Zephaniah

CHAPTER 1 The word of the LORD which came to Zephaniah son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah son of Amon, king of Judah:

2 “I will completely remove all things From the face of the [a]earth,” declares the LORD. THIS IS A STRONG WARNING

3 “I will remove human and animal life; I will remove the birds of the sky And the fish of the sea, And the [b]ruins along with the wicked; And I will eliminate mankind from the face of the [c]earth,” declares the LORD. JUST LIKE DURING NOAH’S TIME.

4 “So I will stretch out My hand against Judah And against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And I will eliminate the remnant of Baal from this place, And the names of the idolatrous priests along with the other priests. BAAL = “CANAANITE FERTILITY DEITY OF RAIN AND DEW” BRITTANICA ; IDOLATRY IS AGAINST THE FIRST COMMANDMENT IN EXODUS 20.

5 And those who bow down on the housetops to the heavenly [d]lights, And those who bow down and swear to the LORD, but also swear by [e]Milcom, = Ammonite god

6 And those who have turned back from following the LORD, And those who have not sought the LORD nor inquired of Him.” WE NEED TO ASK AND SEEK THE LORD.

7 [f]Be silent before the Lord [g]GOD! For the day of the LORD is near, Because the LORD has prepared a sacrifice, He has consecrated His guests. ARE WE QUIET ENOUGH?

8 “Then it will come about on the day of the LORD’S sacrifice That I will punish the princes, the king’s sons, And all who clothe themselves with foreign garments. LEADERS ARE JUDGED FIRST. WE NEED TO BUY AMERICAN CLOTHES? 😊

9 And on that day I will punish all who leap on the temple threshold, Who fill the house of their [h]lord with violence and deceit. THERE NEEDS TO BE PEACE & TRUTH HERE.

10 And on that day,” declares the LORD, “There will be the sound of a cry from the Fish Gate, Wailing from the [i]Second Quarter, And a loud crash from the hills.

11 Wail, you inhabitants of the [j]Mortar, Because all the [k]people of Canaan will be destroyed; All who weigh out silver will be eliminated. CANAAN = PALESTINE; SCALES OF JUSTICE

12 And it will come about at that time That I will search Jerusalem with lamps, And I will punish the people Who are [l]stagnant in spirit, Who say in their hearts, ‘The LORD will not do good nor harm!’ WE CAN’T BE STAGNANT IN SPIRIT. WE CAN’T BE LUKEWARM. THE LORD DOES GOOD AND HARM WILL COME.

13 Their wealth will become plunder, And their houses desolate; Yes, they will build houses but not inhabit them, And plant vineyards but not drink their wine.”

14 The great day of the LORD is near, ear and coming very quickly; Listen, the day of the LORD! [m]In it the warrior cries out bitterly. I WONDER HOW MUCH LONGER.

15 That day is a day of anger, A day of trouble and distress, A day of destruction and desolation, A day of darkness and gloom, A day of clouds and thick darkness,

16 A day of trumpet and battle cry Against the fortified cities And the high corner towers.

17 I will bring distress on mankind So that they will walk like those who are blind, Because they have sinned against the LORD; And their blood will be poured out like dust, And their flesh like dung. WE NEED TO CONFESS OUR SIN.

18 Neither their silver nor their gold Will be able to save them On the day of the LORD’S anger; And all the earth will be devoured by the fire of His jealousy, For He will make a complete end, Indeed a horrifying one, Of all the inhabitants of the earth. WE CAN’T BUY FORGIVENESS, LIKE A MAJOR CHURCH TRIED BEFORE.

Footnotes (from Biblegateway.com)

Zephaniah 1:2 Lit ground

Zephaniah 1:3 Or stumbling blocks

Zephaniah 1:3 Lit ground

Zephaniah 1:5 Lit host; i.e., sun, stars, etc.

Zephaniah 1:5 Or their king; MT Malcam, prob. a variant spelling of Milcom, the Ammonite god

Zephaniah 1:7 Lit Hush

Zephaniah 1:7 Heb YHWH, usually rendered LORD

Zephaniah 1:9 Or Lord

Zephaniah 1:10 I.e., a district of Jerusalem

Zephaniah 1:11 I.e., a district of Jerusalem

Zephaniah 1:11 Or merchant people will

Zephaniah 1:12 Lit thickening on their dregs

Zephaniah 1:14 Lit There

CHAPTER 2:1 Gather yourselves together, yes, join together, You nation without [a]shame,

2 Before the decree [b]takes effect—The day passes like chaff—Before the burning anger of the LORD comes upon you, Before the day of the LORD’S anger comes upon you. THE LORD HAS BEEN PATIENT BUT HE ALSO HAS AN ANGRY SIDE.