Read the Bible

Day of Judgment on Judah

¹ The word of the LORD which came to Zephaniah the son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of ^(F1)Hezekiah, in the days of ^(C1)Josiah the son of ^(C2)Amon, king of Judah:

² "I will completely ^(C1)consume and sweep away all things
From the face of the earth in judgment," says the LORD.

³ "I will consume and sweep away ^(C1)man and beast;
I will consume and sweep away the ^(C2)birds of the air
And the fish of the sea,
And the ^(F1)(C3)stumbling blocks (idols) along with the wicked;
And I will cut off and destroy man from the face of the earth," declares the LORD.

⁴ "I will also ^(C1)stretch out My hand in judgment against Judah
And against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
And I will ^(C2)cut off and destroy the remnant of ^(F1)Baal from this place,
And the names and remembrance of the ^(C3)idolatrous priests along with the false priests,

⁵ And those who bow down and worship the host of heaven the sun, the moon, and the stars ^(F1)on their ^(C1)housetops
And those who bow down and ^(C2)swear oaths to and pretend to worship the LORD and yet also swear by the pagan god called ^(C3)Milcom god of the Ammonites,

⁶ And those who have ^(C1)turned back from following the LORD,
And those who have ^(C2)not sought the LORD as their most important need or inquired of Him."

⁷ Hush! ^(C1)Be silent before the Lord GOD there is no acceptable excuse to offer!
For the ^(C2)day of the vengeance of the LORD is near,
For the LORD has prepared a ^(C3)sacrifice (Judah),
He has ^(C4)set apart for His use those who have accepted His invitation the Chaldeans who rule Babylon. ^(VR1)

⁸ "Then it will come about on the day of the LORD'S sacrifice
That I will ^(C1)punish the princes and the king's sons
And all who are clothed in lavish ^(C2)foreign apparel reflecting their paganism. ^(VR1)

⁹ "On that day I will also punish all those who ^(F1)leap over the temple threshold,
Who fill their pagan lord's temple with ^(C1)violence and deceit.

¹⁰ "On that day," declares the LORD,
"There will be the sound of crying from the ^(C1)Fish (Damascus) Gate in the northern wall of Jerusalem where invaders enter
And wailing from the ^(F1)(C2)Second Quarter of the city,
And a loud crash from the ^(C3)hills.

¹¹ "Wail in anguish, you inhabitants of the ^(F1)Mortar (Valley of Siloam),
For all the merchants of ^(C1)Canaan will be silenced and destroyed;
All who weigh out ^(C2)silver will be cut off.

¹² "It will come about at that time
That I will ^(C1)search Jerusalem with lamps
And I will punish the men
Who like old wine are ^(C2)stagnant in spirit,
Who say in their hearts,
'The LORD will ^(C3)not do good, nor will He do evil.'

¹³ "Furthermore, their wealth will become ^(C1)plunder
And their houses a desolation.
Yes, ^(C2)they will build houses but not live in them,
And plant vineyards but not drink their wine." ^(VR1)

¹⁴ The ^(C1)great judgment ^(C2)day of the LORD is near,
Near and coming very quickly.
Listen! The voice of the day of the LORD!
The warrior ^(C3)cries out bitterly unable to fight or to flee.

¹⁵ That day is a day of the outpouring of the wrath of God,
A day of ^(C1)trouble and distress,
A day of destruction and devastation,
A day of ^(C2)darkness and gloom,
A day of clouds and thick darkness, ^(VR1)

¹⁶ A day of ^(C1)trumpet and the battle cry of invaders
Against the ^(C2)fortified cities
And against the high corner towers (battlements).

¹⁷ I will bring ^(C1)distress on men
So that they will walk ^(C2)like the blind unable to find a way of escape,
Because they have sinned against the LORD;
Their ^(C3)blood will be poured out like dust and trampled underfoot,
And their ^(C4)flesh like dung.

¹⁸ Neither their ^(C1)silver nor their gold
Will be able to rescue them
On the day of the LORD'S indignation and wrath.
And the ^(C2)whole earth will be consumed
In the fire of His jealous ^(F1)wrath,
For He shall ^(C3)make a full and complete end,
Indeed a terrifying one,
Of all the inhabitants of the earth. ^(VR1)