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ZEPHANIAH
CHAPTER
1
1
The worde of the Lord which came vnto Zephaniah the son of Cushi, the son of
Gedaliah, the sonne of Amariah, the sonne of Hizkiah, in the dayes of Iosiah,
the sonne of Amon king of Iudah.
2 I will vtterly consume all things from off the land, saith the Lord.
3 I will consume man and beast: I will consume the foules of the heauen and the
fishes of the sea, and the stumbling blocks with the wicked, and I will cut off
man from off the land, saith the Lord.
4 I will also stretch out mine hand vpon Iudah, and vpon all the inhabitants of
Ierusalem, 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 hoste of heauen vpon the house tops, & them that
worship, and that sweare by the Lord, and that sweare by Malcham:
6 And them that are turned backe from the Lord, & those that haue not sought
ye Lord, nor enquired 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 bid his ghests.
8 And it shall come to passe in the day of the Lords Sacrifice, that I will
punish the princes, and the kings children, and al such as are clothed with
strange apparell.
9 In the same day also wil I punish all those that leape on the threshold, which
fill their masters houses with violence and deceit.
10 And it shall come to passe in that day, saith the Lord, that there shall be
the noise of a cry from the fish gate, and an howling from the second, and a
great crashing from the hils.
11 Howle yee inhabitants of Maktesh, for all the merchant people are cut downe:
all they that beare siluer are cut off.
12 And it shall come to passe at that time, that I wil search Ierusalem with
candles, and punish the men that are setled on their lees, that say in their
heart, The Lord will not doe good, neither will he doe euill.
13 Therefore their goods shall become a booty, and their houses a desolation:
they shall also build houses, but not inhabite them, and they shall plant
Uineyards, but not drinke the wine thereof.
14 The great day of the Lord is neere, it is neere, and hasteth greatly, euen
the voice of the day of the Lord: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly.
15 That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distresse, a day of
wastenesse and desolation, a day of darknesse and gloominesse, a day of cloudes
and thicke darkenesse;
16 A day of the trumpet and alarme against the fenced cities, and against the
high towres.
17 And I will bring distresse vpon men, that they shall walke like blinde men,
because they haue sinned against the Lord, and their blood shall bee powred out
as dust, and their flesh as the doung.
18 Neither their siluer nor their golde shall be able to deliuer them in the day
of the Lords wrath; but the whole land shall bee deuoured by the fire of his
iealousie: for hee shall make euen a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in
the land.
CHAPTER
2
1 Gather your selues together, yea gather together, O nation not desired.
2 Before the decree bring foorth, before the day passe as the chaffe, before the
fierce anger of the Lord come vpon you, before the day of the Lords anger come
vpon you.
3 Seeke ye the Lord all ye meeke of the earth, which haue wrought his iudgement,
seeke righteousnesse, seeke meeknesse: it may be, ye shall be hid in the day of
the Lords anger.
4 For Gaza shall bee forsaken, and Ashkelon a desolation: they shall driue out
Ashdod at the noone day, and Ekron shall be rooted vp.
5 Woe vnto the inhabitants of the sea coast: the nation of the Cherethites, the
word of the Lord is against you: O Canaan, the land of the Philistines, I will
euen destroy thee, that there shal be no inhabitant.
6 And the sea coast shall bee dwellings and cottages for shepheards, and foldes
for flockes.
7 And the coast shall bee for the remnant of the house of Iudah, they shall
feede thereupon, in the houses of Ashkelon shall they lie downe in the euening:
for the Lord their God shall visite them, and turne away their captiuitie.
8 I haue heard the reproach of Moab, and the reuilings of the children of Ammon,
whereby they haue reproched my people, and magnified themselues against their
border.
9 Therefore, as I liue, saith the Lord of hostes the God of Israel, surely Moab
shalbe as Sodom, and the children of Ammon as Gomorrah, euen the breeding of
netles, and salt pits, and a perpetuall desolation, the residue of my people
shall spoile them, and the remnant of my people shall possesse them.
10 This shall they haue for their pride, because they haue reproched and
magnified themselues against the people of the Lord of hostes.
11 The Lord will be terrible vnto them: for he will famish all the gods of the
earth, and men shall worship him, euery one from his place, euen all the Iles of
the heathen.
12 Ye Ethiopians also, ye shalbe slaine by my sword.
13 And he wil stretch out his hand against the North, and destroy Assyria, and
wil make Nineueh a desolation, and dry like a wildernes.
14 And flocks shall lie downe in the midst of her, all the beasts of the
nations: both the Cormorant, and the Bitterne, shall lodge in the vpper lintels
of it: their voice shal sing in the windowes, desolation shall be in the
thresholds: for he shall vncouer the Cedar worke.
15 This is the reioycing citie that dwelt carelessely, that said in her heart, I
am, and there is none beside me: how is shee become a desolation, a place for
beasts to lie downe in! euery one that passeth by her, shall hisse and wagge his
hand.
CHAPTER
3
1 Woe to her that is filthie and polluted, to the oppressing citie.
2 She obeyed not the voice: she receiued not correction: she trusted not in the
Lord: she drew not neere to her God.
3 Her princes within her are roaring lyons; her Iudges are euening wolues, they
gnaw not the bones till the morrow.
4 Her prophets are light and treacherous persons: her priests haue polluted the
Sanctuarie, they haue done violence to the Law.
5 The iust Lord is in the middest thereof: he will not doe iniquitie: euery
morning doeth hee bring his iudgement to light, he faileth not: but the vniust
knoweth no shame.
6 I haue cut off the nations: their towres are desolate, I made their streetes
waste, that none passeth by: their cities are destroied, so that there is no
man, that there is none inhabitant.
7 I said, Surely thou wilt feare mee: thou wilt receiue instruction: so their
dwelling should not bee cut off, howsoeuer I punished them: but they rose early,
& corrupted all their doings.
8 Therefore waite ye vpon mee, sayth the Lord, vntill the day that I rise vp to
the pray: for my determination is to gather the nations, that I may assemble the
kingdomes to powre vpon them mine indignation, euen all my fierce anger: for all
the earth shalbe deuoured with the fire of my iealousie.
9 For then will I turne to the people a pure language, that they may all call
vpon the Name of the Lord, to serue him with one consent.
10 From beyond the riuers of Ethiopia, my suppliants, euen the daughter of my
dispersed shal bring mine offring.
11 In that day shalt thou not be ashamed for all thy doings, wherein thou hast
transgressed against me: for then I will take away out of the midst of thee them
that reioyce in thy pride, and thou shalt no more be haughty because of mine
holy mountaine.
12 I will also leaue in the middest of thee an afflicted and poore people: and
they shall trust in the Name of the Lord.
13 The remnant of Israel shall not doe iniquitie, nor speake lies: neither shall
a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth: for they shall feede, and lie downe,
and none shall make them afraid.
14 Sing, O daughter of Zion: shout, O Israel: be glad and reioyce with all the
heart, O daughter of Ierusalem.
15 The Lord hath taken away thy iudgements, he hath cast out thine enemy: the
King of Israel, euen the Lord is in the middest of thee: thou shalt not see
euill any more.
16 In that day it shall be said to Ierusalem, Feare thou not: and to Zion, Let
not thine hands be slacke.
17 The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mightie: hee will saue, he will
reioyce ouer thee with ioy: hee will rest in his loue, hee will ioy ouer thee
with singing.
18 I will gather them that are sorrowfull for the solemne assembly, who are of
thee, to whom the reproch of it was a burden.
19 Behold, at that time I will vndoe all that afflict thee, and I will saue her
that halteth, and gather her that was driuen out, and I will get them praise and
fame in euery land, where they haue beene put to shame.
20 At that time will I bring you againe euen 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 turne
backe your captiuitie before your eyes, saith the Lord.
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