Zephaniah 1

The word of the 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.

God’s judgment was about to come on Judah and on the whole earth

2 “I will completely make an end

of all things from the land”,

says the LORD.

3 “I will make an end of man and beast;

I will make an end of the birds

of the sky,

and the fish of the sea,

and the stumbling blocks along

with the wicked.

And I will cut man off from the land”,

says the LORD.

1:2-3 Judging from the language of this verse, v 18 and Zeph 3:8, God is speaking through Zephaniah of a time in the distant future which still has not come. Compare Gen 6:7. God promised Noah that He would never again destroy everything with a flood – Gen 9:15-16. Through Zephaniah He speaks of destruction by other means. Compare also 2 Pet 3:10-13.⚜

4 “I will stretch out my hand against

Judah and against all the inhabitants

of Jerusalem,

and I will cut off what is left of Baal

from this place,

and the names of the idolatrous

priests along with the priests,

5 And those who worship the starry host

of heaven on the housetops,

and those who worship and swear

by the LORD,

and who swear by Malcam,

6 And those who have turned back

from the LORD,

1:6 This was their great sin and the root cause of other sins.⚜

and those who have not sought

the LORD or inquired of him.

The destruction coming on the Day of the LORD

7 Be silent in the presence of the Lord God,

for the day of the LORD is at hand,

for the LORD has prepared a sacrifice,

he has invited his guests.

8 And this will take place on the day

of the LORD’s sacrifice:

I will punish the princes,

and the king’s children,

and all those dressed in foreign clothes.

9 On the same day I will also punish

all those who leap over

the temple threshold,

who fill their masters’ houses

with violence and deceit.

10 “And on that day”, says the LORD,

“this will take place:

there will be the sound of a cry

from the Fish Gate,

and a wailing from the Second Quarter,

and a loud crash from the hills.

11 Wail, you inhabitants of Maktesh,

for all the merchant people

will be cut down,

all those who carry silver will be cut off.

12 And it will happen at that time

that I will search Jerusalem

with lamps,

and punish the men who are settled

complacently like wine

on its dregs,

who say in their heart,

‘The LORD will not do good,

nor will he do evil.’

13 Therefore their goods will

become booty,

and their houses a desolation.

And they will build houses

but not live in them,

and they will plant vineyards

but not drink their wine.

1:4-13 Having announced the far-off event, God now speaks of the punishment of Judah and Jerusalem. There seems to be a mingling of events to come in the near future and in the distant future (v 7). They were partly fulfilled in 586 BC – 2 Kings chapter 25.⚜

14 “The great day of the LORD is near.

It is near,

and coming speedily.

The sound of the day of the LORD!

The mighty man there will cry

out bitterly.

1:14 Verse 7.⚜

15 That day is a day of wrath,

a day of trouble and distress,

a day of devastation and desolation,

a day of darkness and gloom,

a day of clouds and dense darkness,

16 A day of the trumpet and alarm

against the fortified cities,

and against the high towers.

17 I will bring distress on men,

so that they walk like blind men,

because they have sinned against

the LORD.

And their blood will be poured

out like dust,

and their flesh like dung.

18 Neither their silver nor their gold

will be able to save them in the day

of the LORD’s wrath;

and the whole land will be devoured

by the fire of his jealousy.

For quickly he will rid the land

of all those who live in it”.