Zephaniah 3 – NIV & NIRV

New International Version

Zephaniah 3:1-20

Jerusalem

1Woe to the city of oppressors,

rebellious and defiled!

2She obeys no one,

she accepts no correction.

She does not trust in the Lord,

she does not draw near to her God.

3Her officials within her

are roaring lions;

her rulers are evening wolves,

who leave nothing for the morning.

4Her prophets are unprincipled;

they are treacherous people.

Her priests profane the sanctuary

and do violence to the law.

5The Lord within her is righteous;

he does no wrong.

Morning by morning he dispenses his justice,

and every new day he does not fail,

yet the unrighteous know no shame.

Jerusalem Remains Unrepentant

6“I have destroyed nations;

their strongholds are demolished.

I have left their streets deserted,

with no one passing through.

Their cities are laid waste;

they are deserted and empty.

7Of Jerusalem I thought,

‘Surely you will fear me

and accept correction!’

Then her place of refuge3:7 Or her sanctuary would not be destroyed,

nor all my punishments come upon3:7 Or all those I appointed over her.

But they were still eager

to act corruptly in all they did.

8Therefore wait for me,”

declares the Lord,

“for the day I will stand up to testify.3:8 Septuagint and Syriac; Hebrew will rise up to plunder

I have decided to assemble the nations,

to gather the kingdoms

and to pour out my wrath on them—

all my fierce anger.

The whole world will be consumed

by the fire of my jealous anger.

Restoration of Israel’s Remnant

9“Then I will purify the lips of the peoples,

that all of them may call on the name of the Lord

and serve him shoulder to shoulder.

10From beyond the rivers of Cush3:10 That is, the upper Nile region

my worshipers, my scattered people,

will bring me offerings.

11On that day you, Jerusalem, will not be put to shame

for all the wrongs you have done to me,

because I will remove from you

your arrogant boasters.

Never again will you be haughty

on my holy hill.

12But I will leave within you

the meek and humble.

The remnant of Israel

will trust in the name of the Lord.

13They will do no wrong;

they will tell no lies.

A deceitful tongue

will not be found in their mouths.

They will eat and lie down

and no one will make them afraid.”

14Sing, Daughter Zion;

shout aloud, Israel!

Be glad and rejoice with all your heart,

Daughter Jerusalem!

15The Lord has taken away your punishment,

he has turned back your enemy.

The Lord, the King of Israel, is with you;

never again will you fear any harm.

16On that day

they will say to Jerusalem,

“Do not fear, Zion;

do not let your hands hang limp.

17The Lord your God is with you,

the Mighty Warrior who saves.

He will take great delight in you;

in his love he will no longer rebuke you,

but will rejoice over you with singing.”

18“I will remove from you

all who mourn over the loss of your appointed festivals,

which is a burden and reproach for you.

19At that time I will deal

with all who oppressed you.

I will rescue the lame;

I will gather the exiles.

I will give them praise and honor

in every land where they have suffered shame.

20At that time I will gather you;

at that time I will bring you home.

I will give you honor and praise

among all the peoples of the earth

when I restore your fortunes3:20 Or I bring back your captives

before your very eyes,”

says the Lord.

New International Reader’s Version

Zephaniah 3:1-20

A Message About Jerusalem

1How terrible it will be for Jerusalem!

Its people crush others.

They refuse to obey the Lord.

They are “unclean.”

2They don’t obey anyone.

They don’t accept the Lord’s warnings.

They don’t trust in him.

They don’t ask their God for his help.

3Jerusalem’s officials are like roaring lions.

Their rulers are like wolves that hunt in the evening.

They don’t leave anything to eat in the morning.

4Their prophets care about nothing.

They can’t be trusted.

Their priests make the temple “unclean.”

They break the law they teach others to obey.

5In spite of that, the Lord is good to Jerusalem.

He never does anything that is wrong.

Every morning he does what is fair.

Each new day he does the right thing.

But those who do what is wrong

aren’t even ashamed of it.

Jerusalem Remains Unrepentant

6The Lord says to his people,

“I have destroyed other nations.

I have wiped out their forts.

I have left their streets deserted.

No one walks along them.

Their cities are destroyed.

They are deserted and empty.

7Here is what I thought about Jerusalem.

‘Surely you will have respect for me.

Surely you will accept my warning.’

Then the city you think is safe would not be destroyed.

And I would not have to punish you so much.

But they still wanted to go on sinning

in every way they could.

8So wait for me to come as judge,”

announces the Lord.

“Wait for the day I will stand up

to witness against all sinners.

I have decided to gather the nations.

I will bring the kingdoms together.

And I will pour out all my burning anger on them.

The fire of my jealous anger

will burn the whole world up.

Israel Will Trust in the Lord

9“But then I will purify what all the nations say.

And they will use their words to worship me.

They will serve me together.

10My scattered people will come to me

from beyond the rivers of Cush.

They will worship me.

They will bring me offerings.

11Jerusalem, you have done many wrong things to me.

But at that time you will not be put to shame anymore.

That’s because I will remove from this city

those who think so highly of themselves.

You will never be proud again

on my holy mountain of Zion.

12But inside your city I will leave

those who are not proud at all.

Those who are still left alive will trust in the Lord.

13They will not do anything wrong.

They will not tell any lies.

They will not say anything to fool other people.

They will eat and lie down in peace.

And no one will make them afraid.”

14People of Zion, sing!

Israel, shout loudly!

People of Jerusalem, be glad!

Let your hearts be full of joy.

15The Lord has stopped punishing you.

He has made your enemies turn away from you.

The Lord is the King of Israel.

He is with you.

You will never again be afraid

that others will harm you.

16The time is coming when people will say to Jerusalem,

“Zion, don’t be afraid.

Don’t give up.

17The Lord your God is with you.

He is the Mighty Warrior who saves.

He will take great delight in you.

In his love he will no longer punish you.

Instead, he will sing for joy because of you.”

18The Lord says to his people,

“You used to celebrate my appointed feasts in Jerusalem.

You are sad because you can’t do that anymore.

Other people make fun of you because of that.

That sadness was a heavy load for you to carry.

But I will remove that load from you.

19At that time I will punish

all those who crushed you.

I will save those among you who are disabled.

I will gather those who have been taken away.

I will give them praise and honor

in every land where they have been put to shame.

20At that time I will gather you together.

And I will bring you home.

I will give you honor and praise

among all the nations on earth.

I will bless you with great success again,”

says the Lord.