Zephaniah 3

Judgment on Jerusalem and the Nations

¹Woe to her who is rebellious and defiled,

the oppressing city!

²She listens to no voice;

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 judges are evening wolves

that leave nothing till the morning.

⁴Her prophets are fickle, treacherous men;

her priests profane what is holy;

they do violence to the law.

⁵The Lord within her is righteous;

he does no injustice;

every morning he shows forth his justice;

each dawn he does not fail;

but the unjust knows no shame.

⁶“I have cut off nations;

their battlements are in ruins;

I have laid waste their streets

so that no one walks in them;

their cities have been made desolate,

without a man, without an inhabitant.

⁷I said, ‘Surely you will fear me;

you will accept correction.

Then your dwelling would not be cut off

according to all that I have appointed against you.’

But all the more they were eager

to make all their deeds corrupt.

⁸“Therefore wait for me,” declares the Lord,

“for the day when I rise up to seize the prey.

For my decision is to gather nations,

to assemble kingdoms,

to pour out upon them my indignation,

all my burning anger;

for in the fire of my jealousy

all the earth shall be consumed.

The Conversion of the Nations

⁹“For at that time I will change the speech of the peoples

to a pure speech,

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

and serve him with one accord.

¹⁰From beyond the rivers of Cush

my worshipers, the daughter of my dispersed ones,

shall bring my offering.

¹¹“On that day you shall not be put to shame

because of the deeds by which you have rebelled against me;

for then I will remove from your midst

your proudly exultant ones,

and you shall no longer be haughty

in my holy mountain.

¹²But I will leave in your midst

a people humble and lowly.

They shall seek refuge in the name of the Lord,

¹³those who are left in Israel;

they shall do no injustice

and speak no lies,

nor shall there be found in their mouth

a deceitful tongue.

For they shall graze and lie down,

and none shall make them afraid.”

Israel's Joy and Restoration

¹⁴Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion;

shout, O Israel!

Rejoice and exult with all your heart,

O daughter of Jerusalem!

¹⁵The Lord has taken away the judgments against you;

he has cleared away your enemies.

The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst;

you shall never again fear evil.

¹⁶On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem:

“Fear not, O Zion;

let not your hands grow weak.

¹⁷The Lord your God is in your midst,

a mighty one who will save;

he will rejoice over you with gladness;

he will quiet you by his love;

he will exult over you with loud singing.

¹⁸I will gather those of you who mourn for the festival,

so that you will no longer suffer reproach.

¹⁹Behold, at that time I will deal

with all your oppressors.

And I will save the lame

and gather the outcast,

and I will change their shame into praise

and renown in all the earth.

²⁰At that time I will bring you in,

at the time when I gather you together;

for I will make you renowned and praised

among all the peoples of the earth,

when I restore your fortunes

before your eyes,” says the Lord.