Zephaniah 1 - Amplified Bible(AMP)

Day of Judgment on Judah

1The word of the Lord which came to 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 completely consume and sweep away all things

From the face of the earth,” says the Lord.

3“I will consume and sweep away man and beast;

I will consume and sweep away the birds of the air

And the fish of the sea,

And the stumbling blocks (idols) along with the wicked;

And I will cut off and destroy man from the face of the earth,” declares the Lord.

4“I will also stretch out My hand against Judah

And against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

And I will cut off and destroy the remnant of Baal from this place,

And the names and remembrance of the idolatrous priests along with the priests,

5And those who bow down and worship the host of heaven on their housetops

And those who bow down and swear to the Lord and swear by Milcom,

6And those who have turned back from following the Lord,

And those who have not sought the Lord or inquired of Him.”

7¶[Hush!] Be silent before the Lord God!

For the day of the Lord is near,

For the Lord has prepared a sacrifice (Judah),

He has set apart those who have accepted His invitation.

8“Then it will come about on the day of the Lord’s sacrifice

That I will punish the princes and the king’s sons

And all who are clothed in foreign apparel.

9“On that day I will also punish all those who leap over the temple threshold,

Who fill their lord’s temple with violence and deceit.

10“On that day,” declares the Lord,

“There will be the sound of crying from the Fish (Damascus) Gate

And wailing from the Second Quarter,

And a loud crash from the hills.

11“Wail, you inhabitants of the Mortar (Valley of Siloam),

For all the merchants of Canaan will be silenced and destroyed;

All who weigh out silver will be cut off.

12“It will come about at that time

That I will search Jerusalem with lamps

And I will punish the men

Who are stagnant in spirit,

Who say in their hearts,

‘The Lord will not do good, nor will He do evil.’

13“Furthermore, their wealth will become plunder

And their houses a desolation.

Yes, they will build houses but not live in them,

And plant vineyards but not drink their wine.”

14¶The great day of the Lord is near,

Near and coming very quickly.

Listen! The day of the Lord!

The warrior cries out bitterly.

15That day is a day of wrath,

A day of trouble and distress,

A day of destruction and devastation,

A day of darkness and gloom,

A day of clouds and thick darkness,

16A day of trumpet and the battle cry

Against the fortified cities

And against the high corner towers (battlements).

17I will bring distress on men

So that they will walk like the blind,

Because they have sinned against the Lord;

Their blood will be poured out like dust,

And their flesh like dung.

18Neither their silver nor their gold

Will be able to rescue them

On the day of the Lord’s indignation and wrath.

And the whole earth will be consumed

In the fire of His jealous wrath,

For He shall make a full and complete end,

Indeed a terrifying one,

Of all the inhabitants of the earth.