Zephaniah Chapter 1

Conversational Yahveh Covenant

¹ A Message from Yahveh to Zephaniah Ben-Cushi

(Ben-Gedaliah Ben-Amariah) Ben-Hezekiah

at the Time of Josiah Ben-Amon, King of Judah

The Coming Judgment on Judah

² “I’ll remove everything

      from the earth,” Yahveh says,

³ “people and animals,

      birds in the sky,

      fish in the sea.

I’ll destroy sinful people.

⁴ “I’ll reach out against Judah

      and those who live in Jerusalem.

I’ll remove the remnant of Baal from this place

            and the idolatrous priests,

         ⁵ the ones that bow down on housetops to the host in the sky,

            that swear to Yahveh and swear by Milcom too,

         ⁶the ones that quit following Yahveh,

            that haven’t sought him or inquired from him.”

Zeph 1:1-6

The Near Day of Yahveh

⁷ Be silent in front of the Lord Yahveh!

      His day is near;

      he’s prepared a sacrifice

            and consecrated his guests.

⁸ “On the day of my^Y sacrifice,

      I’ll punish the officials, the king’s sons in Judah,

      everyone that dresses in foreign clothes,

         ⁹that breaks into houses,

      and fills their masters’ homes with violence and deceit.

¹⁰ On that day,” Yahveh says,

      “there’ll be cries from the Fish Gate,

      wails from the Second Quarter,

      loud crashes from the hills.

Zeph 1:7-10

¹¹ Wail, people in the marketplace,

      because your merchants will be wiped out;

      every tradesman that weighs out silver will be gone.

¹² I’ll search Jerusalem with lanterns

      and punish people that are complacent about their sin,

            who tell themselves

            that Yahveh won’t do anything to them good or bad.

¹³ Their wealth will become plunder,

      and their houses demolished.

They’ll build houses, but not live in them;

      they’ll plant vineyards, but not drink their wine.”

Zeph 1:11-13

¹⁴ That great day of the LORD is near and coming fast,

      a bitter day: even soldiers will cry out bitterly,

         ¹⁵a day of anger,

      a day of distress and anguish,

destruction and desolation,

      a day of darkness and gloom,

clouds and dense blackness,

         ¹⁶a day of bugle blasts and battle cries

            against fortified towns and high battle towers          

Zeph 1:14-16

¹⁷ He’ll bring such a distress on you

      that you’ll stumble around like you’re blind,

      because you’ve sinned against him.

Your blood will pour out and become like dust,

      and your flesh will be like manure on the ground.

¹⁸ Your silver and gold won’t save you

      at the time of Yahveh’s wrath;

he’ll consume the whole region with his burning anger

      and make a complete, terrifying end

      for people living in the land.

Zeph 1:17-18