1A message from the Lord came to Zephaniah, the son of Cushi. Cushi was the son of Gedaliah. Gedaliah was the son of Amariah. Amariah was the son of King Hezekiah. The Lord spoke to Zephaniah during the rule of Josiah. He was king of Judah and the son of Amon.
The Lord Will Judge the Whole World
2“I will sweep away everything
from the face of the earth,”
announces the Lord.
3“I will destroy people and animals alike.
I will wipe out the birds in the sky
and the fish in the waters.
I will destroy the statues of gods that cause evil people to sin.
That will happen when I destroy all human beings on the face of the earth,”
announces the Lord.
4“I will reach out my powerful hand against Judah.
I will punish all those who live in Jerusalem.
I will destroy from this place
what is left of Baal worship.
The priests who serve other gods
will be removed.
5I will destroy those who bow down on their roofs
to worship all the stars.
I will destroy those who make promises
not only in my name but also in the name of Molek.
6I will destroy those who stop following the Lord.
They no longer look to him or ask him for advice.
7Be silent in front of him.
He is the Lord and King.
The day of the Lord is near.
The Lord has prepared a sacrifice.
He has set apart for himself
the people he has invited.
8When the Lord’s sacrifice is ready to be offered,
I will punish the officials and the king’s sons.
I will also judge all those who follow
the practices of other nations.
9At that time I will punish
all those who worship other gods.
They fill the temples of their gods
with lies and other harmful things.
10“At that time people at the Fish Gate in Jerusalem
will cry out,” announces the Lord.
“So will those at the New Quarter.
The buildings on the hills will come crashing down
with a loud noise.
11Cry out, you who live in the market places.
All your merchants will be wiped out.
Those who trade in silver will be destroyed.
12At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps.
I will punish those who are so contented.
They are like wine that has not been shaken up.
They think, ‘The Lord won’t do anything.
He won’t do anything good or bad.’
13Their wealth will be stolen.
Their houses will be destroyed.
They will build houses.
But they will not live in them.
They will plant vineyards.
But they will not drink the wine they produce.
14The great day of the Lord is near.
In fact, it is coming quickly.
The cries on that day are bitter.
The Mighty Warrior shouts his battle cry.
15At that time I will pour out my anger.
There will be great suffering and pain.
It will be a day of horrible trouble.
It will be a time of darkness and gloom.
It will be filled with the blackest clouds.
16Trumpet blasts and battle cries will be heard.
Soldiers will attack cities
that have forts and corner towers.
17I will bring great trouble on all people.
So they will feel their way around like blind people.
They have sinned against the Lord.
Their blood will be poured out like dust.
Their bodies will lie rotting on the ground.
18Their silver and gold
won’t save them
on the day the Lord pours out his anger.
The whole earth will be burned up
when his jealous anger blazes out.
Everyone who lives on earth
will come to a sudden end.”
1犹大王亚们的儿子约西亚执政期间，耶和华对希西迦的玄孙、亚玛利亚的曾孙、基大利的孙子、古示的儿子西番雅说：
耶和华审判的日子
2“我必毁灭地上的一切。
这是耶和华说的。
3我必毁灭人类、兽类、
天上的鸟和海里的鱼。
我必使恶人倒毙，
我必铲除地上的人类。
这是耶和华说的。
4“我必伸手攻击犹大，
以及所有住在耶路撒冷的人，
铲除巴力的余迹及拜偶像之祭司的名号。
5我必铲除那些在屋顶祭拜天上万象的人，
铲除敬拜我、凭我起誓又凭米勒公起誓的人，
6铲除离弃我、不寻求我、不求问我的人。”
7要在主耶和华面前肃静，
因为耶和华的日子近了。
耶和华已准备好祭物，
洁净了祂邀请的人。
8耶和华说：“在我献祭的日子，
我必惩罚首领和王子，
以及所有穿外族服装的人。
9到那日，我必惩罚所有跳过门槛1:9 “跳过门槛……的人”指祭拜偶像的人，参见撒母耳记上5:5。、
使主人的家充满暴力和欺诈的人。
10到那日，鱼门必传出哭喊声，
新区必响起哀号声，
山陵必发出崩裂的巨响。
这是耶和华说的。
11市场区的居民啊，哀哭吧！
因为所有的商人必灭亡，
所有做买卖的必被铲除。
12那时，我必提着灯巡查耶路撒冷，
惩罚那些安于罪中的人。
他们心想，‘耶和华不赐福也不降祸。’
13他们的财物必遭抢掠，
家园必沦为废墟。
他们建造房屋，却不能住在里面；
栽种葡萄园，却喝不到葡萄酒。
14“耶和华的大日子近了，
近了，很快就到了。
那将是痛苦的日子，
勇士也必凄声哀号。
15那是降烈怒的日子，
是困苦艰难的日子，
是摧残毁坏的日子，
是黑暗幽冥的日子，
是阴霾密布的日子，
16是吹号呐喊、
攻打坚城高垒的日子。
17“我要使人们灾难临头，
以致他们行路像瞎子，
因为他们得罪了我。
他们的血必被倒出，如同灰尘；
他们的尸体必被丢弃，如同粪便。
18在耶和华发怒的日子，
他们的金银救不了他们。
祂的怒火必吞噬大地，
祂必骤然毁灭一切世人。”
