1 The 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 2 Kin. 22:1, 2;2 Chr. 34:1–33; Jer. 1:2; 22:11 Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah.
2 The Great Day of the Lord “I will utterly consume everything From the face of the land,” Says the Lord ;
3 “I Hos. 4:3 will consume man and beast; I will consume the birds of the heavens, The fish of the sea, And the stumbling blocks along with the wicked. I will cut off man from the face of the land,” Says the Lord .
4 “I will stretch out My hand against Judah, And against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem. I will cut off every trace of Baal from this place, The names of the 2 Kin. 23:5; Hos. 10:5 idolatrous priests with the pagan priests—
5 Those 2 Kin. 23:12; Jer. 19:13 who worship the host of heaven on the housetops; Those who worship and swear oaths by the Lord , But who also swear Josh. 23:7 by Milcom;
6 Is. 1:4; Jer. 2:13 Those who have turned back from following the Lord , And Hos. 7:7 have not sought the Lord , nor inquired of Him.”
7 Hab. 2:20; Zech. 2:13 Be silent in the presence of the Lord God ; Is. 13:6 For the day of the Lord is at hand, For Deut. 28:26; Is. 34:6; Jer. 46:10; Ezek. 39:17–19 the Lord has prepared a sacrifice; He has invited His guests.
8 “And it shall be, In the day of the Lord ’s sacrifice, That I will punish Jer. 39:6 the princes and the king’s children, And all such as are clothed with foreign apparel.
9 In the same day I will punish All those who 1 Sam. 5:5 leap over the threshold, Who fill their masters’ houses with violence and deceit.
10 “And there shall be on that day,” says the Lord , “The sound of a mournful cry from 2 Chr. 33:14; Neh. 3:3; 12:39 the Fish Gate, A wailing from the Second Quarter, And a loud crashing from the hills.
11 James 5:1 Wail, you inhabitants of Maktesh! For all the merchant people are cut down; All those who handle money are cut off.
12 “And it shall come to pass at that time That I will search Jerusalem with lamps, And punish the men Who are Jer. 48:11; Amos 6:1 settled in complacency, Ps. 94:7 Who say in their heart, ‘The Lord will not do good, Nor will He do evil.’
13 Therefore their goods shall become booty, And their houses a desolation; They shall build houses, but not inhabit them; They shall plant vineyards, but Deut. 28:39 not drink their wine.”
14 Jer. 30:7; Joel 2:1, 11 The great day of the Lord is near; It is near and hastens quickly. The noise of the day of the Lord is bitter; There the mighty men shall cry out.
15 Is. 22:5 That day is a day of wrath, A day of trouble and distress, A day of devastation and desolation, A day of darkness and gloominess, A day of clouds and thick darkness,
16 A day of Is. 27:13; Jer. 4:19 trumpet and alarm Against the fortified cities And against the high towers.
17 “I will bring distress upon men, And they shall Deut. 28:29 walk like blind men, Because they have sinned against the Lord ; Their blood shall be poured out like dust, And their flesh like refuse.”
18 Ezek. 7:19 Neither their silver nor their gold Shall be able to deliver them In the day of the Lord ’s wrath; But the whole land shall be devoured By the fire of His jealousy, For He will make speedy riddance Of all those who dwell in the land.