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猶大王亞們的兒子約西亞執政期間，耶和華對希西迦的玄孫、亞瑪利亞的曾孫、基大利的孫子、古示的兒子西番雅說：
耶和華審判的日子
2「我必毀滅地上的一切。
這是耶和華說的。
3我必毀滅人類、獸類、
天上的鳥和海裡的魚。
我必使惡人倒斃，
我必剷除地上的人類。
這是耶和華說的。
4「我必伸手攻擊猶大，
以及所有住在耶路撒冷的人，
剷除巴力的餘跡及拜偶像之祭司的名號。
5我必剷除那些在屋頂祭拜天上萬象的人，
剷除敬拜我、憑我起誓又憑米勒公起誓的人，
6剷除離棄我、不尋求我、不求問我的人。」
7要在主耶和華面前肅靜，
因為耶和華的日子近了。
耶和華已準備好祭物，
潔淨了祂邀請的人。
8耶和華說：「在我獻祭的日子，
我必懲罰首領和王子，
以及所有穿外族服裝的人。
9到那日，我必懲罰所有跳過門檻1·9 「跳過門檻……的人」指祭拜偶像的人，參見撒母耳記上5·5。、
使主人的家充滿暴力和欺詐的人。
10到那日，魚門必傳出哭喊聲，
新區必響起哀號聲，
山陵必發出崩裂的巨響。
這是耶和華說的。
11市場區的居民啊，哀哭吧！
因為所有的商人必滅亡，
所有做買賣的必被剷除。
12那時，我必提著燈巡查耶路撒冷，
懲罰那些安於罪中的人。
他們心想，『耶和華不賜福也不降禍。』
13他們的財物必遭搶掠，
家園必淪為廢墟。
他們建造房屋，卻不能住在裡面；
栽種葡萄園，卻喝不到葡萄酒。
14「耶和華的大日子近了，
近了，很快就到了。
那將是痛苦的日子，
勇士也必淒聲哀號。
15那是降烈怒的日子，
是困苦艱難的日子，
是摧殘毀壞的日子，
是黑暗幽冥的日子，
是陰霾密佈的日子，
16是吹號呐喊、
攻打堅城高壘的日子。
17「我要使人們災難臨頭，
以致他們行路像瞎子，
因為他們得罪了我。
他們的血必被倒出，如同灰塵；
他們的屍體必被丟棄，如同糞便。
18在耶和華發怒的日子，
他們的金銀救不了他們。
祂的怒火必吞噬大地，
祂必驟然毀滅一切世人。」
