1 THE word of the LORD which came unto Zephaniah the son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hizkiah, in the days of ^aJosiah the son of Amon, king of Judah.
 2 I will utterly ^aconsume all things from off the land, saith the LORD.
 3 I will consume man and beast; I will consume the fowls of the heaven, and the fishes of the sea, and the ^astumblingblocks with the wicked; and I will cut off man from off the land, saith the LORD.
 4 I will also ^astretch out mine hand upon Judah, and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and I will cut off the remnant of Baal from this place, and the name of the ^bChemarims with the priests;
 5 And them that worship the host of heaven upon the ^ahousetops ; and them that worship and that swear by the LORD, and that swear by ^bMalcham ;
 6 And them that are ^aturned back from the LORD; and those that have not sought the LORD, nor enquired for him.
 7 ^aHold thy peace at the presence of the Lord GOD: for the ^bday of the LORD is at hand: for the LORD hath prepared a sacrifice, he hath bid his guests.
 8 And it shall come to pass 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 strange ^aapparel .
 9 In the same day also will I punish all those that leap ^aon the threshold, which fill their masters’ houses with violence and deceit.
 10 And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD, that there shall be the noise of a cry from the fish ^agate , and an howling from ^bthe second, and a great crashing from the hills.
 11 Howl, ye inhabitants of ^aMaktesh , for all the merchant people are cut down; all they that bear silver are cut off.
 12 And it shall come to pass at that time, that I will search Jerusalem with candles, and punish the men that are ^asettled on their ^blees : that say in their heart, The LORD will ^cnot do good, neither will he do evil.
 13 Therefore their goods shall become a booty, and their houses a desolation: they shall also ^abuild houses, but not inhabit them; and they shall ^bplant vineyards, but not drink the wine thereof.
 14 The ^agreat day of the LORD is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the LORD: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly.
 15 That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and ^adesolation , a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness,
 16 A day of the ^atrumpet and alarm against the ^bfenced cities, and against the high towers.
 17 And I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the LORD: and their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as the dung.
 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 ^afire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.

 1 GATHER yourselves together, yea, gather together, O nation not desired;
 2 Before the decree bring forth, before the day pass as the chaff, before the fierce anger of the LORD come upon you, before the day of the LORD’s anger come upon you.
 3 Seek ye the LORD, all ye ^ameek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment; seek ^brighteousness , seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid in the ^cday of the LORD’s anger.
 4 ¶ For Gaza shall be forsaken, and ^aAshkelon a desolation: they shall drive out Ashdod at the noon day, and Ekron shall be rooted up.
 5 Woe unto the inhabitants of the ^asea coast, the nation of the Cherethites! the word of the LORD is against you; O Canaan, the land of the ^bPhilistines , I will even destroy thee, that there shall be no inhabitant.
 6 And the sea coast shall be ^adwellings and cottages for shepherds, and folds for flocks.
 7 And the coast shall be for the remnant of the house of Judah; they shall feed thereupon: in the houses of Ashkelon shall they lie down in the evening: for the LORD their God shall visit them, and turn away their ^acaptivity .
 8 ¶ I have heard the reproach of Moab, and the ^arevilings of the children of Ammon, whereby they have reproached my people, and ^bmagnified themselves against their border.
 9 Therefore as I live, saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, Surely Moab shall be as ^aSodom , and the children of Ammon as Gomorrah, even ^bthe breeding of nettles, and saltpits, and a perpetual desolation: the residue of my people shall spoil them, and the remnant of my people shall possess them.
 10 This shall they have for their pride, because they have reproached and magnified themselves against the people of the LORD of hosts.
 11 The LORD will be ^aterrible unto them: for he will famish all the gods of the earth; and men shall ^bworship him, every one from his place, even all the isles of the ^cheathen .
 12 ¶ Ye ^aEthiopians also, ye shall be slain by my sword.
 13 And he will stretch out his hand against the north, and destroy ^aAssyria ; and will make Nineveh a desolation, and dry like a wilderness.
 14 And flocks shall lie down in the midst of her, all the beasts of the nations: both the ^acormorant and the bittern shall lodge in the upper lintels of it; their voice shall sing in the windows; desolation shall be in the thresholds: for he shall uncover the cedar work.
 15 This is the rejoicing city that dwelt carelessly, that said in her heart, I am, and there is none beside me: how is she become a desolation, a place for beasts to lie down in! every one that passeth by her shall hiss, and ^awag his hand.

 1 WOE to her that is ^afilthy and polluted, to the oppressing city!
 2 She ^aobeyed not the voice; she received not correction; she trusted not in the LORD; she drew not near to her God.
 3 Her princes within her are roaring lions; her judges are evening ^awolves ; they gnaw not the bones till the morrow.
 4 Her prophets are ^alight and treacherous persons: her priests have ^bpolluted the sanctuary, they have done violence to the ^claw .
 5 The just LORD is in the midst thereof; he will not do iniquity: every morning doth he bring his judgment to light, he faileth not; but the unjust knoweth no shame.
 6 I have cut off the nations: their towers are desolate; I made their streets waste, that none passeth by: their cities are destroyed, so that there is no man, that there is none inhabitant.
 7 I said, Surely thou wilt fear me, thou wilt receive instruction; so their dwelling should not be cut off, howsoever I punished them: but they rose early, and corrupted all their doings.
 8 ¶ Therefore wait ye upon me, saith the LORD, until the day that I rise up to the prey: for my determination is ^ato gather the ^bnations , that I may assemble the kingdoms, to pour upon them mine indignation, even all my fierce anger: for all the ^cearth shall be devoured with the fire of my jealousy.
 9 For then will I turn to the people a pure ^alanguage , that they may all call upon the name of the LORD, to serve him with one ^bconsent .
 10 From ^abeyond the rivers of Ethiopia my suppliants, even the daughter of my dispersed, shall bring mine offering.
 11 In that day shalt thou not be ashamed for all thy doings, wherein thou hast transgressed against me: for then I will take away out of the midst of thee them that rejoice in thy pride, and thou shalt no more be ^ahaughty ^bbecause of my holy mountain.
 12 I will also leave in the midst of thee an afflicted and poor people, and they shall trust in the name of the LORD.
 13 The remnant of Israel shall not do iniquity, nor speak ^alies ; neither shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth: for they shall feed and lie down, and none shall make them afraid.
 14 ¶ Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel; be glad and rejoice with all the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem.
 15 The LORD hath taken away thy judgments, he hath cast out thine enemy: the king of Israel, even the LORD, is in the ^amidst of thee: thou shalt not see evil any more.
 16 In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem, Fear thou not: and to Zion, Let not thine hands be slack.
 17 The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.
 18 I will gather them that are sorrowful for the solemn assembly, who are of thee, to whom the reproach of it was a burden.
 19 Behold, at that time I will undo all that afflict thee: and I will save her that ^ahalteth , and ^bgather her that was driven out; and I will get them praise and fame in every land where they have been put to shame.
 20 At that time will I bring you again, even in the time that I ^agather you: for I will make you a name and a ^bpraise among all people of the earth, when I turn back your ^ccaptivity before your eyes, saith the LORD.