Rotherham - Zephaniah

Chapter 1

1:1  The word of Yahweh which came unto Zephaniah, son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah,—in the days of Josiah son of Amon, king of Judah.

1:2  I will take clean away everything from off the face of the ground, Declareth Yahweh.

1:3  I will take away man and beast, I will take away the bird of the heavens and the fishes of the sea, and the stumblingblocks, even them who are lawless,—and will cut off mankind, from off the face of the ground, Declareth Yahweh.

1:4  And I will stretch out my hand—over Judah, and over all the inhabitants of Jerusalem,—and will cut off out of this place, the name of Baal, the name of the priestlings, with the priests;

1:5  And them who bow down upon the housetops to the host of the heavens,—and them who bow down—who swear to Yahweh, and swear by Milcom;

1:6  And them who turn away from following Yahweh,—and have neither sought Yahweh, nor enquired for him.

1:7  Hush! at the presence of My Lord, Yahweh,—for, near, is the day of Yahweh, for Yahweh hath prepared his sacrifice, hath hallowed his guests.

1:8  And it shall come to pass, in the day of Yahweh’s sacrifice, that I will punish the rulers, and the sons of the king,—and all such as are clothed with foreign apparel;

1:9  And I will punish every one who leapeth over the threshold, in that day,—those who fill the house of their lords with violence and deceit.

1:10  And there shall come to be, in that day, declareth Yahweh, The noise of an outcry from the fish-gate, and of a howling out of the new city,—and of a great crashing, from the hills.

1:11  Howl, ye inhabitants of the lower city,—because destroyed are all the people of traffic, cut off are all they who were laden with silver.

1:12  And it shall come to pass, at that time, that I will search through Jerusalem, with lamps,—and will punish the men who are thickened upon their lees, who are saying in their heart, Yahweh, will not give blessing, neither will he bring calamity.

1:13  Therefore shall their goods become a booty, and their houses, a desolation,—and they shall build houses, but not inhabit them, and plant vineyards, but not drink the wine thereof.

1:14  Near is the great day of Yahweh, near, and very speedy,—The noise of the day of Yahweh, a strong man—there!—bitterly crying out!

1:15  A day of indignation,—that day! day of danger and distress, day of rush, and of crash, day of obscurity, and deep gloom, day of cloud, and thick darkness;

1:16  day of horn, and war-shout,—against the fortified cities, and against the high towers.

1:17  And I will bring distress to mankind, and they shall walk like them who are blind, because, against Yahweh, have they sinned,—and their blood, shall be poured out, as dust, and their bowels like dung.

1:18  Neither their silver nor yet their gold, shall be able to deliver them, in the day of the indignation of Yahweh, but, in the fire of his jealousy, shall the whole earth be consumed; For, a destruction, surely a terrible one, will he make, with all them who dwell in the earth.

Chapter 2

2:1  Collect your thoughts, aye collect them,—O nation, depressed!

2:2  Ere yet the decree, have given birth, like chaff, the day, have vanished,—ere yet shall come upon you, the glow of the anger of Yahweh, ere yet shall come upon you, the day of the anger of Yahweh.

2:3  Seek Yahweh—all ye lowly of the land, who have wrought, what he appointed,—seek righteousness, seek humility, peradventure, ye shall be concealed, in the day of the anger of Yahweh?

2:4  For, Gaza, forsaken, shall be, and, Ashkelon, a desolation,—Ashdod! at high noon, shall they drive her forth, and, Ekron, be uprooted:

2:5  Alas! for the inhabitants of the line of the sea, the nation of Kerethim,—The word of Yahweh, is against you, O Canaan of the land of the Philistines, therefore will I destroy thee, to the last inhabitant.

2:6  So shall the line of the sea become a meadow, the wells of shepherds, and the folds of flocks;

2:7  And the line shall belong to the remnant of the house of Judah, Thereon, shall they feed their flocks,—In the houses of Ashkelon, shall they, at eventide, lie down, for Yahweh their God will visit them, and bring their captives back.

2:8  I have heard the reproach of Moab, and the revilings of the sons of Ammon,—who have reproached my people, and have magnified themselves up to their bounds.

2:9  Wherefore, as I live, declareth Yahweh of hosts, God of Israel, Surely, Moab, like Sodom, shall become, and, the sons of Ammon, like Gomorrah, a possession for the thorn, and a pit of salt, Yea a desolation, unto times age-abiding: The remnant of my people, shall make of them a prey, and, the residue of my nation, shall inherit them.

2:10  This, shall they have, instead of their pride,—because they reproached and magnified themselves against the people of Yahweh of hosts.

2:11  Terrible will Yahweh be against them, for he hath caused to waste away all the gods of the earth, that men may bow down to him, every one from his place, all the coastlands of the nations:

2:12  Even ye Ethiopians, the slain of my sword were they!

2:13  And may he stretch out his hand against the North, and destroy Assyria,—and may he make of Nineveh a desolation, dry as the desert!

2:14  So shall lie down in her midst—flocks, each living thing of a nation, both pelican and bittern, in her capitals, shall roost,—a voice, shall resound in the window, the bustard, on the sill, for he hath destroyed, hath laid bare.

2:15  This, is the city exultant, that sat secure, that said in her heart, I, [am] ! and no one besides! How hath she become a desolation! a lair of beasts, every one passing, by her doth hiss, shaketh his hand.

Chapter 3

3:1  Alas for her that is rebellious, and polluted, the city that oppresseth!

3:2  She hath hearkened to no voice, accepted no correction; in Yahweh, hath not trusted, to her God, hath not drawn near:

3:3  Her rulers in her midst, are roaring lions,—her judges, evening wolves, they have left nothing until morning!

3:4  Her prophets, are reckless, treacherous men! her priests, have profaned the holy, done violence to law.

3:5  Yahweh, the Righteous One, is in her midst, he dealeth not perversely,—Morning by morning, his justice, bringeth he forth the light, He is not found lacking, but the perverse man knoweth no shame.

3:6  I have cut off nations, deserted are their towers, have made desolate their streets, that none passeth through; ruined are their cities, for want of men of note, from lack of any dweller!

3:7  I said, Surely thou wilt reverence, Me, wilt accept correction, lest her abode, should be cut of, howsoever I had punished her; but, in truth, they soon corrupted all their deeds.

3:8  Wherefore, wait for me, urgeth Yahweh, until the day when I rise up as witness, for, my decision, is to gather nations, to assemble kingdoms, to pour out on them mine indignation, all the glow of mine anger, for, in the fire of my jealousy, shall be devoured the whole earth.

3:9  Surely, then, will I turn unto the peoples a lip made pure,—that they all may call on the name of Yahweh, may serve him with one consent.

3:10  From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia, [shall come] my suppliants, the daughter of my dispersed ones, shall bear along a gift for me.

3:11  In that day, wilt thou not turn pale for all thy deeds, wherein thou hast transgressed against me? For, then, will I take away out of thy midst thy proudly exulting ones, and thou shalt not again be haughty any more in my holy mountain:

3:12  So will I leave remaining in thy midst, a people oppressed and poor,—who will seek refuge in the name of Yahweh:

3:13  The remnant of Israel—will not do perversity, nor speak falsehood, neither shall there be found in their mouth a tongue of deceit,—surely, they, shall feed and lie down, with none to make them afraid.

3:14  Sing out, O daughter of Zion, shout aloud, O Israel,—rejoice and exult with all thy heart, O daughter Jerusalem:

3:15  Yahweh, hath set aside, thy judgments, hath turned back thy foe,—The king of Israel, Yahweh, is in thy midst, thou shalt not fear calamity, any more.

3:16  In that day, shall it be said—to Jerusalem, Do not fear,—O Zion, Let not thy hands hang down:

3:17  Yahweh, thy God, in the midst of thee, as a mighty one, will save,—will be glad over thee with rejoicing, will be silent in his love, will exult over thee with shouts of triumph.

3:18  The sad exiles from the appointed meeting, have I gathered, from thee, had they been! [but were] a burden on thee—a reproach!

3:19  Behold me! dealing with all thine oppressors, at that time,—and I will save her that is lame, and, her that hath been an outcast, will I carry, and I will make them to be a Praise and a Name, in the whole earth that hath witnessed their shame.

3:20  At that time, will I bring you in, even at the time when I gather you,—Yea I will grant you to become a Name and a Praise, among all the peoples of the earth, when I cause them of your captivities to return before your eyes, saith Yahweh.