Armenian Apostolic Church Library Online

Zephaniah
Chapter 1

1. The word of Jehovah which came unto Zephaniah the son of Cushi, the son

of Gedaliah, the son of Amarah, the son of Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah

the son of Amon, king of Judah.

2 I will utterly consume all things from off the face of the ground,

saith Jehovah.

3 I will consume man and beast; I will consume the birds of the heavens,

and the fishes of the sea, and the stumblingblocks with the wicked; and I

will cut off man from off the face of the ground, saith Jehovah.

4 And I will stretch out my 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 Chemarim with the priests;

5 and them that worship the host of heaven upon the housetops; and them

that worship, that swear to Jehovah and swear by Malcam;

6 and them that are turned back from following Jehovah; and those that

have not sought Jehovah, nor inquired after him.

7. Hold thy peace at the presence of the Lord Jehovah; for the day of

Jehovah is at hand: for Jehovah hath prepared a sacrifice, he hath

consecrated his guests.

8 And it shall come to pass in the day of Jehovah's sacrifice, that I

will punish the princes, and the king's sons, and all such as are clothed

with foreign apparel.

9 And in that day I will punish all those that leap over the threshold,

that fill their master's house with violence and deceit.

10 And in that day, saith Jehovah, there shall be the noise of a cry from

the fish gate, and a wailing from the second quarter, and a great crashing

from the hills.

11 Wail, ye inhabitants of Maktesh; for all the people of Canaan are

undone; all they that were laden with silver are cut off.

12 And it shall come to pass at that time, that I will search Jerusalem

with lamps; and I will punish the men that are settled on their lees, that

say in their heart, Jehovah will not do good, neither will he do evil.

13 And their wealth shall become a spoil, and their houses a desolation:

yea, they shall build houses, but shall not inhabit them; and they shall

plant vineyards, but shall not drink the wine thereof.

14. The great day of Jehovah is near, it is near and hasteth greatly,

[even] the voice of the day of Jehovah; the mighty man crieth there

bitterly.

15 That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of

wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds

and thick darkness,

16 a day of the trumpet and alarm, against the fortified cities, and

against the high battlements.

17 And I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like blind

men, because they have sinned against Jehovah; and their blood shall be

poured out as dust, and their flesh as dung.

18 Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in

the day of Jehovah's wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the

fire of his jealousy: for he will make an end, yea, a terrible end, of all

them that dwell in the land.

1. Gather yourselves together, yea, gather together, O nation that hath no

shame;

2 before the decree bring forth, [before] the day pass as the chaff,

before the fierce anger of Jehovah come upon you, before the day of

Jehovah's anger come upon you.

3 Seek ye Jehovah, all ye meek of the earth, that have kept his

ordinances; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye will be hid in

the day of Jehovah's anger.

4. For Gaza shall be forsaken, and Ashkelon a desolation; they shall drive

out Ashdod at noonday, and Ekron shall be rooted up.

5 Woe unto the inhabitants of the sea-coast, the nation of the

Cherethites! The word of Jehovah is against you, O Canaan, the land of the

Philistines; I will destroy thee, that there shall be no inhabitant.

6 And the sea-coast shall be pastures, with cottages for shepherds and

folds for flocks.

7 And the coast shall be for the remnant of the house of Judah; they

shall feed [their flocks] thereupon; in the houses of Ashkelon shall they

lie down in the evening; for Jehovah their God will visit them, and bring

back their captivity.

8. I have heard the reproach of Moab, and the revilings of the children of

Ammon, wherewith they have reproached my people, and magnified themselves

against their border.

9 Therefore as I live, saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, Surely

Moab shall be as Sodom, and the children of Ammon as Gomorrah, a possession

of nettles, and saltpits, and a perpetual desolation: the residue of my

people shall make a prey of them, and the remnant of my nation shall

inherit them.

10 This shall they have for their pride, because they have reproached and

magnified themselves against the people of Jehovah of hosts.

11 Jehovah will be terrible unto them; for he will famish all the gods of

the earth; and men shall worship him, every one from his place, even all

the isles of the nations.

12. Ye Ethiopians also, ye shall be slain by my sword.

13 And he will stretch out his hand against the north, and destroy

Assyria, and will make Nineveh a desolation, and dry like the wilderness.

14 And herds shall lie down in the midst of her, all the beasts of the

nations: both the pelican and the porcupine shall lodge in the capitals

thereof; [their] voice shall sing in the windows; desolation shall be in

the thresholds: for he hath laid bare the cedar-work.

15 This is the joyous city that dwelt carelessly, that said in her heart,

I am, and there is none besides me: how is she become a desolation, a place

for beasts to lie down in! every one that passeth by her shall hiss, and

wag his hand.

1. Woe to her that is rebellious and polluted! to the oppressing city!

2 She obeyed not the voice; she received not correction; she trusted not

in Jehovah; she drew not near to her God.

3 Her princes in the midst of her are roaring lions; her judges are

evening wolves; they leave nothing till the morrow.

4 Her prophets are light and treacherous persons; her priests have

profaned the sanctuary, they have done violence to the law.

5 Jehovah in the midst of her is righteous; he will not do iniquity;

every morning doth he bring his justice to light, he faileth not; but the

unjust knoweth no shame.

6 I have cut off nations; their battlements are desolate; I have made

their streets waste, so that none passeth by; their cities are destroyed,

so that there is no man, so that there is no inhabitant.

7 I said, Only fear thou me; receive correction; so her dwelling shall

not be cut off, [according to] all that I have appointed concerning her:

but they rose early and corrupted all their doings.

8. Therefore wait ye for me, saith Jehovah, until the day that I rise up

to the prey; for my determination is to gather the nations, that I may

assemble the kingdoms, to pour upon them mine indignation, even all my

fierce anger; for all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of my

jealousy.

9 For then will I turn to the peoples of a pure language, that they may

all call upon the name of Jehovah, to serve him with one consent.

10 From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia my suppliants, even the daughter of

my dispersed, shall bring mine offering.

11 In that day shalt thou not be put to shame for all thy doings, wherein

thou hast transgressed against me; for then I will take away out of the

midst of thee thy proudly exulting ones, and thou shalt no more be haughty

in my holy mountain.

12 But I will leave in the midst of thee an afflicted and poor people,

and they shall take refuge in the name of Jehovah.

13 The remnant of Israel shall not do iniquity, nor speak lies; 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 Jehovah hath taken away thy judgments, he hath cast out thine enemy:

the King of Israel, even Jehovah, is in the midst of thee; thou shalt not

fear evil any more.

16 In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem, Fear thou not; O Zion, let

not thy hands be slack.

17 Jehovah thy God is in the midst of thee, a mighty one who 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 sorrow for the solemn assembly, who were of

thee; [to whom] the burden upon her was a reproach.

19 Behold, at that time I will deal with all them that afflict thee; and

I will save that which is lame, and gather that which was driven away; and

I will make them a praise and a name, whose shame hath been in all the

earth.

20 At that time will I bring you in, and at that time will I gather you;

for I will make you a name and a praise among all the peoples of the earth,

when I bring back your captivity before your eyes, saith Jehovah.