1:1 The word of Yahweh which came to Zephaniah the son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah.
1:2 \p I will completely consume all things from off the face of the ground, says Yahweh. 
1:3 I will consume man and beast; I will consume the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, and the stumbling blocks with the wicked; and I will cut off man from off the face of the ground, says Yahweh. 
1:4 And I will stretch out my hand on Judah, and on 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; 
1:5 and those who worship the host of heaven on the housetops; and those who worship, who swear to Yahweh and swear by Milcom; 
1:6 and those who have turned back from following Yahweh; and those who have not sought Yahweh, nor inquired after him.
1:7 \p Hold your peace at the presence of the Sovereign Yahweh; for the day of Yahweh is at hand: for Yahweh has prepared a sacrifice, he has consecrated his guests. 
1:8 And it will come to pass in the day of Yahweh's sacrifice, that I will punish the princes, and the king's sons, and all such as are clothed with foreign apparel. 
1:9 And in that day I will punish all those who leap over the threshold, that fill their master's house with violence and deceit. 
1:10 And in that day, says Yahweh, there will be the noise of a cry from the fish gate, and a wailing from the second quarter, and a great crashing from the hills. 
1:11 Wail, you⁺ inhabitants of Maktesh; for all the people of Canaan are undone; all those who were laden with silver are cut off. 
1:12 And it will come to pass at that time, that I will search Jerusalem with lamps; and I will punish the men who are settled on their lees, who say in their heart, Yahweh will not do good, neither will he do evil. 
1:13 And their wealth will become a spoil, and their houses a desolation: yes, they will build houses, but will not inhabit them; and they will plant vineyards, but will not drink their wine.
1:14 \p The great day of Yahweh is near, it is near and hurries greatly, [even] the voice of the day of Yahweh; the mighty man cries there bitterly. 
1:15 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, 
1:16 a day of the trumpet and alarm, against the fortified cities, and against the high battlements. 
1:17 And I will bring distress on man, that they will walk like blind men, because they have sinned against Yahweh; and their blood will be poured out as dust, and their flesh as dung. 
1:18 Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to deliver them in the day of Yahweh's wrath; but the whole land will be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he will make an end, yes, a terrible end, of all those who dwell in the land.
2:1 \p Gather yourselves together, yes, gather together, O nation that has no shame; 
2:2 before the decree brings forth, [before] the day passes as the chaff, before the fierce anger of Yahweh comes on you⁺, before the day of Yahweh's anger comes on you⁺. 
2:3 Seek⁺ Yahweh, all you⁺ meek of the earth, who have kept his ordinances; seek⁺ righteousness, seek⁺ meekness: it may be you⁺ will be hid in the day of Yahweh's anger.
2:4 \p For Gaza will be forsaken, and Ashkelon a desolation; they will drive out Ashdod at noonday, and Ekron will be rooted up. 
2:5 Woe to the inhabitants of the seacoast, the nation of the Cherethites! The word of Yahweh is against you⁺, O Canaan, the land of the Philistines; I will destroy you, that there will be no inhabitant. 
2:6 And the seacoast will be pastures, cisterns of shepherds and folds for flocks. 
2:7 And the portion will be for the remnant of the house of Judah; they will feed [their flocks] thereupon; in the houses of Ashkelon they will lie down in the evening; for Yahweh their God will visit them, and bring back their destiny.
2:8 \p I have heard the reproach of Moab, and the revilings of the sons of Ammon, with which they have reproached my people, and magnified themselves against their border. 
2:9 Therefore as I live, says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, Surely Moab will be as Sodom, and the sons of Ammon as Gomorrah, a possession of nettles, and saltpits, and a perpetual desolation: the remnant of my people will make a prey of them, and the remainder of my nation will inherit them. 
2:10 This they will have for their pride, because they have reproached and magnified themselves against the people of Yahweh of hosts. 
2:11 Yahweh will be awesome to them; for he will famish all the gods of the earth; and men will worship him, every one from his place, even all the isles of the nations.
2:12 \p You⁺ Ethiopians also, they are slain by my sword. 
2:13 And he will stretch out his hand against the north, and destroy Assyria, and will make Nineveh a desolation, and dry like the wilderness. 
2:14 And herds will lie down in the midst of her, all the beasts of the nations: both the pelican and the porcupine will lodge in her capitals; [their] voice will sing in the windows; desolation will be in the thresholds: for he has laid bare the cedar-work. 
2:15 This is the joyous city that dwelt securely, that said in her heart, I am, and there is none besides me: how has she become a desolation, a place for beasts to lie down in! Everyone who passes by her will hiss, and shake his fist.
3:1 \p Woe to her who is rebellious and polluted! To the oppressing city! 
3:2 She did not obey the voice; she did not receive correction [by the Speech of Yahweh]; she did not trust in Yahweh; she did not draw near to her God.
3:3 Her princes in the midst of her are roaring lions; her judges are evening wolves; they leave nothing until the next day. 
3:4 Her prophets are wild and betraying men; her priests have profaned the sanctuary, they have done violence to the law. 
3:5 Yahweh in the midst of her is righteous; he will not do iniquity; every morning he brings his justice to light, he does not fail; but the unjust knows no shame. 
3:6 I have cut off nations; their battlements are desolate; I have made their streets waste, so that none passes by; their cities are destroyed, so that there is no man, so that there is no inhabitant. 
3:7 I said, Only fear me; receive correction; so her dwelling will not be cut off, [according to] all that I have appointed concerning her: but they rose early and corrupted all their doings.
3:8 \p Therefore wait⁺ for [my Speech], says Yahweh, 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 on them my indignation, even all my fierce anger; for all the earth will be devoured with the fire of my jealousy.
3:9 \p For then I will turn to the peoples a pure language, that they may all call on the name of Yahweh, to serve him with one consent. 
3:10 From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia my suppliants, even the daughter of my dispersed, will bring my offering. 
3:11 In that day you will not be put to shame for all your doings, in which you have transgressed against [my Speech]; for then I will take away out of the midst of you your proudly exulting ones, and you will no more be haughty in my holy mountain.
3:12 But I will leave in the midst of you an afflicted and poor people, and they will take refuge in the name of Yahweh. 
3:13 The remnant of Israel will not do iniquity, nor speak lies; neither will a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth; for they will feed and lie down, and none will make them afraid.
3:14 \p Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel; be glad and rejoice with all the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem. 
3:15 Yahweh has taken away your judgments, he has cast out your enemy: the King of Israel, even Yahweh, is in the midst of you; you will not fear evil anymore. 
3:16 In that day it will be said to Jerusalem, Don't be afraid; O Zion, don't let your hands be slack. 
3:17 Yahweh your God is in the midst of you, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with joy; he will rest in his love; he will joy over you with singing. 
3:18 I will gather those who sorrow for the solemn assembly, who were of you; [to whom] the burden on her was a reproach. 
3:19 Look, at that time I will deal with all those who afflict you; 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 has been in all the earth. 
3:20 At that time I will bring you⁺ in, at the time when I will 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, says Yahweh.
