Zephaniah 3:1-20 - Judgment Of Jerusalem And The Nations

¹ Woe to the city that is rebellious and defiled,
the oppressive city!
² She has not obeyed;
she has not accepted discipline.
She has not trusted in Yahweh;
she has not drawn near to her God.
³ The princes within her are roaring lions;
her judges are wolves of the night,
which leave nothing for the morning.
⁴ Her prophets are reckless—
treacherous men.
Her priests profane the sanctuary;
they do violence to instruction.
⁵ The righteous Lord is in her;
He does no wrong.
He applies His justice morning by morning;
He does not fail at dawn,
yet the one who does wrong knows no shame.

⁶ I have cut off nations;
their corner towers are destroyed.
I have laid waste their streets,
with no one to pass through.
Their cities lie devastated,
without a person, without an inhabitant.
⁷ I thought: You will certainly fear Me
and accept correction.
Then her dwelling place
would not be cut off
based on all that I had allocated to her.
However, they became more corrupt
in all their actions.
⁸ Therefore, wait for Me—
this is the Lord’s declaration—
until the day I rise up for plunder.
For My decision is to gather nations,
to assemble kingdoms,
in order to pour out My indignation on them,
all My burning anger;
for the whole earth will be consumed
by the fire of My jealousy.

⁹ For I will then restore
pure speech to the peoples
so that all of them may call
on the name of Yahweh
and serve Him with a single purpose.
¹⁰ From beyond the rivers of Cush
My supplicants, My dispersed people,
will bring an offering to Me.
¹¹ On that day you will not be put to shame
because of everything you have done
in rebelling against Me.
For then I will remove
your proud, arrogant people from among you,
and you will never again be haughty
on My holy mountain.
¹² I will leave
a meek and humble people among you,
and they will take refuge in the name of Yahweh.
¹³ The remnant of Israel will no longer
do wrong or tell lies;
a deceitful tongue will not be found
in their mouths.
But they will pasture and lie down,
with nothing to make them afraid.

¹⁴ Sing for joy, Daughter Zion;
shout loudly, Israel!
Be glad and rejoice with all your heart,
Daughter Jerusalem!
¹⁵ The Lord has removed your punishment;
He has turned back your enemy.
The King of Israel, Yahweh, is among you;
you need no longer fear harm.
¹⁶ On that day it will be said to Jerusalem:
“Do not fear;
Zion, do not let your hands grow weak.
¹⁷ Yahweh your God is among you,
a warrior who saves.
He will rejoice over you with gladness.
He will bring you quietness with His love.
He will delight in you with shouts of joy.”

¹⁸ I will gather those who have been driven
from the appointed festivals;
they will be a tribute from you
and a reproach on her.
¹⁹ Yes, at that time
I will deal with all who afflict you.
I will save the lame and gather the scattered;
I will make those who were disgraced
throughout the earth
receive praise and fame.
²⁰ At that time I will bring you back,
yes, at the time I will gather you.
I will give you fame and praise
among all the peoples of the earth,
when I restore your fortunes before your eyes.
Yahweh has spoken.