Zephaniah 1

1The word of Yahweh that 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:

2I will utterly sweep away everything from the face of the earth, declares Yahweh.

3I will sweep away man and beast; I will sweep away the birds of the heavens and the fish of the sea, and the stumbling blocks with the wicked. And I will cut off man from the face of the ground,” declares Yahweh.

4And I will stretch out my hand against Judah and against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and I will cut off from this place the remnant of Baal, the name of the idolatrous priests along with the priests,

5those who bow down on the rooftops to the host of heaven, and those who bow down, who swear by Yahweh and swear by Milcom.

6and those who turn back from following Yahweh, and who do not seek Yahweh or inquire of him.

7Be silent before the Lord GOD, for the day of Yahweh is near; for Yahweh has prepared a sacrifice; he has consecrated his invited ones.

8And on the day of Yahweh’s sacrifice, I will punish the officials, the king’s sons, and all who wear foreign clothing.

9And on that day I will punish all who leap over the threshold, who fill their masters’ house with violence and deceit.

10And on that day, declares Yahweh, there will be the sound of a cry from the Fish Gate, and a wail from the Second Quarter, and a great crash from the hills.

11Wail, inhabitants of the Mortar, for all the merchant people are destroyed; all who weigh out silver are cut off.

12And it will happen at that time: I will search Jerusalem with lamps, and I will punish the men who have grown thick on their dregs, who say in their hearts, 'The LORD will not do good, nor will he do harm.'

13Their wealth will become plunder, and their houses a desolation; they will build houses but not inhabit them, and plant vineyards but not drink their wine.

14The great day of Yahweh is near—near and coming very quickly. The sound of the day of Yahweh: there the warrior cries out bitterly.

15That day is a day of wrath, a day of distress and anguish, a day of ruin and devastation, 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 against the high battlements.

17And I will bring distress on mankind, and they will walk like the blind, because they have sinned against Yahweh; their blood will be poured out like dust, and their flesh like dung.

18Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to deliver them on the day of Yahweh’s wrath, and in the fire of his jealousy all the earth will be consumed; for he will make a complete, indeed sudden, end of all the inhabitants of the earth.