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Zephaniah 3

Woe to Jerusalem and the Nations

¹Woe to her who is rebellious and defiled, The oppressive city!

²She obeyed no voice, She accepted no discipline. She did not trust in the Lord, She did not approach her God.

³Her leaders within her are roaring lions, Her judges are wolves at evening; They have no bones to gnaw in the morning.

⁴Her prophets are insolent, treacherous men; Her priests have profaned the sanctuary. They have done violence to the Law.

⁵The Lord is righteous within her; He will do no injustice. Every morning He brings His justice to light; He does not fail. But the criminal knows no shame.

⁶“I have eliminated nations; Their corner towers are deserted. I have laid waste their streets, With no one passing by; Their cities have been laid waste, Without a person, without an inhabitant.

⁷“I said, ‘You will certainly revere Me, You will accept discipline.’ So her dwelling will not be eliminated In accordance with everything that I have stipulated for her. Instead, they were eager to corrupt all their deeds.

⁸¶“Therefore wait for Me,” declares the Lord, “For the day when I rise up as a witness. Indeed, My decision is to gather nations, To assemble kingdoms, To pour out on them My indignation, All My burning anger; For all the earth will be devoured By the fire of My zeal.

⁹“For then I will restore to the peoples pure lips, So that all of them may call on the name of the Lord, To serve Him shoulder to shoulder.

¹⁰“From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia My worshipers, My dispersed ones, Will bring My offerings.

¹¹“On that day you will feel no shame Because of all your deeds By which you have rebelled against Me; For then I will remove from your midst Your proud, arrogant ones, And you will never again be haughty On My holy mountain.

A Remnant of Israel

¹²“But I will leave among you A humble and lowly people, And they will take refuge in the name of the Lord.

¹³“The remnant of Israel will do no wrong And tell no lies, Nor will a deceitful tongue Be found in their mouths; For they will feed and lie down With no one to frighten them.”

¹⁴¶Shout for joy, daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, Israel! Rejoice and triumph with all your heart, Daughter of Jerusalem!

¹⁵The Lord has taken away His judgments against you, He has cleared away your enemies. The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst; You will no longer fear disaster.

¹⁶On that day it will be said to Jerusalem: “Do not be afraid, Zion; Do not let your hands fall limp.

¹⁷“The Lord your God is in your midst, A victorious warrior. He will rejoice over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.

¹⁸“I will gather those who are worried about the appointed feasts— They came from you, Zion; The disgrace of exile is a burden on them.

¹⁹“Behold, I am going to deal at that time With all your oppressors; I will save those who limp And gather the scattered, And I will turn their shame into praise and fame In all the earth.

²⁰“At that time I will bring you in, Even at the time when I gather you together; Indeed, I will make you famous and praiseworthy Among all the peoples of the earth, When I restore your fortunes before your eyes,” Says the Lord.

Zephaniah 3 (NASB)

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Zephaniah

Chapter 3

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