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(A) I am Zephaniah, the son of Cushi, the grandson of Gedaliah, the great-grandson of Amariah, and the great-great-grandson of Hezekiah.[a]

When Josiah son of Amon was king of Judah,[b] the Lord gave me this message.

Judgment on Judah

I, the Lord, now promise
to destroy everything
    on this earth—
people and animals,
    birds and fish.
Everyone who is evil
    will crash to the ground,[c]
and I will wipe out
    the entire human race.
I will reach out to punish
    Judah and Jerusalem—
nothing will remain
    of the god Baal;[d]
nothing will be remembered
    of his pagan priests.
Not a trace will be found
of those who worship stars
    from their rooftops,
or bow down to the god Milcom,[e]
while claiming loyalty
    to me, the Lord.
Nothing will remain of anyone
who has turned away
    and rejected me.

Be silent! I am the Lord God,
    and the time is near.
I am preparing
to sacrifice my people
    and to invite my guests.
On that day I will punish
national leaders
    and sons of the king,
along with all who follow
    foreign customs.[f]
I will punish worshipers
    of pagan gods[g]
and cruel palace officials
    who abuse their power.

10 I, the Lord, promise
    that on that day
noisy crying will be heard
from Fish Gate, New Town,
    and Upper Hills.
11 Everyone in Lower Hollow[h]
    will mourn loudly,
because merchants
and money changers
    will be wiped out.
12 I'll search Jerusalem with lamps
    and punish those people
who sit there unworried
    while thinking,
“The Lord won't do anything,
    good or bad.”
13 Their possessions will be taken,
    their homes left in ruins.
They won't get to live
    in the houses they build,
or drink wine from the grapes
    in their own vineyards.

A Terrible Day

14 The great day of the Lord
    is coming soon, very soon.
On that terrible day,
fearsome shouts of warriors
    will be heard everywhere.
15 It will be a time of anger—
    of trouble and torment,
of disaster and destruction,
    of darkness and despair,
of storm clouds and shadows,
16 of trumpet calls
    and battle cries
against fortified cities
    and mighty fortresses.

17 The Lord warns everyone
    who has sinned against him,
“I'll strike you blind!
Then your blood and your insides
    will gush out like vomit.
18 Not even your silver or gold
can save you on that day
    when I, the Lord, am angry.
My anger will flare up
    like a furious fire
scorching the earth
    and everyone on it.”

Turn to the Lord

You disgraceful nation,
gather around,
    before it's too late.
The Lord has set a time
    when his fierce anger
will strike like a storm
    and sweep you away.
If you humbly obey the Lord,
    then come and worship him.
If you do right and are humble,
    perhaps you will be safe
on that day when the Lord
    turns loose his anger.

Judgment on Philistia

(B) Gaza and Ashkelon
will be deserted
    and left in ruins.
Ashdod will be emptied
in broad daylight,
    and Ekron[i] uprooted.
To you people of Philistia[j]
who live along the coast,
    the Lord has this to say:
“I am now your enemy,
    and I'll wipe you out!”

Your seacoast will be changed
into pastureland
    and sheep pens.[k]
The Lord God hasn't forgotten
those survivors in Judah,
    and he will help them—
his people will take your land
    to use for pasture.
And when evening comes,
they will rest
    in houses at Ashkelon.[l]

Judgment on Moab and Ammon

* (C) The Lord All-Powerful,
    the God of Israel, said:
I've heard Moab and Ammon
insult my people
    and threaten their nation.[m]
(D) And so, I swear by my very life
that Moab and Ammon will end up
    like Sodom and Gomorrah—
covered with thornbushes
    and salt pits forever.
Then my people who survive
    will take their land.
10 This is how Moab and Ammon
will at last be repaid
    for their pride—
and for sneering at the nation
that belongs to me,
    the Lord All-Powerful.
11 I will fiercely attack.
Then every god on this earth
    will shrink to nothing,
and everyone of every nation
will bow down to me,
    right where they are.

Judgment on Ethiopia

12 (E) People of Ethiopia,[n]
the sword of the Lord
    will slaughter you!

Judgment on Assyria

13 (F) The Lord will reach to the north
to crush Assyria
    and overthrow Nineveh.[o]
14 Herds of wild animals
    will live in its rubble;
all kinds of desert owls
will perch on its stones
    and hoot in the windows.
Noisy ravens will be heard
inside its buildings,
    stripped bare of cedar.[p]
15 This is the glorious city
that felt secure and said,
    “I am the only one!”
Now it's merely ruins,
    a home for wild animals.
Every passerby simply sneers
    and makes vulgar signs.

Sinful Jerusalem

Too bad for that disgusting,
    corrupt, and lawless city!
Forever rebellious
    and rejecting correction,
Jerusalem refuses to trust
    or obey the Lord God.
Its officials are roaring lions,
    its judges are wolves;
in the evening they attack,
    by morning nothing is left.
Jerusalem's prophets are proud
    and not to be trusted.
The priests have disgraced
the place of worship
    and abused God's Law.
All who do evil are shameless,
but the Lord does right
    and is always fair.
With the dawn of each day,
    God brings about justice.

The Lord wiped out nations
and left fortresses
    crumbling in the dirt.
Their streets and towns
were reduced to ruins
    and emptied of people.
God felt certain that Jerusalem
would learn to respect
    and obey him.
Then he would hold back
from punishing the city
    and not wipe it out.
But everyone there was eager
    to start sinning again.

Nations Will Turn to the Lord

The Lord said:
Just wait for the day
    when I accuse you nations.
I have decided on a day,
    when I will bring together
every nation and kingdom
and punish them all
    in my fiery anger.
I will become furious
    and destroy the earth.

I will purify each language
and make those languages
    acceptable for praising me.[q]
Then, with hearts united,
everyone will serve
    only me, the Lord.
10 From across the rivers
    of Ethiopia,[r]
my scattered people,
my true worshipers,
    will bring offerings to me.

11 When that time comes,
you won't rebel against me
    and be put to shame.
I'll do away with those
    who are proud and arrogant.
Never will any of them
strut around
    on my holy mountain.
12 But I, the Lord, won't destroy
    any of your people
who are truly humble
    and turn to me for safety.
13 (G) The people of Israel who survive
will live right
    and refuse to tell lies.
They will eat and rest
    with nothing to fear.

A Song of Celebration

14 Everyone in Jerusalem and Judah,
celebrate and shout
    with all your heart!
15 Zion, your punishment is over.
The Lord has forced your enemies
    to turn and retreat.
Your Lord is King of Israel
    and stands at your side;
you don't have to worry
    about any more troubles.

16 Jerusalem, the time is coming,
    when it will be said to you:
“Don't be discouraged
    or grow weak from fear!
17 The Lord your God
wins victory after victory
    and is always with you.
He celebrates and sings
    because of you,
and he will refresh your life
    with his love.”[s]

The Lord's Promise to His People

18 The Lord has promised:
Your sorrow has ended,
    and you can celebrate.[t]
19 I will punish those
    who mistreat you.
I will bring together the lame
    and the outcasts,
then they will be praised,
instead of despised,
    in every country on earth.
20 I will lead you home,
    and with your own eyes
you will see me bless you
    with all you once owned.
Then you will be famous
    everywhere on this earth.
I, the Lord, have spoken!

Footnotes

  1. 1.1 Hezekiah: Ruled 716–687 b.c.
  2. 1.1 Josiah … king of Judah: Ruled 640–609 b.c.
  3. 1.3 Everyone … ground: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  4. 1.4 Baal: A Canaanite fertility god.
  5. 1.5 Milcom: An Ammonite fertility god.
  6. 1.8 follow foreign customs: Hebrew “wear foreign clothes.”
  7. 1.9 worshipers … gods: The Hebrew text has “all who jump over the threshold,” which was a Philistine religious practice (see 1 Samuel 5.5).
  8. 1.10,11 Fish Gate, New Town, and Upper Hills … Lower Hollow: Names for different sections of Jerusalem: Fish Gate was probably the main gate on the north side of the city; New Town was a newer section; Upper Hills may have been a suburb north of the city; Lower Hollow was probably on the southern edge of town.
  9. 2.4 Gaza … Ekron: Gaza, Ashkelon, Ashdod, Ekron, and Gath (not mentioned because it was already destroyed) were the five major Philistine towns.
  10. 2.5 people of Philistia: The Hebrew text also mentions “Canaan” and “Cherethites,” which are other ways of referring to the Philistines.
  11. 2.6 pens: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 6.
  12. 2.7 Ashkelon: A Philistine town; see the note at 2.4.
  13. 2.8 threaten their nation: Or “boast about their own nation.”
  14. 2.12 Ethiopia: The Hebrew text has “Cush,” which was a region south of Egypt that included parts of the present countries of Ethiopia and Sudan.
  15. 2.13 Nineveh: The capital of Assyria; Nineveh was protected by a moat filled with water from the nearby Tigris River.
  16. 2.14 stripped … cedar: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  17. 3.9 I will … praising me: Or “I will change the hearts of all people and make them fit for praising me.”
  18. 3.10 Ethiopia: See the note at 2.12.
  19. 3.17 refresh … love: Two ancient translations; Hebrew “silently show you his love.”
  20. 3.18 celebrate: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 18.

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