1Word of prophecy from before the Lord which was with Zephaniah son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah in the days of Josiah son of Amon who ruled (over) the tribe of the house of Judah. 2 A destruction! I will destroy everything from upon the face of the earth, said the Lord. 3 I will consume man and cattle, I will consume the bird of the sky and the fishes of the sea, for the snare/offense of the wicked has increased; and I will destroy man from upon the face of the earth, said the Lord. 4 And I shall raise the stroke of My might upon the man of Judah and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and I will destroy from this place the rest of the Baal, the name of their worshipers together with their pagan priests. 5 And those who bow on the roofs to the hosts of heaven, and those who bow and swear by the name of the Lord and do it again by the name of their idols. 6 And those who turned back to a place from after the worship of the Lord, and have not sought the fear of the Lord, and have not inquired/prayed from before Him. 7 All the wicked have perished from before the Lord Elohim, for the day that is going to come from before the Lord is near, for the Lord has prepared a slaying, He has proclaimed/determined from His (destined) times. 8 And it will be on the day of the slaying that is going to come from before the Lord, and I shall visit upon the officers and upon the sons of the king, and upon all who rush to worship the idols. 9 And I shall visit upon all who walk in the customs of the Philistines at that time, who fill the house of their master violence and deceits. 10 And there shall be at that time, said the Lord, a sound of outcry from the Fish Gate, and a howling from the Ophel, and a great crash from the hill. 11 Wail (ed) those who are sitting in the Qidron Wadi, for all the people, whose deeds resemble the deeds of the people of the land of Canaan, shall be broken; all the rich in property shall be destroyed. 12 And it will be at that time, I will appoint searchers and they shall search the inhabitants of Jerusalem as searching with a candle; and I shall visit upon the men who repose at ease upon their properties, who say in their heart ‘there is no desire before the Lord to do good nor to do bad.’ 13 And their homes will be for spoil, and their palaces for plunder; and they shall build homes but will not dwell, and they shall plant vines but will not drink their wine. 14 Near is the day that is going to come from before the great the Lord, near and rushing exceedingly; the sound of the day that is going to come from before the Lord, which in it is bitter (trouble) and cry; there, warriors are being killed. 15 A day of anger is that day, a day of distress and anguish, a day of tumult and noise, a day of darkness and fog, a day of cloud and heavy mist, 16 a day of horn and (sounding an) alarm upon the fortified cities and upon the raised heights. 17 And I shall bring distress to the sons of man and they shall walk like (the) blind, for before the Lord they have sinned; and their blood will be spilled like dust, and their corpses like dung. 18 Neither their silver nor their gold can save them on the day of the Lord’s anger, and in the fire of His retribution all the wicked of the land will perish, for He will make a (total) end, indeed a (decreed) destruction with all the inhabitants of the land.
2Gather and come and come closer, a nation (of) a generation who does not desire to return to the Torah! 2 Before the decree of the Court issues upon you, and you shall be like chaff from a threshing place that the wind carries away, and like dew that passes from before the day; before the power of the wrath of the Lord will come upon you; before the day of the wrath of the Lord will come upon you, 3 seek the fear of the Lord, all the humble of the land who have done the laws of His will; seek truth, seek humility, perhaps you will be protected on the day of wrath of the Lord. 4 For Gaza shall be abandoned, and Ashkelon for desolation, Ashdod at noon they shall drive her out, and Ekron shall be uprooted. 5 Woe to those who dwell in the sea district, a people who are guilty (deserved) to be cut off, the decree of the word of the Lord is upon you who dwell in Canaan, land of Philistines, and I shall destroy you without a dweller. 6 And the sea district shall be sheds, a house (where) shepherds prepare meals and enclosures for sheep. 7 And there shall be a portion for the remnant of the house of Judah; upon them they shall find sustenance; in the houses of Ashkelon in the evening they shall dwell, for their memory shall come up for good before their God the Lord, and He shall restore their exiles. 8 It was heard before Me the disgraces of Moab and the boast of the sons of Am 9 Therefore (as) I live, said the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, for Moab like Sodom shall be, and the sons of Ammon—like Gomorrah, a fallow land of salt-plants and pits of salt, and desolation for ever; the remnant of My people shall despise them and the rest of the tribes shall dispossess them. 10 This (shall come) to them for their boasting, for they disgraced and boasted against the people of the Lord of Hosts. 11 The Fearful One, the Lord, has determined to save them, for He has humbled all the fear of the land, and (every) man from his place, all the islands of the nations shall pray before Him. 12 You, too, Cushites, shall be the slain of My sword. 13 And He shall raise the stroke/affliction of His might over the north, and He shall destroy the Assyrian and turn Nineveh into a desolation, a wasteland like a desert. 14 And flocks of all the beasts of the field shall lie down in her midst; ravens as well as owls shall dwell in the engraving(-) of her gates; the voice of the bird is chirping in her window; her doors are destroyed and her ceilings they have torn down. 15 This is the powerful city that dwells securely, that says in her heart “I and none other than I”; how has she become a destruction, a house/place (where) beasts of the field dwell; whoever will pass by her shall call and shake his hands.
3Woe (to) the heads, and (to) a city that is broken up, that has increased to provoke. Or Woe (to the one) who hurries and rebels, a/the city that increases to provoke. 2 She has not listened to the voice of His servants the prophets, and she has not taken instruction; in the Memra of the Lord she has not trusted, and to the worship of her God she has not drawn near. 3 Her officials in her midst like lions roar, her judges (are) wolves of evening, they are not weakened in the morning 4 Their false prophets who are in her midst, are evil, lying men; the Priests desecrate holiness, rob Torah. 5 the Lord, the Righteous One, has determined to set His Shekhinah in her midst; to do deceit is not before Him. Behold, as the morning light that grows in strength, so His judgment goes out forever, and does not tarry, but the children know no shame. 6 I have destroyed nations, I have made their fortresses/palaces desolate; I have destroyed their streets without a passerby; their cities are desolate with no man, with no dweller. 7 I said, (if) only you (pl.) shall fear from before Me, you (pl.) shall take instruction (so that their dwelling will not sever/cease from the land of the House of My Shekhinah); all the blessings that I promised them I shall bring to them. Then/therefore, they arose early, they corrupted all their deeds. 8 Therefore, hope for/believe in My Word, said the Lord, for the day of My appearance to judge, for My decision is to gather nations, to bring the kingdom(s) near, to pour upon them My anger, all the strength of My wrath, for in the fire of My retribution all the wicked of the earth shall perish. 9 For then, I shall change/bring again upon the nations one chosen speech, to pray all in the name of the Lord, to worship before Him one shoulder. 10 From beyond the rivers of India, in mercy/love the exile of My people, who were exiled, shall return, and they shall be bringing them as offerings. 11 At that time you shall not be ashamed from all your evil deeds (for she rebelled in My Memra), for then I shall exile from your midst the powerful ones of your praise, and you shall no longer vaunt on the mountain of My holiness. 12 And I shall leave in your midst a humble nation and (who) submits to humiliation, and they shall trust in the name of the Lord. 13 The remnant of Israel shall not do falsehood and they shall not speak lies, and a tongue of deceits shall not be found in their mouth, for they shall sustain themselves and rest, and none to scare (them). 14 Praise, O congregation of Zion, shout for joy, O Israel! Be glad and rejoice with all heart, O congregation of Jerusalem! 15 the Lord has exiled the deceitful judges from your midst, He has removed your enemies, the kings of Israel; the Lord has decided to let His Shekhinah dwell in your midst; do not fear from before misfortune any more. 16 At that time it will be said to Jerusalem, do not fear, Zion, do not let your hands weaken. 17 the Lord your God has decided to let His Shekhinah dwell in your midst; a redeeming valiant, He shall gladden over you with gladness, He shall expunge your debts/sins with His love, He shall exult over you with exultation. 18 (Those) who were delaying within you the appointed times of your festivals I have removed from your midst; woe upon them for they were carrying their weapon against you and were reviling you. 19 Behold I (am going to) make a (total) end with all your enslavors at that time, and I shall redeem the exiled and I shall bring near the scattered, and I shall make them for praise and for fame in all the land of their shame. 20 At that time I will bring you in and at that time I will gather you, for I will make you for a renown and a praise in all the nations of the land, when I return your exiles before your eyes, said the Lord.