LXX Zephaniah

The Lord’s Message to Zephaniah

1 The Lord’s message that came to Zephaniah, son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah, in the days of King Josiah of Judah, Amon’s son.

Judgment on Judah

2 Let everything be completely wiped out from the face of the earth, says the Lord. 3 Let people and livestock be wiped out. Let the birds of the air and the fish of the sea be wiped out, and I will remove people from the face of the earth, says the Lord. 4 And I will stretch out my hand against Judah and everyone living in Jerusalem, and I will remove Baal’s names from this place, and the names of the priests, 5 and those who worship the army of heaven on the rooftops, and those who swear by the Lord, and those who swear by their king, 6 and those who turn aside from the Lord, and those who do not seek the Lord, and those who do not cling to the Lord.

7 Show reverence before the Lord God, for the day of the Lord is near, for the Lord has prepared his sacrifice, and has made those he called holy. 8 And in the day of the Lord’s sacrifice, I will punish the rulers, and on the king’s house, and on everyone wearing foreign clothing. 9 And I will publicly punish everyone at the gateways on that day, those filling the house of the Lord their God with irreverence and deceit.

10 And on that day there will be, says the Lord, a cry from the gate of those who kill, and a wail from the second gate, and a great crash from the hills. 11 Mourn, you who live in the shattered place, because all the people have become like Canaan. Everyone lifted up by silver has been destroyed.

12 And in that day, I will search Jerusalem with a lamp, and will punish the men who treat their obligations with contempt, who say in their hearts, “The Lord will do neither good nor harm.” 13 And their power will become plunder, and their houses will be destroyed. And they will build houses, but will not live in them, and they will plant vineyards, but will not drink their wine.

The Day of the Lord

14 For the great day of the Lord is near, near and very swift. The sound of the day of the Lord is bitter and harsh. It has been made mighty. 15 That day is a day of anger, a day of trouble and distress, a day of untimely death and destruction, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and fog, 16 a day of trumpet and shouting against the fortified cities, and against the high corners. 17 And I will press people hard, and they will walk like the blind, because they have sinned against the Lord, and he will pour out their blood like dust, and their flesh like cow dung. 18 And their silver and their gold will never be able to rescue them in the day of the Lord’s anger, and the whole earth will be consumed by the fire of his jealousy, for he will bring a swift end on everyone living on the earth.

Seek the Lord

1 Gather and bind yourselves together, undisciplined nation, 2 before you become like a flower passing away, before the Lord’s anger comes upon you, before the day of the Lord’s burning anger comes upon you. 3 Seek the Lord, all you humble of the earth. Practice judgment, and seek justice, and respond to them, so that you may be sheltered in the day of the Lord’s anger.

The Coast and Crete

4 For Gaza will be completely looted,⁠a and Ashkelon will be destroyed, and Ashdod will be thrown out at noon, and Ekron will be uprooted. 5 Disaster for those living in the strip by the sea, foreigners living among the Cretans! The Lord’s message is against you, Canaan, land of the Philistines, and I will destroy you from a dwelling place. 6 And Crete will be a pasture for flocks and a pen for sheep. 7 And the strip by the sea will belong to those left of the house of Judah. They will graze on them in the houses of Ashkelon. In the late afternoon they will lodge because of the sons of Judah, for the Lord their God has visited them, and he has turned back their captivity.

Moab and Ammon

8 I heard the taunts of Moab, and the blows of the sons of Ammon, with which they taunted my people and boasted against my borders. 9 Therefore, I live, says the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, Moab will be like Sodom, and the sons of Ammon like Gomorrah, and Damascus will be abandoned like a threshing floor heap and destroyed forever. And those left of my people will plunder them, and those left of my nation will possess them. 10 This will be theirs in return for their arrogance, because they taunted and boasted against the Lord Almighty.

11 The Lord will appear against them, and will destroy all the gods of the nations of the earth, and all the islands of the nations will worship him, each from his own place.

Ethiopia and Assyria

12 You Ethiopians also are wounded by my sword. 13 And he will stretch out his hand against the north and destroy the Assyrian, and make Nineveh a ruin, waterless like a desert. 14 And flocks and all the wild animals of the earth will graze within her. Chameleons and hedgehogs will rest in her ceiling panels. Wild animals will cry in her openings, ravens in her gateways,⁠b because her height is cedar.

15 This is the scornful city that lives in hope, that says in her heart, “I am, and there is no one else after me.” How she has become a ruin, a pasture for wild animals! Everyone passing through her will hiss and wave his hands.

The City and the Dove

1 The distinguished and ransomed city, the dove! 2 She did not listen to the voice. She did not accept correction. She did not trust in the Lord, and she did not draw near to her God.

3 Her rulers within her are like roaring lions, her judges like wolves of Arabia. They left nothing for the morning. 4 Her prophets are spirit bearers, men full of contempt. Her priests profane the holy things, and act irreverently against the law. 5 But the Lord is righteous within her, and he will never act unjustly. Morning by morning he will bring out his judgment to the light, and he was not hidden, and he did not know injustice in making demands, nor injustice in conflict.

Judgment and Witness

6 I brought down the proud with destruction. Their corners were destroyed. I will completely lay waste their roads so that no one passes through. Their cities have come to an end, because no one exists or lives in them. 7 I said: But fear me and accept instruction, and you will not be cut off from her eyes⁠a for all the vengeance I brought on her. Get ready! Rise early! All their gleanings have been ruined. 8 Therefore wait for me, says the Lord, for the day I rise to bear witness,⁠b because my judgment is for the gatherings of the nations, to receive kings, to pour out all my burning anger on them, for the whole earth will be consumed by the fire of my jealousy.

A People Who Serve the Lord

9 For then I will change a language for the peoples, for its generation, so that everyone may call upon the name of the Lord, to serve him under one yoke. 10 From the ends of the rivers of Ethiopia they will bring sacrifices to me.

11 On that day you will not be ashamed of all your actions by which you acted irreverently against me, for then I will remove the contemptuous acts of your pride, and you will no longer boast against my holy mountain. 12 And I will leave in you a gentle and humble people, and they will fear the name of the Lord, 13 the remnant of Israel, and they will not act unjustly or speak pointless things, and no deceitful tongue will be found in their mouth, because they will graze and lie down, and there will be no one to frighten them.

Joy for Zion

14 Be very joyful, daughter of Zion. Proclaim, daughter of Jerusalem. Be glad and enjoy yourself with all your heart, daughter of Jerusalem. 15 The Lord has taken away your injustices, he has ransomed you from the hand of your enemies. The Lord, the King of Israel, is among you. You will never see evil again.

16 At that time the Lord will say to Jerusalem: Have courage, Zion! Do not let your hands grow weak. 17 The Lord your God is in you. The Mighty One will save you. He will bring joy to you, and will renew you in his love, and he will be glad over you with delight as on a festival day.

18 And I will gather the crushed. Ah! Who took up an insult against her?⁠c

19 Look, I will act in you for your sake at that time, says the Lord, and I will save her, the one who was pressed out,, and welcome her, the one who was rejected, and I will make them a source of pride and renowned in all the earth. 20 And they will be ashamed at that time, when I do good for you, and at the time when I welcome you, for I will make you renowned and a source of pride among all the peoples of the earth, when I turn back your captivity before you, says the Lord.