This message from the Lord came to Cushi's son Zephaniah, the grandson of Gedaliah and great-grandson of Hezekiah's son Amariah, during the reign of Amon's son Josiah, king of Judah:

I utterly consume all from off the face of the ground, An affirmation of Jehovah.

I consume man and beast, I consume fowl of the heavens, and fishes of the sea, And the stumbling-blocks -- the wicked, And I have cut off man from the face of the ground, An affirmation of Jehovah,

And stretched out My hand against Judah, And against all inhabiting Jerusalem, And cut off from this place the remnant of Baal, The name of the idolatrous priests, with the priests,

I'll wipe out those who worship the stars that they view from their housetops, those who bow down and swear to the LORD and who also swear by Milcom,

And those removing from after Jehovah, And who have not sought Jehovah, nor besought Him.

Be silent from the face of the Lord Jehovah: for the day of Jehovah is near, for Jehovah prepared a swam he consecrated his called ones.

And it will come about in the day of the Lord's offering, that I will send punishment on the rulers and the king's sons and all who are clothed in robes from strange lands.

And there hath been in that day, An affirmation of Jehovah, The noise of a cry from the fish-gate, And of a howling from the Second, And of great destruction from the hills.

And it shall be [that] at that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps, and I will punish the men {whose senses are dulled from drinking}, who say in their hearts, 'Yahweh will not do good, nor will he do evil.'

And their wealth will be violently taken away, and their houses will be made waste: they will go on building houses and never living in them, and planting vine-gardens but not drinking the wine from them.

Before the Lord sends you violently away in flight like the waste from the grain; before the burning wrath of the Lord comes on you, before the day of the Lord's wrath comes on you.

Woe to those who live along the coast, the people of Philistia! This message from the LORD is being spoken against you, Canaan, land of the Philistines: "I'll destroy you until no one lives there!'

Those who are left from the kingdom of Judah will take possession of it. By the sea they will graze, in the houses of Ashkelon they will lie down in the evening, for the Lord their God will intervene for them and restore their prosperity.

"I've heard Moab's insults and the curses from those Ammonites by which they defame my people and boast about their territory.

Fearful is Jehovah against them, For He made bare all gods of the land, And bow themselves to Him, each from his place, Do all islanders of the nations.

Herds will lie down in the middle of it,
every kind of wild animal.
Both the desert owl and the screech owl
will roost in the capitals of its pillars.
Their calls will sound from the window,
but devastation will be on the threshold,
for He will expose the cedar work.

I have cut off nations, deserted are their towers, have made desolate their streets, that none passeth through; ruined are their cities, for want of men of note, from lack of any dweller!

“Then I will give to the peoples [clear and pure speech from] purified lips [which reflect their purified hearts],
That all of them may call on the name of the Lord,
To serve Him shoulder to shoulder (united).

From beyond the rivers of Cush, my supplicants, The daughter of My scattered ones, Do bring My present.

In that day thou art not ashamed because of any of thine actions, Wherewith thou hast transgressed against Me, For then do I turn aside from thy midst The exulting ones of thine excellency, And thou dost add no more to be haughty, In My holy mountain.

Give thanks, O daughter Zion! Be joyful, O Israel! Rejoice and be glad from thy whole heart, O daughter Jerusalem!

On that day they will say to Jerusalem, "Don't be afraid, Zion! Your hands must not be paralyzed from panic!

Mine afflicted from the appointed place I have gathered, from thee they have been, Bearing for her sake reproach.

Behold, at that time I will deal with all your oppressors; I will save the lame and gather the outcast. I will change them from shame to glory and {renown} throughout the whole world.