English Standard Version

New King James Version

The word of the Lord that came to Zephaniah the son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah.

1

The Great Day of the Lord

The word of the Lord which came 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 Judah.

2

The Coming Judgment on Judah

“I will utterly sweep away everything
from the face of the earth,” declares the Lord.

2

The Great Day of the Lord

“I will [a]utterly consume everything
From the face of the land,”
Says the Lord;

3

“I will sweep away man and beast;
I will sweep away the birds of the heavens
and the fish of the sea,
and the rubblea with the wicked.
I will cut off mankind
from the face of the earth,” declares the Lord.

3

“I will consume man and beast;
I will consume the birds of the heavens,
The fish of the sea,
And the [b]stumbling blocks along with the wicked.
I will cut off man from the face of the [c]land,”
Says the Lord.

4

“I will stretch out my hand against Judah
and against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem;
and I will cut off from this place the remnant of Baal
and the name of the idolatrous priests along with the priests,

4

“I will stretch out My hand against Judah,
And against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
[d]I will cut off every trace of Baal from this place,
The names of the idolatrous[e] priests with the pagan priests —

5

those who bow down on the roofs
to the host of the heavens,
those who bow down and swear to the Lord
and yet swear by Milcom,b

5

Those who worship the host of heaven on the housetops;
Those who worship and swear oaths by the Lord,
But who also swear by [f]Milcom;

6

those who have turned back from following the Lord,
who do not seek the Lord or inquire of him.”

6

Those who have turned back from following the Lord,
And have not sought the Lord, nor inquired of Him.”

7

The Day of the Lord Is Near

Be silent before the Lord God!
For the day of the Lord is near;
the Lord has prepared a sacrifice
and consecrated his guests.

7

Be silent in the presence of the Lord God;
For the day of the Lord is at hand,
For the Lord has prepared a sacrifice;
He has [g]invited His guests.

8

And on the day of the Lord’s sacrifice —
“I will punish the officials and the king’s sons
and all who array themselves in foreign attire.

8

“And it shall be,
In the day of the Lord’s sacrifice,
That I will punish the princes and the king’s children,
And all such as are clothed with foreign apparel.

9

On that day I will punish
everyone who leaps over the threshold,
and those who fill their master’sc house
with violence and fraud.

9

In the same day I will punish
All those who leap over the threshold,
Who fill their masters’ houses with violence and deceit.

10

“On that day,” declares the Lord,
“a cry will be heard from the Fish Gate,
a wail from the Second Quarter,
a loud crash from the hills.

10

“And there shall be on that day,” says the Lord,
“The sound of a mournful cry from the Fish Gate,
A wailing from the Second Quarter,
And a loud crashing from the hills.

11

Wail, O inhabitants of the Mortar!
For all the tradersd are no more;
all who weigh out silver are cut off.

11

Wail, you inhabitants of [h]Maktesh!
For all the merchant people are cut down;
All those who handle money are cut off.

12

At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps,
and I will punish the men
who are complacent,e
those who say in their hearts,
‘The Lord will not do good,
nor will he do ill.’

12

“And it shall come to pass at that time
That I will search Jerusalem with lamps,
And punish the men
Who are settled[i] in complacency,
Who say in their heart,
‘The Lord will not do good,
Nor will He do evil.’

13

Their goods shall be plundered,
and their houses laid waste.
Though they build houses,
they shall not inhabit them;
though they plant vineyards,
they shall not drink wine from them.”

13

Therefore their goods shall become booty,
And their houses a desolation;
They shall build houses, but not inhabit them;
They shall plant vineyards, but not drink their wine.”

14

The great day of the Lord is near,
near and hastening fast;
the sound of the day of the Lord is bitter;
the mighty man cries aloud there.

14

The great day of the Lord is near;
It is near and hastens quickly.
The noise of the day of the Lord is bitter;
There the mighty men shall cry out.

15

A day of wrath is that day,
a day of distress and anguish,
a day of ruin and devastation,
a day of darkness and gloom,
a day of clouds and thick darkness,

15

That day is a day of wrath,
A day of trouble and distress,
A day of devastation and desolation,
A day of darkness and gloominess,
A day of clouds and thick darkness,

16

a day of trumpet blast and battle cry
against the fortified cities
and against the lofty battlements.

16

A day of trumpet and alarm
Against the fortified cities
And against the high towers.

17

I will bring distress on mankind,
so that they shall walk like the blind,
because they have sinned against the Lord;
their blood shall be poured out like dust,
and their flesh like dung.

17

“I will bring distress upon men,
And they shall walk like blind men,
Because they have sinned against the Lord;
Their blood shall be poured out like dust,
And their flesh like refuse.”

18

Neither their silver nor their gold
shall be able to deliver them
on the day of the wrath of the Lord.
In the fire of his jealousy,
all the earth shall be consumed;
for a full and sudden end
he will make of all the inhabitants of the earth.

18

Neither their silver nor their gold
Shall be able to deliver them
In the day of the Lord’s wrath;
But the whole land shall be devoured
By the fire of His jealousy,
For He will make speedy riddance
Of all those who dwell in the land.

Parallel

English Standard Version

New King James Version

Zephaniah 1

Zephaniah 1