1:1 The Word of Yehovah which was to 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 Yehudah1:
1:2 I will completely consume all from on the face of the ground, declares Yehovah.
1:3 I will gather away man and beast: I will gather away the birds of the heavens and the fish of the sea, and the stumbling-blocks, even the wicked. And I will cut off man from the face of the ground, declares Yehovah.
1:4 I will also stretch out My hand on Yehudah and on all those dwelling in Yerushalayim. And I will cut off the remnant of Baal from this place, the name of the idol worshipers, with the priests;
1:5 and those bowing to the host of the heavens on the housetops; and those bowing, swearing to Yehovah, also swearing by Malcham,
1:6 and those drawing back from after Yehovah, and who have not sought Yehovah, nor asked of Him.
1:7 Be silent before the face of Adonai Yehovah, for the day of Yehovah is near.2 For Yehovah has appointed a sacrifice; He has consecrated ones He called.
1:8 And it shall be in the day of the sacrifice of Yehovah, I will punish the rulers and the king's sons, and all those clothed in foreign clothing.
1:9 And I will punish all those who leap on the threshold in that day, who fill their masters' houses with violence and deceit.
1:10 And it shall be in that day, declares Yehovah, the sound of a cry from the Fish Gate, and a howling from the Second, and a great breaking from the hills.
1:11 Howl, those living in Maktesh, for all the people of Canaan have perished; all those carrying silver are cut off.
1:12 And it shall be in that time, I will search Yerushalayim with menorot, and punish the men being settled on their lees; who say in their heart, Yehovah will not do good, nor will He do evil.
1:13 And their goods shall become a prize, and their houses a waste. They shall also build houses, but not live there. And they shall plant vineyards, but not drink their wine3.
1:14 The Great Day of Yehovah is near; It is near and rushing greatly, the sound of the day of Yehovah. The mighty man shall cry out bitterly there.
1:15 That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of waste and ruin, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness4,
1:16 a day of the ram's horn and alarm against the fortified cities, and against the high towers.
1:17 And I will bring distress to men, and they shall walk like the blind, because they have sinned against Yehovah. And their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh like dung.
1:18 Their silver and their gold shall not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of Yehovah. But all the earth shall be consumed by the fire of His jealousy. For He shall make a complete, yea, a speedy end of all those living in the earth. (Eze 7:19, Yer 25:31)
2:1 Gather yourselves, even gather, O nation not being longed for;
2:2 before the birth of the decree, the day shall pass like the chaff, yet not before the hot anger of Yehovah comes on you, yet not before the day of the anger of Yehovah comes on you.
2:3 Seek Yehovah, all the meek of the earth who have done His justice; seek righteousness; seek meekness. It may be you shall be hidden in the day of the anger of Yehovah.
2:4 For Gaza shall be forsaken, and Ashkelon a desolation. They shall drive Ashdod out at the noonday, and Ekron shall be rooted up.
2:5 Woe to those living in the seacoast, the nation of the Cherethites!5 The Word of Yehovah is against you, Canaan, the land of the Philistines; I will destroy you so there shall not be an inhabitant.
2:6 And the seacoast shall be pastures, meadows of shepherds, and folds for the flock.
2:7 And the coast shall be for the remnant of the house of Yehudah; they shall feed on them. In the houses of Ashkelon, they shall lie down in the evening, for Yehovah their Elohim shall visit them and return their captivity.
2:8 I have heard the contempt of Moab, and the curses of the sons of Ammon, with which they have reviled My people and have magnified themselves on their border.
2:9 Therefore, as I live, declares Yehovah of Hosts, the Elohim of Yisrael, surely Moab shall be as Sodom, and the sons of Ammon like Gomorrah, a possession of nettles, and a pit of salt, and a ruin forever. The remnant of My people shall plunder them, and the rest of the nation shall possess them.
2:10 They shall have this for their pride, because they have cursed and magnified themselves against the people of Yehovah of Hosts6.
2:11 Yehovah will be frightening to them, for He will famish all the gods of the earth. Each man from his place and all the coastlands of the nations will bow to Him.
2:12 You also, O Ethiopians, shall be pierced by My sword.
2:13 And He will stretch out His hand against the north, and destroy Assyria, and will make Nineveh a desolation, dry like the desert.
2:14 And flocks shall lie down in her midst; all the beasts of a nation; both the pelican and the bittern shall lodge in the capitals of its pillars. A voice shall sing at the window; ruin shall be at the doorsill; for the cedar work He will bare.
2:15 This is the joyful city, dwelling confidently, who says in her heart, I am, and there is yet no other. How she has become a ruin, a resting place for animals! Everyone who passes near her shall hiss; he shall shake his hand!
3:1 Woe to her rebelling and being defiled, to the oppressing city!
3:2 She did not listen to the voice; she did not receive correction; she did not trust in Yehovah; she did not draw near to her Elohim.
3:3 Her rulers within her are roaring lions; her judges are evening wolves; they do not gnaw bones for the morning.
3:4 Her prophets are proud, men of deceit; her priests have profaned the sanctuary; they have done violence to the Torah.
3:5 The righteous Yehovah is in her midst; He will not act perversely. Every morning He gives His justice to the light; He does not fail, but the unjust knows no shame.
3:6 I have cut off nations; their towers are ruined. I made their streets waste, so that none passes by. Their cities are laid waste, without a man, from there being not one living there.
3:7 I said, Surely you will fear Me; you will receive instruction; then her dwelling shall not be cut off, all that I appointed for her. But they rose up early; they corrupted all their doings.
3:8 Therefore, wait for Me, declares Yehovah, for the day I rise up to the prey. For My judgment is to gather the nations, for Me to gather the kingdoms, to pour My fury out on them, all My hot anger. For all the earth shall be burned up with the fire of My jealousy. (Ps 79:6, Rev 16:1)
3:9 For then I will give a clear lip to the peoples, to call all of them by the name of Yehovah, to serve Him with one shoulder7.
3:10 From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia, My worshipers, the daughter of My scattered ones, shall bring My food offering.
3:11 In that day you shall not be ashamed from all your doings in which you have transgressed against Me. For then I will take away those who rejoice in your pride out of your midst, and you shall not again be proud any more in My set apart mountain.
3:12 I will also leave a people, poor and weak in your midst, and they shall trust in the name of Yehovah.
3:13 The remnant of Yisrael shall not do injustice, nor speak lies. And a deceitful tongue shall not be found in their mouth. For they shall feed and lie down, and no one shall frighten them.
3:14 Shout for joy, daughter of Zion; shout, Yisrael! Be glad and rejoice with all the heart, daughter of Yerushalayim!
3:15 Yehovah has turned off your judgments; He has turned away your enemy. Yehovah, the King of Yisrael, is in your midst; you shall not fear evil any more.
3:16 In that day it shall be said to Yerushalayim, Fear not! Zion, do not let your hands droop.
3:17 Yehovah your Elohim is mighty in your midst; He will save (Y’shua*), He will rejoice over you with joy; He is silent in His love. He rejoices over you with a joyful shout.
3:18 I will gather the afflicted ones from the appointed place; they were from you, a lifting up of reproach over her.
3:19 Look, at that time I will deal with all those who afflict you. And I will save her who is lame, and gather her who was thrust out. And I will give them for a praise and for a name in all the land of their shame.
3:20 In that time I will bring you, even in the time I gather you. For I will give you for a name and for a praise among all the peoples of the earth, when I turn back your captivity before your eyes, says Yehovah1.