This is the prophetic message that the Lord gave to Zephaniah son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah. Zephaniah delivered this message during the reign of King Josiah son of Amon of Judah:

I will completely sweep away everything
from the face of the earth—
this is the Lord’s declaration.

"I will attack Judah and all who live in Jerusalem. I will remove from this place every trace of Baal worship, as well as the very memory of the pagan priests.

yea, and such as upon their house-tops worship and bow themselves unto the host of heaven: which swear by the LORD, and by their Milcom also:

And those who have turned back from following the Lord,
And those who have not sought the Lord [as their most important need] or inquired of Him.”

Hold thy peace at the presence of the Lord GOD: for the day of the LORD is at hand: for the LORD hath prepared a sacrifice, he hath bid his guests.

And it shall come to pass in the day of the LORD'S sacrifice, that I will punish the princes, and the king's children, and all such as are clothed with strange apparel.

And I have laid a charge on every one Who is leaping over the threshold in that day, Who are filling the house of their masters With violence and deceit.

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.'

Then their wealth shall be as plunder, and their homes as desolation. And they shall build their houses and not inhabit them, and they shall plant vineyards and not drink their wine."

The great day of the LORD is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the LORD: the mighty man shall cry 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,

And I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the LORD: and their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as the dung.

Even their silver, even their gold, Is not able to deliver them in a day of the wrath of Jehovah, And in the fire of His jealousy consumed is the whole land, For only a hastened end doth He make Of all the inhabitants of the land!

Gather yourselves together [in repentance], yes, gather [in submission],
O nation without shame,

Before the decree bring forth, before the day pass as the chaff, before the fierce anger of the LORD come upon you, before the day of the LORD'S anger come upon you.

Seek the Lord [search diligently for Him and regard Him as the foremost necessity of your life],
All you humble of the land
Who have practiced His ordinances and have kept His commandments;
Seek righteousness, seek humility [regard them as vital].
Perhaps you will be hidden [and pardoned and rescued]
In the day of the Lord’s anger.

For Gaza is forsaken, And Ashkelon is for a desolation, Ashdod! at noon they do cast her forth, And Ekron is rooted up.

Woe unto the inhabitants of the sea coast, the nation of the Cherethites! the word of the LORD is against you; O Canaan, the land of the Philistines, I will even destroy thee, that there shall be no inhabitant.

The seacoast will be used as pasture lands by the shepherds and as pens for their flocks.

yea, it shall be a portion for such as remain of the house of Judah, to feed thereupon. In the houses of Ashkelon shall they rest toward the night: for the LORD their God shall visit them, and turn away their captivity.

Therefore as I live, saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, Surely Moab shall be as Sodom, and the children of Ammon as Gomorrah, even the breeding of nettles, and saltpits, and a perpetual desolation: the residue of my people shall spoil them, and the remnant of my people shall possess them.

This is to them for their arrogancy, Because they have reproached, And they magnify themselves against the people of Jehovah of Hosts.

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.

"Now as for you, Cush, you will surely be slain by my sword!

And the Lord will stretch out His hand against the north
And destroy Assyria,
And He will make Nineveh a desolation [a wasteland],
Parched as the desert.

And crouched in her midst have droves, Every beast of the nation, Both pelican and hedge-hog in her knobs lodge, A voice doth sing at the window, 'Destruction is at the threshold, For the cedar-work is exposed.'

This is the rejoicing city that dwelt carelessly, that said in her heart, I am, and there is none beside 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.

Woe to her that is filthy and polluted, to the oppressing city!

She gave no attention to the voice, she had no use for teaching, she put no faith in the Lord, she did not come near to her God.

Her officials within her are roaring lions;
Her judges are [as hungry as] the wolves at evening,
They leave nothing for the morning.

Her prophets are reckless and treacherous men;
Her priests have profaned the sanctuary;
They have done violence to the law [by pretending their word is God’s word].

The just LORD is in the midst thereof; he will not do iniquity: every morning doth he bring his judgment to light, he faileth not; but the unjust knoweth no shame.

I have cut off the nations: their towers are desolate; I made their streets waste, that none passeth by: their cities are destroyed, so that there is no man, that there is none inhabitant.

I have said: Only, ye do fear Me, Ye do accept instruction, And her habitation is not cut off, All that I have appointed for her, But they have risen early, They have corrupted all their doings.

Therefore wait ye upon me, saith the LORD, 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.

Such as I have subdued, and my children also whom I have scattered abroad, shall bring me presents beyond the waters of Ethiopia.

The remnant of Israel do no perversity, nor speak lies, Nor found in their mouth is a deceitful tongue, For they have delight, and have lain down, And there is none troubling.

The LORD hath taken away thy judgments, he hath cast out thine enemy: the king of Israel, even the LORD, is in the midst of thee: thou shalt not see evil any more.

In that day it is said to Jerusalem, 'Fear not, O Zion, let not thy hands be feeble.

The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he 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 those [Israelites in captivity] who grieve about the appointed feasts—
They came from you, [O Zion];
On whom the reproach [of exile] is a burden.

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.