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 son of Amon, king of Judah.

2 Let there be an utter cutting off from the face of the land, saith the Lord. 3 Let man and cattle be cut off; let the birds of the air and the fish of the sea be cut off; and the ungodly shall fail, and I will take away the transgressors from the face of the land, saith the Lord. 4 And I will stretch out my hand upon Judah, and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and I will remove the names of Baal out of this place, and the names of the priests; 5 and them that worship the host of heaven upon the housetops; and them that worship and swear by the Lord, and them that swear by their king; 6 and them that turn aside from the Lord, and them that seek not the Lord, and them that cleave not to the Lord.

7 Fear ye before the Lord God; for the day of the Lord is near; for the Lord has prepared his sacrifice, and has sanctified his guests. 8 And it shall come to pass in the day of the Lord’s sacrifice, that I will take vengeance on the princes, and on the king’s house, and upon all that wear strange apparel. 9 And I will openly take vengeance on the porches in that day, on the men that fill the house of the Lord their God with ungodliness and deceit.

10 And there shall be in that day, saith the Lord, the sound of a cry from the gate of men slaying, and a howling from the second gate, and a great crashing from the hills. 11 Lament, ye that inhabit the city that has been broken down, for all the people has become like Canaan; and all that were exalted by silver have been utterly destroyed.

12 And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will search Jerusalem with a candle, and will take vengeance on the men that despise the things committed to them; but they say in their hearts, The Lord will not do any good, neither will he do any evil. 13 And their power shall be for a spoil, and their houses for utter desolation; and they shall build houses, but shall not dwell in them; and they shall plant vineyards, but shall not drink the wine of them.

14 For the great day of the Lord is near, it is near, and very speedy; the sound of the day of the Lord is made bitter and harsh. 15 A mighty day of wrath is that day, a day of affliction and distress, a day of desolation and destruction, a day of gloominess and darkness, a day of cloud and vapor, 16 a day of the trumpet and cry against the strong cities, and against the high towers. 17 And I will greatly afflict the men, and they shall walk as blind men, because they have sinned against the Lord; therefore he shall pour out their blood as dust, and their flesh as dung. 18 And their silver and their gold shall in nowise be able to rescue them in the day of the Lord’s wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy; for he will bring a speedy destruction on all them that inhabit the land.