Zephaniah 3New King James Version
The Wickedness of Jerusalem
3 Woe to her who is rebellious and polluted,
To the oppressing city!
2 She has not obeyedHisvoice,
She has not received correction;
She has not trusted in theLord,
She has not drawn near to her God.
3 (A)Her princes in her midstareroaring lions;
Her judgesare(B)evening wolves
That leave not a bone till morning.
4 Her(C)prophets are insolent, treacherous people;
Her priests have[a]polluted the sanctuary,
They have done(D)violence to the law.
5 TheLordisrighteous in her midst,
He will do no unrighteousness.
[b]Every morning He brings His justice to light;
He never fails,
But(E)the unjust knows no shame.
6 “I have cut off nations,
Their fortresses are devastated;
I have made their streets desolate,
With none passing by.
Their cities are destroyed;
There isno one, no inhabitant.
7 (F)I said, ‘Surely you will fear Me,
You will receive instruction’—
So that her dwelling would not be cut off,
Despiteeverything for which I punished her.
But[c]they rose early and(G)corrupted all their deeds.
A Faithful Remnant(H)
8 “Therefore(I)wait for Me,” says theLord,
“Until the day I rise up[d]for plunder;
My determinationisto(J)gather the nations
To My assembly of kingdoms,
To pour on them My indignation,
All My fierce anger;
All the earth(K)shall be devoured
With the fire of My jealousy.
9 “For then I will restore to the peoples(L)a pure[e]language,
That they all may call on the name of theLord,
To serve Him with one accord.
10 (M)From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia
My worshipers,
The daughter of My dispersed ones,
Shall bring My offering.
11 In that day you shall not be shamed for any of your deeds
In which you transgress against Me;
For then I will take away from your midst
Those who(N)rejoice in your pride,
And you shall no longer be haughty
In My holy mountain.
12 I will leave in your midst
(O)A meek and humble people,
And they shall trust in the name of theLord.
13 (P)The remnant of Israel(Q)shall do no unrighteousness
(R)And speak no lies,
Nor shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth;
For(S)they shall feedtheirflocks and lie down,
And no one shall makethemafraid.”
Joy in God’s Faithfulness
14 (T)Sing, O daughter of Zion!
Shout, O Israel!
Be glad and rejoice with allyourheart,
O daughter of Jerusalem!
15 TheLordhas taken away your judgments,
He has cast out your enemy.
(U)The King of Israel, theLord,(V)isin your midst;
You shall[f]see disaster no more.
16 In that day(W)it shall be said to Jerusalem:
“Do not fear;
Zion,(X)let not your hands be weak.
17 TheLordyour God(Y)in your midst,
The Mighty One, will save;
(Z)He will rejoice over you with gladness,
He will quietyouwith His love,
He will rejoice over you with singing.”
18 “I will gather those who(AA)sorrow over the appointed assembly,
Who are among you,
To whomits reproachisa burden.
19 Behold, at that time
I will deal with all who afflict you;
I will save the(AB)lame,
And gather those who were driven out;
I will appoint them for praise and fame
In every land where they were put to shame.
20 At that time(AC)I will bring you back,
Even at the time I gather you;
For I will give you[g]fame and praise
Among all the peoples of the earth,
When I return your captives before your eyes,”
Says theLord.
Footnotes
- Zephaniah 3:4Orprofaned
- Zephaniah 3:5Lit.Morning by morning
- Zephaniah 3:7They were eager
- Zephaniah 3:8LXX, Syr.for witness;Tg.for the day of My revelation for judgment;Vg.for the day of My resurrection that is to come
- Zephaniah 3:9Lit.lip
- Zephaniah 3:15So with Heb. mss., LXX, Bg.; MT, Vg.fear
- Zephaniah 3:20Lit.a name
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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