Zephaniah 3 – NIV & CCBT

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.

Chinese Contemporary Bible (Traditional)

西番雅書 3:1-20

耶路撒冷的敗壞

1這叛逆、污穢、充滿壓迫的城有禍了!

2她不聽命令,不受管教;

不倚靠耶和華,

不親近她的上帝。

3她的首領是咆哮的獅子,

她的審判官是夜間的豺狼,

不留一點獵物到天明。

4她的先知是狂妄詭詐之徒,

她的祭司褻瀆聖殿,違背律法。

5但城中的耶和華是公義的,

祂絕不做不義之事。

祂每天早晨伸張正義,從不間斷。

然而,不義之人卻不知羞恥。

6「我已消滅列國,

摧毀他們的城樓,

使他們的街道荒廢,沒有路人;

他們的城邑淪為廢墟,杳無人跡,沒有居民。

7我以為這城一定會敬畏我,接受管教,

這樣我就不必照所定的毀滅她。

然而,他們卻更加熱衷於犯罪作惡。

8「因此,等著我吧,

等著我指控的那一天吧。

我已決定召集列國列邦,

向他們傾倒我的烈怒,

我的怒火必吞噬天下。

這是耶和華說的。

耶和華的拯救

9「那時,我必潔淨萬民的口,

以便他們可以求告我的名,

同心合意地事奉我。

10那些敬拜我的,

就是我那些分散的子民必從古實河對岸帶著供物來獻給我。

11到那天,你必不再因背叛我而感到羞愧,

因為那時我必除掉你那裡狂妄自大的人,

你在我的聖山上必不再高傲。

12我必把謙卑貧苦的人留在你那裡,

他們必投靠在我耶和華的名下。

13以色列的餘民必不再作惡,

撒謊或出詭詐之言。

他們吃喝躺臥,無人驚擾。」

歡樂之歌

14錫安3·14 」希伯來文是「女子」,可能是對錫安的暱稱。啊,歌唱吧!

以色列啊,歡呼吧!

耶路撒冷城啊,盡情地歡喜快樂吧!

15耶和華已經撤銷對你的刑罰,

趕走你的仇敵,

以色列的王耶和華與你同在,

你必不再懼怕災禍。

16到那天,耶路撒冷必聽到這樣的話:

錫安啊,不要害怕!不要雙手發軟!

17你的上帝耶和華與你同在,

祂是大能的拯救者,

祂必因你而歡喜快樂,歡然歌唱,

用祂的愛安慰你。」

18「我必招聚你那裡因不能守節期而憂愁的人,

使你不再蒙受羞辱。

19看啊,那時我必懲罰所有欺壓你的人,

拯救瘸腿的,召回分散的,

使他們的羞辱化為尊榮,聲名遠播。

20那時,我必招聚你們,帶你們回到故土。

你們回到故土後,

我必使你們在天下萬民中聲名遠播,得到尊榮。」

這是耶和華說的。