THE DAY OF THE LORD IS NEAR

Passage: Zephaniah 1:1-18

Key verse: 7a

NIV

1 The word of the Lord that came to Zephaniah son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hezekiah, during the reign of Josiah(A) son of Amon(B) king of Judah:

Judgment on the Whole Earth in the Day of the Lord

2 “I will sweep away everything
    from the face of the earth,”(C)
declares the Lord.
3 “I will sweep away both man and beast;(D)
    I will sweep away the birds in the sky(E)
    and the fish in the sea—
    and the idols that cause the wicked to stumble.”[a]

“When I destroy all mankind
    on the face of the earth,”(F)
declares the Lord,(G)
4 “I will stretch out my hand(H) against Judah
    and against all who live in Jerusalem.
I will destroy every remnant of Baal worship in this place,(I)
    the very names of the idolatrous priests(J)—
5 those who bow down on the roofs
    to worship the starry host,(K)
those who bow down and swear by the Lord
    and who also swear by Molek,[b](L)
6 those who turn back from following(M) the Lord
    and neither seek(N) the Lord nor inquire(O) of him.”

7 Be silent(P) before the Sovereign Lord,
    for the day of the Lord(Q) is near.
The Lord has prepared a sacrifice;(R)
    he has consecrated those he has invited.

8 “On the day of the Lord’s sacrifice
    I will punish(S) the officials
    and the king’s sons(T)
and all those clad
    in foreign clothes.
9 On that day I will punish
    all who avoid stepping on the threshold,[c](U)
who fill the temple of their gods
    with violence and deceit.(V)

10 “On that day,(W)”
    declares the Lord,
“a cry will go up from the Fish Gate,(X)
    wailing(Y) from the New Quarter,
    and a loud crash from the hills.
11 Wail,(Z) you who live in the market district[d];
    all your merchants will be wiped out,
    all who trade with[e] silver will be destroyed.(AA)
12 At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps
    and punish those who are complacent,(AB)
    who are like wine left on its dregs,(AC)
who think, ‘The Lord will do nothing,(AD)
    either good or bad.’(AE)
13 Their wealth will be plundered,(AF)
    their houses demolished.
Though they build houses,
    they will not live in them;
though they plant vineyards,
    they will not drink the wine.”(AG)

14 The great day of the Lord(AH) is near(AI)—
    near and coming quickly.
The cry on the day of the Lord is bitter;
    the Mighty Warrior shouts his battle cry.
15 That day will be a day of wrath—
    a day of distress and anguish,
        a day of trouble and ruin,
    a day of darkness(AJ) and gloom,
        a day of clouds and blackness(AK)—
16     a day of trumpet and battle cry(AL)
against the fortified cities
    and against the corner towers.(AM)

17 “I will bring such distress(AN) on all people
    that they will grope about like those who are blind,(AO)
    because they have sinned against the Lord.
Their blood will be poured out(AP) like dust
    and their entrails like dung.(AQ)
18 Neither their silver nor their gold
    will be able to save them
    on the day of the Lord’s wrath.”(AR)

In the fire of his jealousy(AS)
    the whole earth will be consumed,(AT)
for he will make a sudden end
    of all who live on the earth.(AU)

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Footnotes
  1. Zephaniah 1:3 The meaning of the Hebrew for this line is uncertain.
  2. Zephaniah 1:5 Hebrew Malkam
  3. Zephaniah 1:9 See 1 Samuel 5:5.
  4. Zephaniah 1:11 Or the Mortar
  5. Zephaniah 1:11 Or in
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Source: BibleGateway

ESV

1 The word of the Lord that came to Zephaniah the son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah, (A)in the days of (B)Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah.

The Coming Judgment on Judah

2 (C)“I will utterly sweep away everything
    from the face of the earth,” declares the Lord.
3 “I will sweep away (D)man and beast;
    I will sweep away the birds of the heavens
    and (E)the fish of the sea,
and (F)the rubble[a] with the wicked.
    I will (G)cut off mankind
    from the face of the earth,” declares the Lord.
4 “I will stretch out my hand against Judah
    and against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem;
(H)and I will cut off from this place the remnant of Baal
    and the name of the idolatrous priests along with the priests,
5 (I)those who bow down on the roofs
    to the host of the heavens,
(J)those who bow down and swear to the Lord
    and yet swear by (K)Milcom,[b]
6 (L)those who have turned back from following the Lord,
    (M)who do not seek the Lord or inquire of him.”

The Day of the Lord Is Near

7 (N)Be silent before the Lord God!
    For (O)the day of the Lord is near;
(P)the Lord has prepared a sacrifice
    and (Q)consecrated his guests.
8 And on the day of the Lord's sacrifice—
(R)“I will punish the officials and the king's sons
    and (S)all who array themselves in foreign attire.
9 On that day I will punish
    everyone (T)who leaps over the threshold,
and those who fill their master's[c] house
    with violence and fraud.

10 “On that day,” declares the Lord,
    “a cry will be heard from (U)the Fish Gate,
(V)a wail from (W)the Second Quarter,
    a loud crash from the hills.
11 (X)Wail, O inhabitants of the Mortar!
    For all the traders[d] are no more;
    all who weigh out silver are cut off.
12 At that time (Y)I will search Jerusalem with lamps,
    and I will punish the men
(Z)who are complacent,[e]
    (AA)those who say in their hearts,
‘The Lord will not do good,
    nor will he do ill.’
13 Their goods shall be (AB)plundered,
    and their houses laid waste.
(AC)Though they build houses,
    they shall not inhabit them;
(AD)though they plant vineyards,
    they shall not drink wine from them.”

14 (AE)The great day of the Lord is near,
    near and hastening fast;
the sound of the day of the Lord is bitter;
    (AF)the mighty man cries aloud there.
15 (AG)A day of wrath is that day,
    a day of distress and anguish,
a day of (AH)ruin and devastation,
    (AI)a day of darkness and gloom,
(AJ)a day of clouds and thick darkness,
16     (AK)a day of trumpet blast and battle cry
(AL)against the fortified cities
    and against the lofty battlements.

17 (AM)I will bring distress on mankind,
    so that they shall walk (AN)like the blind,
    because they have sinned against the Lord;
(AO)their blood shall be poured out like dust,
    and their flesh (AP)like dung.
18 (AQ)Neither their silver nor their gold
    shall be able to deliver them
    on the day of the wrath of the Lord.
(AR)In the fire of his jealousy,
    (AS)all the earth shall be consumed;
(AT)for a full and sudden end
    he will make of all the inhabitants of the earth.

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Footnotes
  1. Zephaniah 1:3 Or stumbling blocks (that is, idols)
  2. Zephaniah 1:5 Or their king
  3. Zephaniah 1:9 Or their Lord's
  4. Zephaniah 1:11 Or all the people of Canaan
  5. Zephaniah 1:12 Hebrew are thickening on the dregs [of their wine]
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Source: BibleGateway

 

INTRODUCTION TO ZEPHANIAH

Zephaniah prophesied in the time before the Babylonian invasion and captivity. He was a descendant of Hezekiah and a distant cousin to Josiah the former king during whose reign he prophesied. It was a dark time in Israel and Judah. He carried the lamp of God’s word at a time when it seemed like the lamp of God’s word had been extinguished in the land and darkness prevailed. He uses the expression “the Day of the Lord” seven times in these three short chapters. This gives the theme of the book: God’s judgment is coming on Judah for idol worship and complacency. Indeed, the first two chapters describe the judgment to come, but the third chapter speaks of hope—God’s hope—in judgment. In this way the hope of redemption, for a remnant of his people and for the nation, shines the light of the Lord and his mercy brightly in the midst of impending judgment.

The Lord is the judge. He is the judge of all the earth. He is the judge of all of nature, not just human beings, but of the birds of the air and the fish of the sea and of the animals that roam the earth. When the Lord judges, his judgment is complete. “‘I will sweep away everything from the face of the earth,’ declares the Lord.” (1) There is nothing on earth that would not feel the judgment of the Lord.

From verse 4 Zephaniah turns to the Lord’s judgment on Judah and Jerusalem. The Lord was especially angry at his people. The Lord rebukes the nation of Judah through Zephaniah for two things. First, the Lord was angry because of the widespread worship of idols (Baal, the starry host, Molech). The Lord would also destroy all the created things people were worshipping instead of worshipping the Lord.

The Lord was also angry at peoples’ complacency. People thought they could do anything and everything, and the Lord “will do nothing, either good or bad.” They thought they could get away with anything. But the day of the Lord would come quickly. He would come and judge severely and completely.

Prayer: Lord, help us each to repent our worshipping of anything but the Lord God. Your day is near. Turn our hearts to you and help us to seek you.

One Word: The day of the Lord is coming