Bible (American Standard)/Zephaniah

Zephaniah
==Chapter 1==
 The word of Jehovah which came unto 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.
 I will utterly consume all things from off the face of the
ground, saith Jehovah. 
 I will consume man and beast; I
will consume the birds of the heavens, and the fishes of the
sea, and the stumblingblocks with the wicked; and I will cut off
man from off the face of the ground, saith Jehovah. 
 And I
will stretch out my hand upon Judah, and upon all the
inhabitants of Jerusalem; and I will cut off the remnant of Baal
from this place, [and] the name of the Chemarim with the
priests; 
 and them that worship the host of heaven upon the
housetops; and them that worship, that swear to Jehovah and
swear by Malcam; 
 and them that are turned back from
following Jehovah; and those that have not sought Jehovah, nor
inquired after him. 
 Hold thy peace at the presence of the
Lord Jehovah; for the day of Jehovah is at hand: for Jehovah
hath prepared a sacrifice, he hath consecrated his guests. 
 And it shall come to pass in the day of Jehovah's sacrifice,
that I will punish the princes, and the king's sons, and all
such as are clothed with foreign apparel. 
 And in that day
I will punish all those that leap over the threshold, that fill
their master's house with violence and deceit. 
 And in
that day, saith Jehovah, there shall be the noise of a cry from
the fish gate, and a wailing from the second quarter, and a
great crashing from the hills. 
 Wail, ye inhabitants of
Maktesh; for all the people of Canaan are undone; all they that
were laden with silver are cut off. 
 And it shall come to
pass at that time, that I will search Jerusalem with lamps; and
I will punish the men that are settled on their lees, that say
in their heart, Jehovah will not do good, neither will he do
evil. 
 And their wealth shall become a spoil, and their
houses a desolation: yea, they shall build houses, but shall not
inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, but shall not
drink the wine thereof. 
 The great day of Jehovah is near,
it is near and hasteth greatly, [even] the voice of the day of
Jehovah; the mighty man crieth there bitterly. 
 That day
is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of
wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a
day of clouds and thick darkness, 
 a day of the trumpet
and alarm, against the fortified cities, and against the high
battlements. 
 And I will bring distress upon men, that
they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against
Jehovah; and their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their
flesh as dung. 
 Neither their silver nor their gold shall
be able to deliver them in the day of Jehovah's wrath; but the
whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he
will make an end, yea, a terrible end, of all them that dwell in
the land.
==Chapter 2==
 Gather yourselves together, yea, gather together, O
nation that hath no shame; 
 before the decree bring forth,
[before] the day pass as the chaff, before the fierce anger of
Jehovah come upon you, before the day of Jehovah's anger come
upon you. 
 Seek ye Jehovah, all ye meek of the earth, that
have kept his ordinances; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it
may be ye will be hid in the day of Jehovah's anger. 
 For
Gaza shall be forsaken, and Ashkelon a desolation; they shall
drive out Ashdod at noonday, and Ekron shall be rooted up. 
 Woe unto the inhabitants of the sea-coast, the nation of the
Cherethites! The word of Jehovah is against you, O Canaan, the
land of the Philistines; I will destroy thee, that there shall
be no inhabitant. 
 And the sea-coast shall be pastures,
with cottages for shepherds and folds for flocks. 
 And the
coast shall be for the remnant of the house of Judah; they shall
feed [their flocks] thereupon; in the houses of Ashkelon shall
they lie down in the evening; for Jehovah their God will visit
them, and bring back their captivity. 
 I have heard the
reproach of Moab, and the revilings of the children of Ammon,
wherewith they have reproached my people, and magnified
themselves against their border. 
 Therefore, as I live,
saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, Surely Moab shall be
as Sodom, and the children of Ammon as Gomorrah, a possession of
nettles, and saltpits, and a perpetual desolation: the residue
of my people shall make a prey of them, and the remnant of my
nation shall inherit them. 
 This shall they have for their
pride, because they have reproached and magnified themselves
against the people of Jehovah of hosts. 
 Jehovah will be
terrible unto them; for he will famish all the gods of the
earth; and men shall worship him, every one from his place, even
all the isles of the nations. 
 Ye Ethiopians also, ye
shall be slain by my sword. 
 And he will stretch out his
hand against the north, and destroy Assyria, and will make
Nineveh a desolation, and dry like the wilderness. 
 And
herds shall lie down in the midst of her, all the beasts of the
nations: both the pelican and the porcupine shall lodge in the
capitals thereof; [their] voice shall sing in the windows;
desolation shall be in the thresholds: for he hath laid bare the
cedar-work. 
 This is the joyous city that dwelt
carelessly, that said in her heart, I am, and there is none
besides me: how is she become a desolation, a place for beasts
to lie down in! every one that passeth by her shall hiss, and
wag his hand.
==Chapter 3==
 Woe to her that is rebellious and polluted! to the
oppressing city! 
 She obeyed not the voice; she received
not correction; she trusted not in Jehovah; she drew not near to
her God. 
 Her princes in the midst of her are roaring
lions; her judges are evening wolves; they leave nothing till
the morrow. 
 Her prophets are light and treacherous
persons; her priests have profaned the sanctuary, they have done
violence to the law. 
 Jehovah in the midst of her is
righteous; he will not do iniquity; every morning doth he bring
his justice to light, he faileth not; but the unjust knoweth no
shame. 
 I have cut off nations; their battlements are
desolate; I have made their streets waste, so that none passeth
by; their cities are destroyed, so that there is no man, so that
there is no inhabitant. 
 I said, Only fear thou me; receive
correction; so her dwelling shall not be cut off, [according to]
all that I have appointed concerning her: but they rose early
and corrupted all their doings. 
 Therefore, wait ye for me,
saith Jehovah, until the day that I rise up to the prey; for my
determination is to gather the nations, that I may assemble the
kingdoms, to pour upon them mine indignation, even all my fierce
anger; for all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of my
jealousy. 
 For then will I turn to the peoples of a pure
language, that they may all call upon the name of Jehovah, to
serve him with one consent. 
 From beyond the rivers of
Ethiopia my suppliants, even the daughter of my dispersed, shall
bring mine offering. 
 In that day shalt thou not be put to
shame for all thy doings, wherein thou hast transgressed against
me; for then I will take away out of the midst of thee thy
proudly exulting ones, and thou shalt no more be haughty in my
holy mountain. 
 But I will leave in the midst of thee an
afflicted and poor people, and they shall take refuge in the
name of Jehovah. 
 The remnant of Israel shall not do
iniquity, nor speak lies; neither shall a deceitful tongue be
found in their mouth; for they shall feed and lie down, and none
shall make them afraid. 
 Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout,
O Israel; be glad and rejoice with all the heart, O daughter of
Jerusalem. 
 Jehovah hath taken away thy judgments, he hath
cast out thine enemy: the King of Israel, even Jehovah, is in
the midst of thee; thou shalt not fear evil any more. 
 In
that day it shall be said to Jerusalem, Fear thou not; O Zion,
let not thy hands be slack. 
 Jehovah thy God is in the
midst of thee, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over
thee with joy; he will rest in his love; he will joy over thee
with singing. 
 I will gather them that sorrow for the
solemn assembly, who were of thee; [to whom] the burden upon her
was a reproach. 
 Behold, at that time I will deal with all
them that afflict thee; and I will save that which is lame, and
gather that which was driven away; and I will make them a praise
and a name, whose shame hath been in all the earth. 
 At
that time will I bring you in, and at that time will I gather
you; for I will make you a name and a praise among all the
peoples of the earth, when I bring back your captivity before
your eyes, saith Jehovah.