1 The word of the LORD that 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 make a clean sweep of everything on the face of the ground, declares the LORD.
3 Man and animal I will sweep off; I will sweep off the birds of the sky and the fish of the sea, the things that make people stumble, along with the wicked; and I will cut humankind off from the face of the ground, declares the LORD.
4 My hand will reach out against Judah and against everyone living in Jerusalem; from this place I will cut off what is left of Baal, the very name of the idol priests together with the priests;
5 those who worship the host of heaven on the housetops, those who worship and take oaths to the LORD while they also take oaths by Malcam;
6 those who have turned away from following the LORD, who neither look for the LORD nor ask after him.
7 Hush in the presence of the Lord GOD! The day of the LORD is close; the LORD has made a sacrifice ready and set apart those he has invited.
8 When the day of the LORD's sacrifice comes, I will call to account the princes, the royal sons, and all who dress themselves in foreign clothing.
9 I will call to account on that day all who hop over the threshold, who stuff their masters' house with violence and deceit.
10 On that day, declares the LORD, an outcry will rise from the Fish Gate, howling from the New Quarter, and a mighty crashing from the hills.
11 Howl, you who live in the Mortar, for all the merchant people are destroyed; everyone who weighs out silver is cut off.
12 At that time I will go through Jerusalem with lamps and call to account the men who have thickened like wine on its dregs, who tell themselves, "The LORD will do nothing, neither good nor bad."
13 Their riches will be looted and their houses left in ruins; they will build houses and not live in them, plant vineyards and never drink the wine they make.
14 Near is the great day of the LORD, near and coming very fast! Listen, the day of the LORD! Bitterly the warrior screams there.
15 That day is a day of fury, a day of anguish and distress, a day of wreck and ruin, a day of darkness and murk, a day of cloud and black gloom,
16 a day of the horn and the war cry against the walled cities and the high corner towers.
17 I will bring such distress on people that they will grope along like the blind, since they have sinned against the LORD; their blood will be spilled out like dust and their entrails like dung.
18 Their silver and gold will not be able to save them on the day of the LORD's fury; the whole earth will be eaten up by the fire of his jealousy, for he will bring an end, a terrifying end, on all who live on the earth.