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

2 I will utterly consume all things from off the face of the ground, says LORD.

3 I will consume man and beast. I will consume the birds of the heavens, and the fishes of the sea, and the stumbling blocks with the wicked. And I will cut off man from off the face of the ground, says LORD.

4 And I will stretch out my hand upon Judah, and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And I will cut off the remnant of Baal from this place, [and] the name of the Chemarim with the priests,

5 and those who worship the host of heaven upon the housetops, and those who worship, who swear to LORD and swear by Malcam,

6 and those who are turned back from following LORD, and those who have not sought LORD, nor inquired after him.

7 Hold thy peace at the presence of lord LORD, for the day of LORD is at hand. For LORD has prepared a sacrifice. He has consecrated his guests.

8 And it shall come to pass in the day of LORD's sacrifice, that I will punish the rulers, and the king's sons, and all such as are clothed with foreign apparel.

9 And in that day I will punish all those who leap over the threshold, who fill their master's house with violence and deceit.

10 And in that day, says LORD, there shall be the noise of a cry from the fish gate, and a wailing from the second quarter, and a great crashing from the hills.

11 Wail, ye inhabitants of Maktesh, for all the people of Canaan are undone. All those who were laden with silver are cut off.

12 And it shall come to pass at that time, that I will search Jerusalem with lamps, and I will punish the men who are settled on their lees, who say in their heart, LORD will not do good, nor will he do evil.

13 And their wealth shall become a spoil, and their houses a desolation. Yea, they shall build houses, but shall not inhabit them, and they shall plant vineyards, but shall not drink the wine of it.

14 The great day of LORD is near. It is near and hastens greatly, the voice of the day of LORD. The mighty man cries there bitterly.

15 That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness,

16 a day of the trumpet and alarm, against the fortified cities, and against the high battlements.

17 And I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against LORD, and their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as dung.

18 Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of LORD's wrath, but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy. For he will make an end, yea, a terrible end, of all those who dwell in