and murkiness,
16 A day of trumpet and shout of alarm against the fortressed cities, And against the lofty corner towers.
17 I will bring distress on humanity, and they will walk like the blind, For against Yahweh they sin; Their blood will be poured out like soil, And their intestines like ordure.
18 Moreover, their silver and their gold, it shall not be able to rescue them In the day of the rage of Yahweh; By the fire of His jealousy the entire land shall be devoured; For a finish, yea, one speeded up, shall He make of all dwelling in the land.

Chapter 2
1 Gather yourselves together! Yea gather together, nation not longed for!
2 Ere the statute is generated and the day passes by like trash, Ere, behold, the hot anger of Yahweh be coming on you, Ere, behold, the day of the anger of Yahweh be coming on you,
3 Seek Yahweh, all you humble of the land, Who have executed His ordinance; Seek righteousness, seek humility. Perhaps you shall be concealed in the day of Yahweh’s anger.
4 For Gaza, it shall become forsaken, And Ashkelon a desolation. Ashdod they shall drive her out at noon, And Ekron, it shall be chopped down.
5 Woe to the dwellers of the seaboard, the nation of the Kerethites! The word of Yahweh is against you, Canaan, land of the Philistines! And I will destroy you, until there be no dweller.
6 And the seaboard will come to be a homestead, Meadows of shepherds And stone dike sheepfolds for flocks.
7 And the seaboard will come to be for the remnant of the house of Judah; On which they shall graze; In the houses of Ashkelon shall they recline in the evening, For Yahweh their Elohim shall visit them, and will reverse their captivity.
8 I hear the reproach of Moab, And the taunts of the sons of Ammon, Who reproach My people, And are magnifying themselves against their boundary.
9 Therefore, as I live, averring is Yahweh of hosts, the Elohim of Israel, Indeed, Moab, it shall become like Sodom, And the sons of Ammon like Gomorrah: A washed out place of prickly acanthus and salt diggings, And a desolation until the eon. The remnant of My people, they shall plunder them, And those left of My nation, they shall take their allotment.
10 This will be theirs in place of their pomp, seeing that they reproach, And they are magnifying themselves against the people of Yahweh of hosts.
11 Yahweh will be fearful against them, For He will make all the elohim of the earth lean; And all the coastlands of the nations, each man from his place, shall worship Him.
12 Moreover, you, Cushites By My sword they will be slain!
13 He shall stretch out His hand against the north, And He shall destroy Assyria, And He shall make Nineveh a desolation, An arid place like the wilderness.
14 And droves will recline in its midst, every wild animal of the ravine; Moreover, the pelican, and the hedgehog, they shall lodge in its shelters. A voice shall sing in the window, A raven in the threshold, for the cedar work, it will be denuded.
15 This is the joyous city dwelling in serenity, Saying in her heart, I, and no one else! How she has become a desolation, a reclining place for the wild animal! Every one passing by her shall hiss and shall wag his hand.

Chapter 3
1 Woe to her that is rebellious and sullied, the tyrannizing city!
2 She hearkens not to a voice; She takes no discipline; In Yahweh she does not trust; To her Elohim she does not draw near.
3 Her chief officials within her are roaring lions; Her judges are evening wolves; They pick clean, leaving nothing for the morning.
4 Her prophets are reckless, men of treachery; Her priests, they profane the holy place; They do violence to the law.
5 Yahweh is righteous in her midst; He does no iniquity; Morning by morning He is giving out His right judgment; With each first light He does not fail; Yet the iniquitous one is not knowing shame.
6 I cut off the proud; Their corner towers are desolated. I make their streets deserted, without a passerby. Their cities are vandalized, without a man, without a dweller.
7 I said, Surely you shall fear Me; You shall take discipline, So that her habitation shall not be cut off, All that I have appointed for her. Nevertheless, they rose early; They made all their practices corrupt.
8 Therefore, tarry for Me, averring is Yahweh, For the day when I rise to testify, Seeing that My judgment is to gather the nations, To convene the kingdoms, To pour out My indignation upon them, All the heat of My anger, For, by the fire of My jealousy, the entire earth shall be devoured.
9 For then I shall transform the peoples to a pure lip, For them all to call on the Name of Yahweh, To serve Him with one shoulder.
10 From across the streams of Cush, My entreaters, The daughter of My scattered ones, they shall fetch My approach present.
11 In that day you shall not be put to shame because of all your practices, In which you transgressed against Me, For then I shall take away from your midst the revelers of your pride, And you shall not continue further to be haughty in My holy mountain.
12 Yet I will cause a people, humble and poor, to remain in your midst, And they will take refuge in the Name of Yahweh.
13 The remnant of Israel, they shall not do iniquity nor speak a lie, Nor shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth. For they shall graze, and recline, And no one is causing them to tremble.
14 Be jubilant, daughter of Zion! Raise a joyful shout, Israel! Rejoice and be joyous with all your heart, daughter of Jerusalem!
15 Yahweh takes away your judgments; He turns your enemies around. The King of Israel, Yahweh, is in your midst; You shall not see evil any more.
16 In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem, Do not fear! Zion, let not your hands slacken!
17 Yahweh, your Elohim, is in your midst; The Masterful One, He shall save. He shall be elated over you with rejoicing; He shall renew you in His love; He shall exult over you with jubilant song.
18 Those afflicted away from the appointed assembly, I will gather; They are away from you; It is a load upon her, a reproach.
19 Behold, I shall deal with all those humbling you, at that season. And I will save her who is limping, And I shall convene her who is expelled, And I will make them a praise and a name In the entire earth of their shame.
20 At that season I shall bring you in, Even at the season when I convene you, For I shall give you a name and a praise among all the peoples of the earth, When I reverse your captivities before your eyes, says Yahweh.