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 Chapter 1
1:1 The word of the Lord which
came to Sophonias the son of Chusi, the son of Godolias, the son of Amorias, the
son of Ezekias, in the days of Josias son of Amon, king of Juda.
2 Let there be an utter cutting off from
the face of the land, saith the Lord. 3
Let man and cattle be cut off; let the birds of the air and the
fishes of the sea be cut off; and the ungodly shall fail, and I will take away
the transgressors from the face of the land, saith the Lord.
4 And I will stretch out mine hand upon
Juda, and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and I will remove the names of
Baal out of this place, and the names of the priests; 5
and them that worship the host of heaven upon the
house-tops; and them that worship and swear by the Lord, and them that swear by
their king; 6 and them that turn
aside from the Lord, and them that seek not the Lord, and them that cleave not
to the Lord.
7 Fear ye before the Lord God; for the
day of the Lord is near; for the Lord has prepared his sacrifice, and has
sanctified his guests. 8 And it
shall come to pass in the day of the Lord’s sacrifice, that I will take
vengeance on the princes, and on the king’s house, and upon all that wear
strange apparel. 9 And I will openly
take vengeance on the porches in that day, on the men that fill the house
of the Lord their God with ungodliness and deceit.
10 And there shall be in that day, saith
the Lord, the sound of a cry from the gate of men slaying, and a howling from
the second gate, and a great crashing from the hills.
11 Lament, ye that inhabit the city
that has been broken down, for all the people has become like Chanaan; and all
that were exalted by silver have been utterly destroyed.
12 And it shall come to pass in that day, that I
will search Jerusalem with a candle, and will take vengeance on the men that
despise the things committed to them; but they say in their hearts, The Lord
will not do any good, neither will he do any evil.
13 And their power shall be for a spoil,
and their houses for utter desolation; and they shall build houses, but shall
not dwell in them; and they shall plant vineyards, but shall not drink the wine
of them.
14 For the great day of the Lord is
near, it is near, and very speedy; the sound of the day of the Lord is
made bitter and harsh. 15 A mighty
day of wrath is that day, a day of affliction and distress, a day of desolation
and destruction, a day of gloominess and darkness, a day of cloud and vapour,
16 a day of the trumpet and cry
against the strong cities, and against the high towers. 17
And I will greatly afflict the men, and they shall walk as
blind men, because they have sinned against the Lord; therefore he shall pour
out their blood as dust, and their flesh as dung. 18
And their silver and their gold shall in nowise be able to
rescue them in the day of the Lord’s wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured
by the fire of his jealously; for he will bring a speedy destruction on all them
that inhabit the land.
Chapter 2
2:1 Be ye gathered and closely joined
together, O unchastened nation; 2
before ye become as the flower that passes away, before the anger of the Lord
come upon you, before the day of the wrath of the Lord come upon you.
3 Seek ye the Lord, all ye meek of the
earth; do judgment, and seek justice, and answer accordingly; that ye may be hid
in the day of the wrath of the Lord.
4 For Gaza shall be utterly spoiled, and
Ascalon shall be destroyed; and Azotus shall be cast forth at noon-day, and
Accaron shall be rooted up. 5 Woe to
them that dwell on the border of the sea, neighbours of the Cretans! the word of
the Lord is against you, O Chanaan, land of the Philistines, and I will destroy
you out of your dwelling-place. 6
And Crete shall be a pasture of flocks, and a fold of sheep.
7 And the sea cost shall be for the
remnant of the house of Juda; they shall pasture upon them in the houses of
Ascalon; they shall rest in the evening because of the children of Juda; for the
Lord their God has visited them, and he will turn away their captivity.
8 I have heard the revilings of Moab,
and the insults of the children of Ammon, wherewith they have reviled my people,
and magnified themselves against my coasts. 9
Therefore, as I live, saith the Lord of hosts, the God of
Israel, Moab shall be as Sodoma, and the children of Ammon as Gomorrha; and
Damascus shall be left as a heap of the threshing-floor, and desolate for
ever: and the remnant of my people shall plunder them, and the remnant of my
nations shall inherit them. 10 This
is their punishment in return for their haughtiness, because they have
reproached and magnified themselves against the Lord Almighty.
11 The Lord shall appear against them, and
shall utterly destroy all the gods of the nations of the earth; and they shall
worship him every one from his place, even all the islands of the
nations.
12 Ye Ethiopians also are the slain of
my sword.
13 And he shall stretch forth his hand
against the north and destroy the Assyrian, and make Nineve a dry wilderness,
even as a desert. 14 And flocks,
and all the wild beasts of the land, and chameleons shall feed in the midst
thereof: and hedgehogs shall lodge in the ceilings thereof; and wild beasts
shall cry in the breaches thereof, and ravens in her porches, whereas her
loftiness was as as cedar.
Chapter 3
3:1 This is the scornful city that
dwells securely, that says in her heart, I am, and there is no longer any to
be after me: how is she become desolate, a habitation of wild beasts! every
one that passes through her shall hiss, and shake his hands.
Alas the glorious and ransomed city. 2
The dove hearkened not to the voice; she received not
correction; she trusted not in the Lord, and she drew not near to her God.
3 Her princes within her were as
roaring lions, her judges as the wolves of Arabia; they remained not till the
morrow. 4 Her prophets are light
and scornful men: her priests profane the holy things, and sinfully
transgress the law.
5 But the just Lord is in the midst of
her, and he will never do an unjust thing: morning by morning he will bring out
his judgment to the light, and it is not hidden, and he knows not injustice by
extortion, nor injustice in strife. 6
I have brought down the proud with destruction; their corners are
destroyed: I will make their ways completely waste, so that none shall go
through: their cities are come to an end, by reason of no man living or dwelling
in them. 7 I said, But do ye
fear me, and receive instruction, and ye shall not be cut off from the face of
the land for all the vengeance I have brought upon her: prepare thou,
rise early: all their produce is spoilt.
8 Therefore wait upon me, saith the
Lord, until the day when I rise up for a witness: because my judgment shall
be on the gatherings of the nations, to draw to me kings, to pour out upon
them all my fierce anger: for the whole earth shall be consumed with the
fire of my jealousy.
9 For then will I turn to the peoples a
tongue for her generation, that all may call on the name of the Lord, to serve
him under one yoke. 10 From the
boundaries of the rivers of Ethiopia will I receive my dispersed ones; they
shall offer sacrifices to me. 11 In
that day thou shalt not be ashamed of all thy practices, wherein thou hast
transgressed against me: for then will I take away from thee thy disdainful
pride, and thou shalt no more magnify thyself upon my holy mountain.
12 And I will leave in thee a meek and
lowly people; 13 and the remnant of
Israel shall fear the name of the Lord, and shall do no iniquity, neither shall
they speak vanity; neither shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth: for
they shall feed, and lie down, and there shall be none to terrify them.
14 Rejoice, O daughter of Sion; cry
aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem; rejoice and delight thyself with all thine
heart, O daughter of Jerusalem. 15
The Lord has taken away thine iniquities, he has ransomed thee from the hand of
thine enemies: the Lord, the King of Israel, is in the midst of thee: thou shalt
not see evil any more.
16 At that time the Lord shall say to
Jerusalem, Be of good courage, Sion; let not thine hands be slack.
17 The Lord thy God is in thee; the Mighty
One shall save thee: he shall bring joy upon thee, and shall refresh thee with
his love; and he shall rejoice over thee with delight as in a day of feasting.
18 And I will gather thine afflicted
ones. Alas! who has taken up a reproach against her?
19 Behold, I will work in thee
for thy sake at that time, saith the Lord: and I will save her that was
oppressed, and receive her that was rejected; and I will make them a praise, and
honoured in all the earth. 20 And
their enemies shall be ashamed at that time, when I shall deal well with
you, and at the time when I shall receive you: for I will make you honoured and
a praise among all the nations of the earth, when I turn back your captivity
before you, saith the Lord. |
