Zephaniah 3

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 refuge would not be destroyed,

nor all my punishments come upon 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.

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 Cush

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 fortunes

before your very eyes,”

says the Lord.