Study Desk

The word of the LORD which came to Zephaniah son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah, in the days of ^(C1)Josiah son of ^(C2)Amon, king of Judah:

"I will completely ^(C1)remove all things From the face of the ^(F1)earth," declares the LORD.

"I will remove ^(C1)human and animal life; I will remove the ^(C2)birds of the sky And the fish of the sea, And the ^(F1)(C3)ruins along with the wicked; And I will eliminate mankind from the face of the ^(F2)earth," declares the LORD.

"So I will ^(C1)stretch out My hand against Judah And against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And I will ^(C2)eliminate the remnant of Baal from this place, And the names of the ^(C3)idolatrous priests along with the other priests.

-"And those who bow down on the ^(C1)housetops to the heavenly ^(F1)lights, And those who bow down and ^(C2)swear to the LORD, but also swear by ^(F2)(C3)Milcom,

And those who have ^(C1)turned back from following the LORD, And those who have ^(C2)not sought the LORD nor inquired of Him."

^(F1)(C1)Be silent before the Lord ^(F2)GOD! For the ^(C2)day of the LORD is near, Because the LORD has prepared a ^(C3)sacrifice, He has ^(C4)consecrated His guests.

"Then it will come about on the day of the LORD'S sacrifice That I will ^(C1)punish the princes, the king's sons, And all who clothe themselves with ^(C2)foreign garments.

-"And on that day I will punish all who leap on the temple threshold, Who fill the house of their ^(F1)lord with ^(C1)violence and deceit.

-"And on that day," declares the LORD, "There will be the sound of a cry from the ^(C1)Fish Gate, Wailing from the ^(F1)(C2)Second Quarter, And a loud crash from the ^(C3)hills.

-"Wail, you inhabitants of the ^(F1)Mortar, Because all the ^(F2)people of ^(C1)Canaan will be destroyed; All who weigh out ^(C2)silver will be eliminated.

-"And it will come about at that time That I will ^(C1)search Jerusalem with lamps, And I will punish the people Who are ^(F1)(C2)stagnant in spirit, Who say in their hearts, 'The LORD will ^(C3)not do good nor harm!'

-"Their wealth will become ^(C1)plunder, And their houses desolate; Yes, ^(C2)they will build houses but not inhabit them, And plant vineyards but not drink their wine."

The ^(C1)great ^(C2)day of the LORD is near, Near and coming very quickly; Listen, the day of the LORD! ^(F1)In it the warrior ^(C3)cries out bitterly.

That day is a day of anger, A day of ^(C1)trouble and distress, A day of destruction and desolation, A day of ^(C2)darkness and gloom, A day of clouds and thick darkness,

A day of ^(C1)trumpet and battle cry Against the ^(C2)fortified cities And the high corner towers.

I will bring ^(C1)distress on mankind So that they will walk ^(C2)like those who are blind, Because they have sinned against the LORD; And their ^(C3)blood will be poured out like dust, And their ^(C4)flesh like dung.

Neither their ^(C1)silver nor their gold Will be able to save them On the day of the LORD'S anger; And ^(C2)all the earth will be devoured By the fire of His jealousy, For He will ^(C3)make a complete end, Indeed a horrifying one, Of all the inhabitants of the earth.

Gather yourselves together, yes, ^(C1)join together, You nation ^(C2)without ^(F1)shame,

Before the decree ^(F1)takes effect— The day passes ^(C1)like chaff— Before the ^(C2)burning anger of the LORD comes upon you, Before the ^(C3)day of the LORD'S anger comes upon you.

^(C1)Seek the LORD, All you ^(C2)humble of the ^(F1)earth Who have practiced His ^(F2)ordinances; ^(C3)Seek righteousness, seek humility. Perhaps you will ^(C4)remain hidden On the day of the LORD'S anger.

For ^(C1)Gaza will be abandoned, And Ashkelon will become a desolation; The inhabitants of ^(C1)Ashdod will be driven out at noon, And ^(C1)Ekron will be uprooted.

Woe to the inhabitants of the seacoast, The nation of the ^(F1)(C1)Cherethites! The word of the LORD is ^(C2)against you, ^(C3)Canaan, land of the Philistines; And I will ^(C4)eliminate you So that there will be ^(C5)no inhabitant.

So the seacoast will become ^(C1)grazing places, With pastures for shepherds and folds for flocks.

And the coast will be For the ^(C1)remnant of the house of Judah, They will ^(C2)drive sheep to pasture on it. In the houses of Ashkelon they will lie down at evening; For the LORD their God will ^(C3)care for them And ^(C4)restore their fortunes.

"I have heard the ^(C1)taunting of Moab And the ^(C2)abusive speech of the sons of Ammon, With which they have taunted My people And ^(C3)boasted against their territory.

-"Therefore, as I live," declares the LORD of armies, The God of Israel, "^(C1)Moab will assuredly be like ^(C2)Sodom, And the sons of ^(C3)Ammon like ^(C4)Gomorrah— Ground overgrown with weeds and full of salt mines, And a permanent desolation. The remnant of My people will ^(C5)plunder them, And the remainder of My nation will inherit them."

This they will have in return for their ^(C1)arrogance, because they have ^(C2)taunted and boasted against the people of the LORD of armies.

The LORD will be ^(C1)terrifying to them, for He will ^(F1)starve ^(C2)all the gods of the earth; and all the ^(C3)coastlands of the nations will ^(C4)bow down to Him, everyone from his own place.

"You also, ^(C1)Ethiopians, will be slain by My sword."

And He will ^(C1)stretch out His hand against the north And eliminate ^(C2)Assyria, And He will make ^(C3)Nineveh a desolation, Parched like the wilderness.

Flocks will lie down in her midst, ^(F1)All animals that range in herds; Both the ^(F2)(C1)pelican and the hedgehog Will spend their nights in ^(F3)the tops of her pillars; ^(F4)Birds will sing in the window, Devastation will be on the threshold; For He has uncovered the cedar work.

This is the ^(C1)presumptuous city That ^(C2)dwells securely, Who says in her heart, "^(C3)I am, and there is no one besides me." How she has become a ^(C4)desolation, A resting place for animals! ^(C5)Everyone who passes by her will ^(F1)hiss And wave his hand in contempt.

Woe to her who is ^(C1)rebellious and ^(C2)defiled, The ^(C3)oppressive city!

She ^(C1)obeyed no voice, She ^(C2)accepted no discipline. She did not ^(C3)trust in the LORD, She did not ^(C4)approach her God.

Her ^(C1)leaders within her are roaring lions, Her judges are ^(C2)wolves at evening; They have no bones to gnaw in the morning.

Her prophets are ^(C1)insolent, treacherous men; Her ^(C2)priests have profaned the sanctuary. They have done violence to the Law.

The LORD is ^(C1)righteous ^(C2)within her; He will ^(C3)do no injustice. ^(C4)Every morning He brings His justice to light; He ^(F1)does not fail. But the ^(F2)criminal ^(C5)knows no shame.

"I have eliminated nations; Their corner towers are deserted. I have ^(C1)laid waste their streets, With no one passing by; Their ^(C2)cities have been laid waste, Without a person, ^(C3)without an inhabitant.

-"I said, 'You will certainly revere Me, You will ^(C1)accept discipline.' So her dwelling will ^(C2)not be eliminated In accordance with everything that I have stipulated for her. Instead, they were eager to ^(C3)corrupt all their deeds.

"Therefore ^(C1)wait for Me," declares the LORD, "For the day when I rise up as a witness. Indeed, My decision is to ^(C2)gather nations, To assemble kingdoms, To pour out on them My indignation, All My burning anger; For ^(C3)all the earth will be devoured By the fire of My zeal.

-"For then I will ^(F1)restore to the peoples ^(C1)pure lips, So that all of them may ^(C2)call on the name of the LORD, To serve Him ^(F2)shoulder to shoulder.

-"From beyond the rivers of ^(C1)Ethiopia My worshipers, ^(F1)My dispersed ones, Will ^(C2)bring My offerings.

-"On that day you will ^(C1)feel no shame Because of all your deeds By which you have rebelled against Me; For then I will remove from your midst Your ^(C2)proud, arrogant ones, And you will never again be haughty On My ^(C3)holy mountain.

-"But I will leave among you A ^(C1)humble and lowly people, And they will ^(C2)take refuge in the name of the LORD.

-"The ^(C1)remnant of Israel will ^(C2)do no wrong And ^(C3)tell no lies, Nor will a deceitful tongue Be found in their mouths; For they will ^(C4)feed and lie down With no one to frighten them."

Shout for joy, daughter of Zion! ^(C1)Shout in triumph, Israel! Rejoice and triumph with all your heart, Daughter of Jerusalem!

The LORD has taken away ^(C1)His judgments against you, He has cleared away your enemies. The King of Israel, the LORD, is ^(C2)in your midst; You will no longer ^(C3)fear disaster.

^(C1)On that day it will be said to Jerusalem: "^(C2)Do not be afraid, Zion; ^(C3)Do not let your hands fall limp.

-"The LORD your God is ^(C1)in your midst, A ^(F1)(C2)victorious warrior. He will ^(C3)rejoice over you with joy, He will ^(F2)be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.

-"I will gather those who are ^(C1)worried about the appointed feasts— They ^(F1)came from you, Zion; The disgrace of exile is a burden on ^(F2)them.

-"Behold, I am going to deal at that time With all your ^(C1)oppressors; I will save ^(C2)those who limp And gather the scattered, And I will turn their ^(C3)shame into ^(C4)praise and fame In all the earth.

-"At that time I will ^(C1)bring you in, Even at the time when I gather you together; Indeed, I will make you ^(C2)famous and praiseworthy Among all the peoples of the earth, When I ^(C3)restore your fortunes before your eyes," Says the LORD.