Yahweh Will End All Things

1The word of [†]Yahweh which came to Zephaniah son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah son of Amon, king of Judah:

2“I will completely end all things

From the face of the ground,” declares Yahweh.

3“I will end man and beast;

I will end the birds of the sky

And the fish of the sea

And the [†]ruins along with the wicked;

And I will cut off man from the face of the ground,” declares Yahweh.

4“So I will stretch out My hand against Judah

And against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

And I will cut off the remnant of Baal from this place,

And the names of the idolatrous priests along with the priests,

5And those who worship on the housetops the host of heaven,

And those who worship and swear to Yahweh and yet swear by [†]Milcom,

6And those who have turned back from following Yahweh,

And those who have not sought Yahweh or inquired of Him.”

The Day of Yahweh Is Near

7[†]Be silent before Lord Yahweh!

For the day of Yahweh is near,

For Yahweh has prepared a sacrifice;

He has set apart His guests.

8“Then it will be on the day of Yahweh’s sacrifice

That I will punish the princes, the king’s sons,

And all who clothe themselves with foreign garments.

9And I will punish on that day all who leap on the temple threshold,

Who fill the house of their [†]Lord with violence and deceit.

10And it will be in that day,” declares Yahweh,

“That there will be the sound of a cry from the Fish Gate

And a wail from the [†]Second Quarter

And a great destruction from the hills.

11Wail, O inhabitants of the [†]Mortar,

For all the [†]people of Canaan will be silenced;

All who weigh out silver will be cut off.

12And it will be at that time

That I will search Jerusalem with lamps,

And I will punish the men

Who are [†]stagnant in spirit,

Who say in their hearts,

‘Yahweh will not do good or evil!’

13And it will be that their wealth will become spoil

And their houses desolate;

Indeed, they will build houses but not inhabit them,

And plant vineyards but not drink their wine.”

14Near is the great day of Yahweh,

Near and coming very quickly;

O the sound, the day of Yahweh!

[†]In it the mighty man cries out bitterly.

15A day of fury is that day,

A day of trouble and distress,

A day of destruction and desolation,

A day of darkness and thick darkness,

A day of clouds and dense gloom,

16A day of trumpet and loud shouting

Against the fortified cities

And the high corner towers.

17I will bring distress on men

So that they will walk like the blind

Because they have sinned against Yahweh;

And their blood will be poured out like dust

And their flesh like dung.

18Neither their silver nor their gold

Will be able to deliver them

On the day of the fury of Yahweh;

And all the earth will be devoured

In the fire of His jealousy,

For He will make a complete destruction,

Indeed a terrifying one,

Of all the inhabitants of the earth.