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ZEPHANIAH
CHAPTER
1
1
The word of Jehovah which came unto Zephaniah the son of Cushi, the son of
Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah the son
of Amon, king of Judah.
2 I will utterly consume all things from off the face of the ground, saith
Jehovah.
3 I will consume man and beast; I will consume the birds of the heavens, and the
fishes of the sea, and the stumblingblocks with the wicked; and I will cut off
man from off the face of the ground, saith Jehovah.
4 And I will 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 Chemarim with the priests;
5 and them that worship the host of heaven upon the housetops; and them that
worship, that swear to Jehovah and swear by Malcam;
6 and them that are turned back from following Jehovah; and those that have not
sought Jehovah, nor inquired after him.
7 Hold thy peace at the presence of the Lord Jehovah; for the day of Jehovah is
at hand: for Jehovah hath prepared a sacrifice, he hath consecrated his guests.
8 And it shall come to pass in the day of Jehovah's sacrifice, that I will
punish the princes, and the king's sons, and all such as are clothed with
foreign apparel.
9 And in that day I will punish all those that leap over the threshold, that
fill their master's house with violence and deceit.
10 And in that day, saith Jehovah, there shall be the noise of a cry from the
fish gate, and a wailing from the second quarter, and a great crashing from the
hills.
11 Wail, ye inhabitants of Maktesh; for all the people of Canaan are undone; all
they that were laden with silver are cut off.
12 And it shall come to pass at that time, that I will search Jerusalem with
lamps; and I will punish the men that are settled on their lees, that say in
their heart, Jehovah will not do good, neither will he do evil.
13 And their wealth shall become a spoil, and their houses a desolation: yea,
they shall build houses, but shall not inhabit them; and they shall plant
vineyards, but shall not drink the wine thereof.
14 The great day of Jehovah is near, it is near and hasteth greatly, `even' the
voice of the day of Jehovah; the mighty man crieth there bitterly.
15 That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness
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 battlements.
17 And I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like blind men,
because they have sinned against Jehovah; and their blood shall be poured out as
dust, and their flesh as dung.
18 Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day
of Jehovah's wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his
jealousy: for he will make an end, yea, a terrible end, of all them that dwell
in the land.
CHAPTER
2
1 Gather yourselves together, yea, gather together, O nation that hath no shame;
2 before the decree bring forth, `before' the day pass as the chaff, before the
fierce anger of Jehovah come upon you, before the day of Jehovah's anger come
upon you.
3 Seek ye Jehovah, all ye meek of the earth, that have kept his ordinances; seek
righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye will be hid in the day of Jehovah's
anger.
4 For Gaza shall be forsaken, and Ashkelon a desolation; they shall drive out
Ashdod at noonday, and Ekron shall be rooted up.
5 Woe unto the inhabitants of the sea-coast, the nation of the Cherethites! The
word of Jehovah is against you, O Canaan, the land of the Philistines; I will
destroy thee, that there shall be no inhabitant.
6 And the sea-coast shall be pastures, with cottages for shepherds and folds for
flocks.
7 And the coast shall be for the remnant of the house of Judah; they shall feed
`their flocks' thereupon; in the houses of Ashkelon shall they lie down in the
evening; for Jehovah their God will visit them, and bring back their captivity.
8 I have heard the reproach of Moab, and the revilings of the children of Ammon,
wherewith they have reproached my people, and magnified themselves against their
border.
9 Therefore as I live, saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, Surely Moab
shall be as Sodom, and the children of Ammon as Gomorrah, a possession of
nettles, and saltpits, and a perpetual desolation: the residue of my people
shall make a prey of them, and the remnant of my nation shall inherit them.
10 This shall they have for their pride, because they have reproached and
magnified themselves against the people of Jehovah of hosts.
11 Jehovah will be terrible unto them; for he will famish all the gods of the
earth; and men shall worship him, every one from his place, even all the isles
of the nations.
12 Ye Ethiopians 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 the wilderness.
14 And herds shall lie down in the midst of her, all the beasts of the nations:
both the pelican and the porcupine shall lodge in the capitals thereof; `their'
voice shall sing in the windows; desolation shall be in the thresholds: for he
hath laid bare the cedar-work.
15 This is the joyous city that dwelt carelessly, that said in her heart, 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.
CHAPTER
3
1 Woe to her that is rebellious and polluted! to the oppressing city!
2 She obeyed not the voice; she received not correction; she trusted not in
Jehovah; she drew not near to her God.
3 Her princes in the midst of her are roaring lions; her judges are evening
wolves; they leave nothing till the morrow.
4 Her prophets are light and treacherous persons; her priests have profaned the
sanctuary, they have done violence to the law.
5 Jehovah in the midst of her is righteous; he will not do iniquity; every
morning doth he bring his justice to light, he faileth not; but the unjust
knoweth no shame.
6 I have cut off nations; their battlements are desolate; I have made their
streets waste, so that none passeth by; their cities are destroyed, so that
there is no man, so that there is no inhabitant.
7 I said, Only fear thou me; receive correction; so her dwelling shall not be
cut off, `according to' all that I have appointed concerning her: but they rose
early and corrupted all their doings.
8 Therefore wait ye for me, saith Jehovah, 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 mine indignation, even all my fierce anger; for all
the earth shall be devoured with the fire of my jealousy.
9 For then will I turn to the peoples of a pure language, that they may all call
upon the name of Jehovah, to serve him with one consent.
10 From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia my suppliants, even the daughter of my
dispersed, shall bring mine offering.
11 In that day shalt thou not be put to shame for all thy doings, wherein thou
hast transgressed against me; for then I will take away out of the midst of thee
thy proudly exulting ones, and thou shalt no more be haughty in my holy
mountain.
12 But I will leave in the midst of thee an afflicted and poor people, and they
shall take refuge in the name of Jehovah.
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 Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel; be glad and rejoice with all the
heart, O daughter of Jerusalem.
15 Jehovah hath taken away thy judgments, he hath cast out thine enemy: the King
of Israel, even Jehovah, is in the midst of thee; thou shalt not fear evil any
more.
16 In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem, Fear thou not; O Zion, let not thy
hands be slack.
17 Jehovah thy God is in the midst of thee, a mighty one who will save; he will
rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love; he will joy over thee with
singing.
18 I will gather them that sorrow for the solemn assembly, who were of thee; `to
whom' the burden upon her was a reproach.
19 Behold, at that time I will deal with all them that afflict thee; and I will
save that which is lame, and gather that which was driven away; and I will make
them a praise and a name, whose shame hath been in all the earth.
20 At that time will I bring you in, and at that time will I gather you; for I
will make you a name and a praise among all the peoples of the earth, when I
bring back your captivity before your eyes, saith Jehovah.
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