Zephaniah 1:7-18

Other Translations of Zephaniah 1:7-18

New International Version

⁷ Be silent before the Sovereign Lord, for the day of the Lord is near. The Lord has prepared a sacrifice; he has consecrated those he has invited. ⁸ "On the day of the Lord's sacrifice I will punish the officials and the king's sons and all those clad in foreign clothes. ⁹ On that day I will punish all who avoid stepping on the threshold,See 1 Samuel 5:5.who fill the temple of their gods with violence and deceit. ¹⁰ "On that day," declares the Lord, "a cry will go up from the Fish Gate, wailing from the New Quarter, and a loud crash from the hills. ¹¹ Wail, you who live in the market districtOr "the Mortar" ; all your merchants will be wiped out, all who trade withOr "in" silver will be destroyed. ¹² At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps and punish those who are complacent, who are like wine left on its dregs, who think, 'The Lord will do nothing, either good or bad.' ¹³ Their wealth will be plundered, their houses demolished. Though they build houses, they will not live in them; though they plant vineyards, they will not drink the wine."

¹⁴ The great day of the Lord is near- near and coming quickly. The cry on the day of the Lord is bitter; the Mighty Warrior shouts his battle cry. ¹⁵ That day will be a day of wrath- a day of distress and anguish, a day of trouble and ruin, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness- ¹⁶ a day of trumpet and battle cry against the fortified cities and against the corner towers. ¹⁷ "I will bring such distress on all people that they will grope about like those who are blind, because they have sinned against the Lord. Their blood will be poured out like dust and their entrails like dung. ¹⁸ Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to save them on the day of the Lord's wrath." In the fire of his jealousy the whole earth will be consumed, for he will make a sudden end of all who live on the earth.

English Standard Version

⁷ Be silent before the Lord GOD! For the day of the Lord is near; the Lord has prepared a sacrifice and consecrated 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. ⁹ On that day I will punish everyone who leaps over the threshold, and those who fill their master'sOr their Lord's house with violence and fraud. 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. ¹¹ Wail, O inhabitants of the Mortar! For all the tradersOr all the people of Canaan are no more; all who weigh out silver are cut off. ¹² At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps, and I will punish the men who are complacent,Hebrew are thickening on the dregs [of their wine] those who say in their hearts, 'The Lord will not do good, nor will he do ill.' 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."

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. 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, ¹⁶ a day of trumpet blast and battle cry against the fortified cities and against the lofty battlements. 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. 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.

The Message

⁷ "Quiet now! Reverent silence before me, God, the Master! Time's up. My Judgment Day is near: The Holy Day is all set, the invited guests made holy. ⁸ On the Holy Day, God's Judgment Day, I will punish the leaders and the royal sons; I will punish those who dress up like foreign priests and priestesses, ⁹ Who introduce pagan prayers and practices; And I'll punish all who import pagan superstitions that turn holy places into hellholes. ¹⁰ Judgment Day!" God's Decree! "Cries of panic from the city's Fish Gate, Cries of terror from the city's Second Quarter, sounds of great crashing from the hills! ¹¹ Wail, you shopkeepers on Market Street! Moneymaking has had its day. The god Money is dead. ¹² On Judgment Day, I'll search through every closet and alley in Jerusalem. I'll find and punish those who are sitting it out, fat and lazy, amusing themselves and taking it easy, Who think, 'God doesn't do anything, good or bad. He isn't involved, so neither are we.' ¹³ But just wait. They'll lose everything they have, money and house and land. They'll build a house and never move in. They'll plant vineyards and never taste the wine. A Day of Darkness at Noon

¹⁴ "The Great Judgment Day of God is almost here. It's countdown time: . . . seven, six, five, four . . . Bitter and noisy cries on my Judgment Day, even strong men screaming for help. ¹⁵ Judgment Day is payday - my anger paid out: a day of distress and anguish, a day of catastrophic doom, a day of darkness at noon, a day of black storm clouds, ¹⁶ a day of bloodcurdling war cries, as forts are assaulted, as defenses are smashed. ¹⁷ I'll make things so bad they won't know what hit them. They'll walk around groping like the blind. They've sinned against God! Their blood will be poured out like old dishwater, their guts shoveled into slop buckets. ¹⁸ Don't plan on buying your way out. Your money is worthless for this. This is the Day of God's Judgment - my wrath! I care about sin with fiery passion - A fire to burn up the corrupted world, a wildfire finish to the corrupting people."

New King James Version

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 invited Literally set apart, consecrated His guests. 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 In the same day I will punish All those who leap over the threshold, Compare 1 Samuel 5:5 Who fill their masters' houses with violence and deceit. 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, you inhabitants of Maktesh! Literally Mortar, a market district of Jerusalem For all the merchant people are cut down; All those who handle money are cut off. ¹² "And it shall come to pass at that time That I will search Jerusalem with lamps, And punish the men Who are settled in complacency, Literally on their lees, that is, settled like the dregs of wine Who say in their heart, 'The Lord will not do good, Nor will He do evil.' 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; It is near and hastens quickly. The noise of the day of the Lord is bitter; There the mighty men shall cry out. 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 and alarm Against the fortified cities And against the high towers. 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 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.

New Living Translation

⁷ Stand in silence in the presence of the Sovereign Lord, for the awesome day of the Lord 's judgment is near. The Lord has prepared his people for a great slaughter and has chosen their executioners. ⁸ "On that day of judgment," says the Lord, "I will punish the leaders and princes of Judah and all those following pagan customs. ⁹ Yes, I will punish those who participate in pagan worship ceremonies, and those who fill their masters' houses with violence and deceit. ¹⁰ "On that day," says the Lord, "a cry of alarm will come from the Fish Gate and echo throughout the New Quarter of the city. And a great crash will sound from the hills. ¹¹ Wail in sorrow, all you who live in the market area, for all the merchants and traders will be destroyed. ¹² "I will search with lanterns in Jerusalem's darkest corners to punish those who sit complacent in their sins. They think the Lord will do nothing to them, either good or bad. ¹³ So their property will be plundered, their homes will be ransacked. They will build new homes but never live in them. They will plant vineyards but never drink wine from them.

¹⁴ "That terrible day of the Lord is near. Swiftly it comes- a day of bitter tears, a day when even strong men will cry out. ¹⁵ It will be a day when the Lord 's anger is poured out- a day of terrible distress and anguish, a day of ruin and desolation, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness, ¹⁶ a day of trumpet calls and battle cries. Down go the walled cities and the strongest battlements! ¹⁷ "Because you have sinned against the Lord, I will make you grope around like the blind. Your blood will be poured into the dust, and your bodies will lie rotting on the ground." ¹⁸ Your silver and gold will not save you on that day of the Lord 's anger. For the whole land will be devoured by the fire of his jealousy. He will make a terrifying end of all the people on earth.