Zephaniah 3
Jerusalem is Corrupt
3:1 The filthy,1 stained city is as good as dead;
the city filled with oppressors is finished!2
3:2 She is disobedient;3
she refuses correction.4
She does not trust the
she does not seek the advice of5 her God.
3:3 Her princes6 are as fierce as roaring lions;7
her rulers8 are as hungry as wolves in the desert,9
who completely devour their prey by morning.10
3:4 Her prophets are proud;11
they are deceitful men.
Her priests defile what is holy;12
they break God’s laws.13
3:5 The just
he commits no unjust acts.15
Every morning he reveals16 his justice.
At dawn he appears without fail.17
Yet the unjust know no shame.
The Lord’s Judgment will Purify
3:6 “I destroyed18 nations;
their walled cities19 are in ruins.
I turned their streets into ruins;
no one passes through them.
Their cities are desolate;20
no one lives there.21
3:7 I thought,22 ‘Certainly you will respect23 me!
Now you will accept correction!’
If she had done so, her home24 would not be destroyed25
by all the punishments I have threatened.26
But they eagerly sinned
in everything they did.27
3:8 Therefore you must wait patiently28 for me,” says the
“for the day when I attack and take plunder.29
I have decided30 to gather nations together
and assemble kingdoms,
so I can pour out my fury on them –
all my raging anger.
For31 the whole earth will be consumed
by my fiery anger.
3:9 Know for sure that I will then enable
the nations to give me acceptable praise.32
All of them will invoke the
and will worship him in unison.34
3:10 From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia,35
those who pray to me36 will bring me tribute.
3:11 In that day you37 will not be ashamed of all your rebelliousness against me,38
for then I will remove from your midst those who proudly boast,39
and you will never again be arrogant on my holy hill.
3:12 I will leave in your midst a humble and meek group of people,40
and they will find safety in the
3:13 The Israelites who remain42 will not act deceitfully.
They will not lie,
and a deceitful tongue will not be found in their mouth.
Indeed, they will graze peacefully like sheep43 and lie down;
no one will terrify them.”
3:14 Shout for joy, Daughter Zion!44
Shout out, Israel!
Be happy and boast with all your heart, Daughter Jerusalem!
3:15 The
he has turned back your enemy.
Israel’s king, the
You no longer need to fear disaster.
3:16 On that day they will say46 to Jerusalem,
“Don’t be afraid, Zion!
Your hands must not be paralyzed from panic!47
3:17 The
he is a warrior who can deliver.
He takes great delight in you;48
he renews you by his love;49
he shouts for joy over you.”50
3:18 “As for those who grieve because they cannot attend the festivals –
I took them away from you;
they became tribute and were a source of shame to you.51
3:19 Look, at that time I will deal with those who mistreated you.
I will rescue the lame sheep52
and gather together the scattered sheep.
I will take away their humiliation
and make the whole earth admire and respect them.53
3:20 At that time I will lead you –
at the time I gather you together.54
Be sure of this!55 I will make all the nations of the earth respect and admire you56
when you see me restore you,”57 says the