1 The word of the Lord that came to Zephaniah the son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah,aJer. 1:2 in the days ofb2 Kgs. 22:1 Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah.
2
cJer. 8:13; [ver. 18; 2 Kgs. 22:16, 17] “I will utterly sweep away everything
from the face of the earth, ” declares the Lord.
3 “I will sweep awaydHos. 4:3 man and beast;
I will sweep away the birds of the heavens
anddHos. 4:3 the fish of the sea,
andeSee Ezek. 7:19 the rubble with the wicked.
I willfEzek. 14:17 cut off mankind
from the face of the earth, ” declares the Lord.
4 “I will stretch out my hand against Judah
and against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem;
gSee 2 Kgs. 23:4 and I will cut off from this place the remnant of Baal
and the name of the idolatrous priests along with the priests,
5 hJer. 19:13 those who bow down on the roofs
to the host of the heavens,
i[1 Kgs. 18:21; 2 Kgs. 17:33, 41] those who bow down and swear to the Lord
and yet swear byj1 Kgs. 11:5, 33 Milcom,
6 kJer. 2:13, 17; 15:6 those who have turned back from following the Lord,
l[Jer. 5:24; Heb. 11:6] who do not seek the Lord or inquire of him. ”
7
m[Hab. 2:20] Be silent before the Lord God!
Forn[ver. 14]; See Joel 1:15 the day of the Lord is near;
oIsa. 34:6; Jer. 46:10; Ezek. 39:17, 19 the Lord has prepared a sacrifice
andp1 Sam. 16:5 consecrated his guests.
8 And on the day of the Lord 's sacrifice—
q2 Kgs. 24:12, 14; 25:7 “I will punish the officials and the king's sons
andr[Matt. 22:11] all who array themselves in foreign attire.
9 On that day I will punish
everyones[1 Sam. 5:5] who leaps over the threshold,
and those who fill their master's1Or their Lord's house
with violence and fraud.
10 On that day, ” declares the Lord,
“a cry will be heard fromtSee 2 Chr. 33:14 the Fish Gate,
uZech. 11:3 a wail fromv2 Kgs. 22:14 the Second Quarter,
a loud crash from the hills.
11 wZech. 11:2; James 5:1 Wail, O inhabitants of the Mortar!
For all the traders1Or all the people of Canaan are no more;
all who weigh out silver are cut off.
12 At that timexAmos 9:3 I will search Jerusalem with lamps,
and I will punish the men
yJer. 48:11; [Amos 6:1] who are complacent,
zPs. 94:7; Ezek. 8:12; Mal. 2:17; 3:14, 15 those who say in their hearts,
‘The Lord will not do good,
nor will he do ill. ’
13 Their goods shall beaIsa. 42:22 plundered,
and their houses laid waste.
bSee Amos 5:11 Though they build houses,
they shall not inhabit them;
cSee Mic. 6:15 though they plant vineyards,
they shall not drink wine from them. ”
14 d[ver. 7; Ezek. 7:7, 12] The great day of the Lord is near,
near and hastening fast;
the sound of the day of the Lord is bitter;
e[Isa. 33:7] the mighty man cries aloud there.
15 fSee Joel 1:15 A day of wrath is that day,
a day of distress and anguish,
a day ofgJob 30:3 ruin and devastation,
hSee Joel 2:2 a day of darkness and gloom,
hSee Joel 2:2 a day of clouds and thick darkness,
16 i[Jer. 4:19] a day of trumpet blast and battle cry
j[Isa. 2:15] against the fortified cities
and against the lofty battlements.
17 kJer. 10:18 I will bring distress on mankind,
so that they shall walklDeut. 28:29; Isa. 59:10 like the blind,
because they have sinned against the Lord;
mPs. 79:3 their blood shall be poured out like dust,
and their fleshn[Ps. 83:10] like dung.
18 oEzek. 7:19; [Prov. 11:4] Neither their silver nor their gold
shall be able to deliver them
on the day of the wrath of the Lord.
p[ch. 3:8] In the fire of his jealousy,
qEzek. 36:5 all the earth shall be consumed;
r[ver. 2, 3] for a full and sudden end
he will make of all the inhabitants of the earth.