1:1 The word of Jehovah that came unto Zephaniah the son of
 Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of
 Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah.
1:2 I will utterly take away everything from off the face of the
 ground, saith Jehovah:
1:3 I will take away man and beast; I will take away the fowl of
 the heavens and the fishes of the sea, and the stumbling-blocks
 with the wicked, and I will cut off mankind from off the face
 of the ground, saith Jehovah.
1:4 And I will stretch forth my hand upon Judah, and upon all
 the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and I will cut off the remnant of
 Baal from this place, the name of the Chemarim with the
 priests;
1:5 and them that bow down to the host of the heavens upon the
 housetops; and them that bow down to Jehovah, that swear by
 [him], and swear by Malcham;
1:6 and them that turn back from after Jehovah, and that do not
 seek Jehovah, nor inquire for him.
1:7 Be silent at the presence of the Lord Jehovah; for the day
 of Jehovah is at hand; for Jehovah hath prepared a sacrifice,
 he hath hallowed his guests.
1:8 And it shall come to pass in the day of Jehovah's sacrifice,
 that I will punish the princes, and the king's sons, and all
 such as are clothed with foreign apparel.
1:9 And in that day will I punish all those that leap over the
 threshold, who fill their master's house with violence and
 deceit.
1:10 And in that day, saith Jehovah, there shall be the noise of
 a cry from the fish-gate, and a howling from the second
 [quarter], and a great crashing from the hills.
1:11 Howl, ye inhabitants of Maktesh; for all the people of
 Canaan are cut down, all they that are laden with silver are
 cut off.
1:12 And it shall come to pass at that time, [that] I will
 search Jerusalem with lamps, and punish the men that are
 settled on their lees, that say in their heart, Jehovah will
 not do good, neither will he do evil.
1:13 And their wealth shall become a booty, and their houses a
 desolation; and they shall build houses, and not inhabit them;
 and they shall plant vineyards, and not drink the wine thereof.
1:14 The great day of Jehovah is near, it is near, and hasteth
 greatly. The voice of the day of Jehovah: the mighty man shall
 cry there bitterly.
1:15 That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress,
 a day of ruin and desolation, a day of darkness and gloom, a
 day of clouds and gross darkness,
1:16 a day of the trumpet and alarm, against the fenced cities
 and against the high battlements.
1:17 And I will bring distress upon men, and they shall walk
 like blind men; for they have sinned against Jehovah; and their
 blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as dung:
1:18 their silver and their gold shall not be able to deliver
 them, in the day of Jehovah's wrath; but the whole land shall
 be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for a full end, yea, a
 sudden [end], shall he make of all them that dwell in the land.
2:1 Collect yourselves and gather together, O nation without
 shame,
2:2 before the decree bring forth, [before] the day pass away as
 chaff, before the fierce anger of Jehovah come upon you, before
 the day of Jehovah's anger come upon you.
2:3 Seek Jehovah, all ye meek of the land, who have performed
 his ordinance; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye
 shall be hid in the day of Jehovah's anger.
2:4 For Gazah shall be forsaken, and Ashkelon shall be a
 desolation; they shall drive out Ashdod at noonday, and Ekron
 shall be rooted up.
2:5 Woe unto the inhabitants of the sea-coast, the nation of the
 Cherethites! The word of Jehovah is against you, O Canaan, land
 of the Philistines: I will destroy thee, that there shall be no
 inhabitant;
2:6 and the sea-coast shall be cave-dwellings for shepherds, and
 folds for flocks.
2:7 And the coast shall be for the remnant of the house of
 Judah; they shall feed thereon: in the houses of Ashkelon shall
 they lie down in the evening: for Jehovah their God shall visit
 them, and turn again their captivity.
2:8 I have heard the reproach of Moab, and the revilings of the
 children of Ammon, wherewith they have reproached my people,
 and magnified themselves against their border.
2:9 Therefore, [as] I live, saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of
 Israel, Moab shall certainly be as Sodom, and the children of
 Ammon as Gomorrah, a possession of nettles, and salt-pits, and
 a perpetual desolation; the remnant of my people shall spoil
 them, and the residue of my nation shall possess them.
2:10 This shall they have for their pride, because they have
 reproached and magnified themselves against the people of
 Jehovah of hosts.
2:11 Jehovah will be terrible unto them; for he will famish all
 the gods of the earth; and all the isles of the nations shall
 worship him, every one from his place.
2:12 Ye Ethiopians also, ye shall be the slain of my sword.
2:13 And he will stretch out his hand against the north, and
 destroy Assyria; and will make Nineveh a desolation, a place of
 drought like the wilderness.
2:14 And flocks shall lie down in the midst of her, all the
 crowd of beasts; both the pelican and the bittern shall lodge
 in the chapiters thereof; a voice shall sing in the windows;
 desolation shall be on the thresholds: for he hath laid bare
 the cedar work.
2:15 This is the rejoicing city that dwelt in security, that
 said in her heart, I am, and there is none else beside me: how
 is she become a desolation, a couching-place for beasts! Every
 one that passeth by her shall hiss, shall wave his hand.
3:1 Woe to her that is rebellious and corrupted, to the
 oppressing city!
3:2 She hearkened not to the voice; she received not correction;
 she confided not in Jehovah; she drew not near her God.
3:3 Her princes in the midst of her are roaring lions; her
 judges are evening wolves, that leave nothing for the morning.
3:4 Her prophets are vain-glorious, treacherous persons; her
 priests profane the sanctuary, they do violence to the law.
3:5 The righteous Jehovah is in the midst of her: he doeth no
 wrong. Every morning doth he bring his judgment to light; it
 faileth not: but the unrighteous knoweth no shame.
3:6 I have cut off nations: their battlements are desolate; I
 made their streets waste, that none passeth by; their cities
 are destroyed, so that there is no man, so that there is no
 inhabitant.
3:7 I said, Only fear me, receive correction; so her dwelling
 shall not be cut off, howsoever I may punish her. But they rose
 early, they corrupted all their doings.
3:8 Therefore wait ye for me, saith Jehovah, until the day that
 I rise up to the prey; for my determination is to assemble the
 nations, that I may gather the kingdoms together, to pour upon
 them mine indignation, -- all my fierce anger: for all the
 earth shall be devoured with the fire of my jealousy.
3:9 For then will I turn to the peoples a pure language, that
 they may all call upon the name of Jehovah, to serve him with
 one consent.
3:10 From beyond the rivers of Cush my suppliants, the daughter
 of my dispersed, shall bring mine oblation.
3:11 In that day thou shalt not be ashamed for all thy doings
 wherein thou hast transgressed against me; for then I will take
 away out of the midst of thee them that exult in thy pride, and
 thou shalt no more be haughty because of my holy mountain.
3:12 And I will leave in the midst of thee an afflicted and poor
 people, and they shall trust in the name of Jehovah.
3:13 The remnant of Israel shall not work unrighteousness, nor
 speak lies; neither shall a deceitful tongue be found in their
 mouth: but *they* shall feed and lie down, and none shall make
 them afraid.
3:14 Exult, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel; rejoice and be
 glad with all the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem:
3:15 Jehovah hath taken away thy judgments, he hath cast out
 thine enemy; the King of Israel, Jehovah, is in the midst of
 thee; thou shalt not see evil any more.
3:16 In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem, Fear not; Zion,
 let not thy hands be slack.
3:17 Jehovah thy God is in thy midst, a mighty one that will
 save: he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his
 love; he will exult over thee with singing.
3:18 I will gather them that sorrow for the solemn assemblies,
 who were of thee: the reproach of it was a burden [unto them].
3:19 Behold, at that time I will deal with all them that afflict
 thee; and I will save her that halted, and gather her that was
 driven out; and I will make them a praise and a name in all the
 lands where they have been put to shame.
3:20 At that time will I bring you, yea, at the time that I
 gather you; for I will make you a name and a praise, among all
 the peoples of the earth, when I shall turn again your
 captivity before your eyes, saith Jehovah.