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

2    ^noteI will utterly consume all things from off ^note the land, saith the Lord.

3   I will consume man and beast; I will consume the fowls of the heaven, and the fishes of the sea, and the ^note stumbling-blocks with the wicked; and I will cut off man from off the land, saith the Lord.

4   I will also stretch out my hand upon Judah and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and I will cut off the remnant of Baal from this place, and the name of the Chemarims with the priests;

5   And them that worship the host of heaven upon the house-tops; and them that worship and that swear ^note by the Lord, and that swear by Malcham;

6   And them that have turned back from the Lord; and those that have not sought the Lord, nor inquired for him.

7   Hold thy peace at the presence of the Lord God: for the day of the Lord is at hand: for the Lord hath prepared a sacrifice, he hath ^note invited his guests.

8   And it shall come to pass in the day of the Lord's sacrifice, that I will ^note punish the princes, and the king's children, and all such as are clothed with foreign apparel.

9   In the same day also will I punish all those that leap on the threshhold, who fill their masters' houses with violence and deceit.

10   And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord, that there shall be the noise of a cry from the fish-gate, and a howling from the second, and a great crashing from the hills.

11   Howl, ye inhabitants of Maktesh, for all the merchant people are cut down; all they that bear silver are cut off.

12   And it shall come to pass at that time, that I will search Jerusalem with candles, and punish the men that are ^note settled on their lees: that say in their heart, The Lord will not do good, neither will he do evil.

13   Therefore their goods shall become a booty, and their houses a desolation: they shall also build houses, but ^note not inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, but not drink the wine of them.

14   The great day of the Lord is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the Lord: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly.

15   That day is a day of ^note wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasting and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness,

16   A day of the trumpet and alarm against the fortified cities, and against the high towers.

17   And I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the Lord: and their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as the dung.

18    ^noteNeither 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 ^note devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he will make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land. CHAP. II. 1 An exhortation to repentance. 4 The judgment of the Philistines, 8 of Moab and Ammon, 12 of Ethiopia and Assyria.

1    ^noteAssemble yourselves, yes, assemble, O nation ^note not desired;

2   Before the decree bringeth forth, before the day passeth as the chaff, before the fierce anger of the Lord cometh upon you, before the day of the Lord's anger cometh upon you.

3   Seek ye the Lord, all ye meek of the earth, who have performed his judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye will be hid in the day of the Lord's anger.

4   ¶2; For Gaza shall be forsaken, and Ashkelon a desolation: they shall drive out Ashdod at the noon day, and Ekron shall be rooted up.

5   Woe to the inhabitants of the sea coasts, the nation of the Cherethites! the word of the Lord is against you; O Canaan, the land of the Philistines, I will even destroy thee, that there shall be no inhabitant.

6   And the sea coast shall be dwellings and cottages for shepherds, and folds for flocks.

7   And the coasts shall be for the remnant of the house of Judah; they shall feed upon them: in the houses of Ashkelon shall they lie down in the evening: ^note for the Lord their God will visit them, and turn away their captivity.

8   ¶2; I have heard the reproach of Moab,

Before CHRIST, 630. and the revilings of the children of Ammon, by which they have reproached my people, and magnified themselves against their border.

9   Therefore as I live, saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Surely Moab shall be as Sodom, and the children of Ammon as Gomorrah, even the breeding of nettles, and salt-pits, and a perpetual desolation: the residue of my people shall lay them waste, and the remnant of my people shall possess them.

10   This shall they have for their pride, because they have reproached and magnified themselves against the people of the Lord of hosts.

11   The Lord will be terrible to them: for he will ^note famish all the gods of the earth; and men shall worship him, every one from his place, even all the isles of the heathen.

12   ¶2; Ye Cushites also, ye shall be slain by my sword.

13   And he will stretch out his hand against the north, and destroy Assyria; and will make Nineveh a desolation, and dry like a wilderness.

14   And flocks shall lie down in the midst of her, all the beasts of the nations: both the ^{note note} cormorant and the bittern shall lodge in the ^note upper lintels of it; their voice shall sing in the windows; desolation shall be in the threshholds: ^note for he shall uncover the cedar work.

15   This is the rejoicing city that dwelt in security, that said in her heart, ^note I am, and there is none besides me: how is she become a desolation, a place for beasts to lie down in! every one that passeth by her shall hiss, and wag his hand. CHAP. III. 1 A sharp reproof of Jerusalem for divers sins. 8 An exhortation to wait for the restoration of Israel, 14 and to rejoice for their salvation by God.

1   Woe to ^{note note} her that is filthy and polluted, to the oppressing city!

2   She obeyed not the voice; she received not ^note correction; she trusted not in the Lord; she drew not near to her God.

3    ^noteHer princes within her are roaring lions; her judges are evening wolves; they gnaw not the bones till the morrow.

4   Her ^note prophets are light and treacherous persons: her priests have polluted the sanctuary, they have done ^note violence to the law.

5   The just Lord is in the midst of her; he will not do iniquity: ^note every morning doth he bring his judgment to light, he faileth not; but the unjust knoweth no shame.

6   I have cut off the nations: their ^note towers are desolate; I made their streets waste, that none passeth by: their cities are destroyed, so that there is no man, that there is no inhabitant.

7   I said, Surely thou wilt fear me, thou wilt receive instruction; so their dwelling should not be cut off, however I punished them: but they rose early, and corrupted all their doings.

8   ¶2; Therefore wait ye upon me, saith the Lord, until the day that I rise up to the prey: for my determination is to gather the nations, that I may assemble the kingdoms, to pour upon them my indignation, even all my fierce anger: for all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of my ^note jealousy.

9   For then will I turn to the people a pure ^note language, that they may all call upon the name of the Lord, to serve him with one ^note consent.

10   From beyond the rivers of Cush my suppliants, even the daughter of my dispersed, shall bring my offering.

11   In that day shalt thou not be ashamed for all thy doings, in which thou hast transgressed against me: for then I will take away out of the midst of thee them that rejoice in thy pride, and thou shalt no more be haughty ^note because of my holy mountain.

12   I will also leave in the midst of thee an afflicted and poor people, and they shall trust in the name of the Lord.

13   The remnant of Israel shall not do iniquity, nor speak lies; neither shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth: for they shall feed and lie down, and none shall make them afraid.

14   ¶2; Sing, O ^note daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel; be glad and rejoice with all the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem.

15   The Lord hath taken away thy judgments, he hath cast out thy enemy: the King of Israel, even the Lord, is in the midst of thee: thou shalt not see evil any more.

16   In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem, Fear thou not: and to Zion, Let not thy hands be ^note slack.

17   The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; ^note he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.

18   I will gather them that are sorrowful for the solemn assembly, who are of thee, to whom ^note the reproach of it was a burden.

19   Behold, at that time I will undo all that afflict thee: and I will save her that ^note halteth, and gather her that was driven out; and ^note I will get them praise and fame in every land ^note where they have been put to shame.

20   At that time will I bring you again, even in the time that I gather you: for I will make you a name and a praise among all people of the earth, when I turn back your captivity before your eyes, saith the Lord.

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