Zephaniah 3

Woe to Jerusalem and the Nations

1 Woe to her who is ^arebellious and ^bdefiled,
The ^coppressive city!
2 She ^dobeyed no voice,
She ^eaccepted no discipline.
She did not ^ftrust in the Lord,
She did not ^gapproach her God.
3 Her ^hleaders within her are roaring lions,
Her judges are ⁱwolves at evening;
They have no bones to gnaw in the morning.
4 Her prophets are ^jinsolent, treacherous men;
Her ^kpriests have profaned the sanctuary.
They have done violence to the Law.
5 The Lord is ^lrighteous ^mwithin her;
He will ⁿdo no injustice.
^oEvery morning He brings His justice to light;
He ▼

▼Lit is not missing

does not fail.
But the ▼

▼Or sinner

criminal ^rknows no shame.
6 “I have eliminated nations;
Their corner towers are deserted.
I have ^slaid waste their streets,
With no one passing by;
Their ^tcities have been laid waste,
Without a person, ^uwithout an inhabitant.
7 “I said, ‘You will certainly revere Me,
You will ^vaccept discipline.’
So her dwelling will ^wnot be eliminated
In accordance with everything that I have stipulated for her.
Instead, they were eager to ^xcorrupt all their deeds.

8 “Therefore ^ywait for Me,” declares the Lord,
“For the day when I rise up as a witness.
Indeed, My decision is to ^zgather nations,
To assemble kingdoms,
To pour out on them My indignation,
All My burning anger;
For ^aaall the earth will be devoured
By the fire of My zeal.
9 “For then I will ▼

▼Lit change

restore to the peoples ^acpure lips,
So that all of them may ^adcall on the name of the Lord,
To serve Him ▼

▼Lit with one shoulder

shoulder to shoulder.
10 “From beyond the rivers of ^afEthiopia
My worshipers, ▼

▼Lit the daughter of My dispersed ones

My dispersed ones,
Will ^ahbring My offerings.
11 “On that day you will ^aifeel no shame
Because of all your deeds
By which you have rebelled against Me;
For then I will remove from your midst
Your ^ajproud, arrogant ones,
And you will never again be haughty
On My ^akholy mountain.

A Remnant of Israel

12 “But I will leave among you
A ^alhumble and lowly people,
And they will ^amtake refuge in the name of the Lord.
13 “The ^anremnant of Israel will ^aodo no wrong
And ^aptell no lies,
Nor will a deceitful tongue
Be found in their mouths;
For they will ^aqfeed and lie down
With no one to frighten them.”

14 Shout for joy, daughter of Zion!
^arShout in triumph, Israel!
Rejoice and triumph with all your heart,
Daughter of Jerusalem!
15 The Lord has taken away ^asHis judgments against you,
He has cleared away your enemies.
The King of Israel, the Lord, is ^atin your midst;
You will no longer ^aufear disaster.
16 ^avOn that day it will be said to Jerusalem:
“ ^awDo not be afraid, Zion;
^axDo not let your hands fall limp.
17 “The Lord your God is ^ayin your midst,
A ▼

▼Lit A warrior who saves

, ^bavictorious warrior.
He will ^bbrejoice over you with joy,
He will ▼

▼Or with some ancient versions, renew you in

be quiet in His love,
He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.
18 “I will gather those who are ^bdworried about the appointed feasts--
They ▼

▼Lit were

came from you, Zion;
The disgrace of exile is a burden on ▼

▼Lit her

them.
19 “Behold, I am going to deal at that time
With all your ^bgoppressors;
I will save ^bhthose who limp
And gather the scattered,
And I will turn their ^bishame into ^bjpraise and fame
In all the earth.
20 “At that time I will ^bkbring you in,
Even at the time when I gather you together;
Indeed, I will make you ^blfamous and praiseworthy
Among all the peoples of the earth,
When I ^bmrestore your fortunes before your eyes,”
Says the Lord.