ZEPHANIAH.

CH. I.]

INSCRIPTION.

1 THE word of Jehovah, which came to Zephaniah, the son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hizkiah, in the days of Josiah, the son of Amon, king of Judah.

I.

Destruction of Judah threatened. Exhortation to repentance. Punishment of the enemies of Judah. .CH. I. II.

2

I WILL utterly consume all things from the face of the land, saith Jehovah;

3 I will consume man and beast;

I will consume the birds of heaven, and the fishes of

the sea,

And the stumblingblocks with the wicked;

And I will cut off man from the face of the land,

saith Jehovah.

4 I will stretch out my hand over Judah,

And over all the inhabitants of Jerusalem,

And I will cut off from this place the residue of Baal,
The name of the idol-sacrificers with the priests
And those who bow themselves on the housetops to
the host of heaven,

And those who bow themselves and swear by Jehovah,

And also swear by their idol,

6 And those, that turn back from Jehovah,

7

And those that seek not Jehovah, nor inquire for him.

Be silent before the Lord Jehovah !

For the day of Jehovah is near;

For Jehovah hath prepared a sacrifice;

He hath appointed his guests.

8 And in the day of the sacrifice of Jehovah it shall come to pass

That I will punish the princes and the sons of the king, And all that are clothed with foreign apparel.

9 In that day also will I punish all that leap over the threshold,

That fill the houses of their master with violence and deceit.

10 And it shall come to pass in that day, saith Jehovah, That there shall be the noise of a cry from the fishgate,

And of a howling from another part of the city,

And of great destruction from the hills.

11 Howl, ye inhabitants of Maktesh!

For all the trafficking people are cut down;
All they that bear silver are destroyed.

12 And it shall come to pass at that time,

That I will search Jerusalem with lamps,

And I will punish the men that are settled on their lees;

That say in their hearts,

"Jehovah doeth neither good nor evil."

13 Their substance shall become a spoil,

And their houses a desolation;

14

They shall also build houses, but not inhabit them; And shall plant vineyards, but not drink the wine there

of.

The day of Jehovah is near,

It is near, and hasteth greatly;

the

great day;

The day of Jehovah shall resound;

Bitterly shall the mighty man cry for help.

15 That day is a day of wrath,

A day of distress and anguish,
A day of destruction and desolation,
A day of darkness and gloominess,

A day of clouds and thick darkness,

16 A day of the trumpet and the war-shout, Against the fenced cities,

And against the high towers.

17 And I will distress the men, so that they shall walk like

the blind,

Because they have sinned against Jehovah.

And their blood shall be poured out as dust,

And their flesh as dung.

18 Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of Jehovah,

1

But by the fire of his indignation shall the whole land be devoured;

For destruction, and that a speedy one, will he bring Upon all that dwell in the land.

Search yourselves; yea, search,

O nation without shame!

2 Before the decree bring forth,

Before the day come upon you like chaff;

Before the fierce anger of Jehovah come upon you, Before the day of the anger of Jehovah come upon you.

3 Seek ye Jehovah, all ye lowly of the land,

Ye, who obey his commands!

Seek righteousness; seek lowliness;

It

may be that ye shall be hid, in the day of the anger

of Jehovah.

For Gaza shall be forsaken,

And Askelon a desolation;

Ashdod shall be driven out at noon-day,

And Ekron shall be rooted up.

5 Woe to the inhabitants of the sea-coasts, the nation of the Cherethites!

This is the word of Jehovah against you, O Canaan,

land of the Philistines;

"I will destroy thee, that there shall be no inhabitant." 6 And the sea-coast shall be pastures full of habitations for shepherds, and folds for flocks.

7 The coast shall be for the residue of the house of

Judah;

Thereon shall they feed;

In the houses of Askelon shall they lie down in the evening;

For Jehovah their God will look upon them, and bring back their captives.

8 I have heard the reproach of Moab,
And the revilings of the sons of Ammon,
With which they have reproached my people,

And exalted themselves against their borders.

9 Therefore, as I live, saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of

Israel,

Moab shall be as Sodom,

And the sons of Ammon as Gomorrah,

A possession for thorns, and a pit for salt, and a perpetual desolation.

The residue of my people shall spoil them,

And the remainder of my nation shall possess them. 10 This shall come upon them for their pride,

Because they have uttered reproaches, and exalted themselves against the people of Jehovah of hosts.

11 Jehovah will be terrible against them;

12

For he will destroy all the gods of the earth;

And before him shall worship, every one from his place, All the islands of the nations.

Ye, also, O Ethiopians!

Ye shall be slain by my sword!

13 He will also stretch out his hand against the North, And destroy Assyria,

And make Nineveh a desolation,

Even dry like a desert.

14 And flocks shall lie down in the midst of her,

Yea, all the tribes of beasts;

The pelican and the hedgehog shall lodge in the capitals of her pillars;

A cry shall resound in the window;
Desolation shall be upon the threshold;
For her cedar-work shall be laid bare.

15 This is the rejoicing city, that dwelt in security,
That said in her heart, "I, and none besides me!”
How is she become a desolation, a place for beasts to

couch in!

Every one that passeth by her shall hiss, and wag his hand.