Zephaniah 1

1The word of the LORD that came to Zephaniah son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah son of Amon, king of Judah.

2“I will sweep away, sweep away everything
from the face of the earth,”
declares the LORD. 3“I will sweep away human beings and animals;
I will sweep away the birds of the heavens
and the fish of the sea,
and the stumbling blocks along with the wicked.
I will cut off humanity
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.
I will cut off from this place
the remnant of Baal,
the name of the idolatrous priests along with the priests; 5those who bow down on the rooftops
to the host of the heavens;
those who bow down, who swear by the LORD
and swear by Milcom; 6those who turn back from following the LORD,
who have not sought the LORD
or inquired of him.” 7Be silent before the Lord GOD!
For the day of the LORD is near.
For the LORD has prepared a sacrifice;
he has consecrated his invited guests. 8“And on the day of the LORD’s sacrifice,
I will punish the officials
and the king’s sons,
and all who wear foreign clothing. 9On that day I will punish
all who leap over the threshold,
who fill their masters’ houses
with violence and deceit. 10“And on that day,” declares the LORD,
“there will be a sound of outcry from the Fish Gate,
a wailing from the Second Quarter,
and a great crash from the hills. 11Wail, inhabitants of the Mortar,
for all the people of Canaan are silenced;
all who weigh out silver are cut off. 12“At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps,
and I will punish those
who have congealed on their dregs,
who say in their hearts,
‘The LORD will not do good,
nor will he do evil.’ 13Their wealth will become plunder
and their houses a desolation.
They will build houses
but not inhabit them;
they will plant vineyards
but not drink their wine.” 14Near is the great day of the LORD,
near and coming very quickly.
The sound of the day of the LORD—
bitter! There the warrior cries out. 15That day is a day of wrath,
a day of distress and anguish,
a day of devastation and desolation,
a day of darkness and gloom,
a day of cloud and thick darkness, 16a day of trumpet blast and battle cry
against the fortified cities
and against the high towers. 17“I will bring distress upon people,
and 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 deliver them
on the day of the LORD’s wrath.
By the fire of his jealousy
the whole earth will be consumed;
for he will make a complete end—
indeed, a terrifying end—
of all the inhabitants of the earth.”