Zephaniah 3

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The Unjust Knows No Shame

Woe to her who is rebellious and defiled,

The oppressive city!

She did not listen to any voice;

She did not receive discipline.

She did not trust in Yahweh;

She did not draw near to her God.

Her princes in her midst are roaring lions;

Her judges are wolves at evening;

They leave nothing to gnaw for the morning.

Her prophets are reckless, treacherous men;

Her priests have profaned the sanctuary.

They have done violence to the law.

Yahweh is righteous in her midst;

He will do no injustice.

Every morning He brings His justice to light;

He does not fail.

But the unjust knows no shame.

“I have cut off nations;

Their corner towers are desolate.

I have made their streets a waste,

With no one passing by;

Their cities are laid waste,

Without a man, without an inhabitant.

I said, ‘Surely you will fear Me,

Receive discipline.’

So her abode will not be cut off

According to all that I have appointed concerning her.

But they were eager to corrupt all their deeds.

Yahweh Will Pour Out His Anger

“Therefore wait for Me,” declares Yahweh,

“For the day when I rise up as a witness.

Indeed, My judgment is to assemble nations,

To gather 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.

For then I will change them to peoples with purified lips,

That all of them may call on the name of Yahweh,

To serve Him shoulder to shoulder.

From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia

My worshipers, My scattered ones,

Will bring My offerings.

In that day you will feel no shame

Because of all your deeds

By which you have transgressed against Me;

For then I will remove from your midst

Your proud, exulting ones,

And you will never again be haughty

On My holy mountain.

But I will cause to remain in your midst

A lowly and poor people,

And they will take refuge in the name of Yahweh.

The remnant of Israel will do no injustice

And not speak falsehood,

Nor will a deceitful tongue

Be found in their mouths;

For they will feed and lie down

With no one to make them tremble.”

Yahweh’s Joy in Restoring Israel

Sing for joy, O daughter of Zion!

Make a loud shout, O Israel!

Be glad and exult with all your heart,

O daughter of Jerusalem!

Yahweh has taken away His judgments against you;

He has cleared away your enemies.

The King of Israel, Yahweh, is in your midst;

You will fear evil no more.

In that day it will be said to Jerusalem:

“Do not fear, O Zion;

Do not let your hands fall limp.

Yahweh your God is in your midst,

A mighty one who will save.

He will be joyful over you with gladness;

He will be quiet in His love;

He will rejoice over you with joyful singing.

I will assemble those who grieve about the appointed feasts—

They were from you, O Zion;

The reproach of exile is a burden on them.

Behold, I am going to deal at that time

With all those who afflict you,

And I will save the lame

And gather the banished,

And I will turn them—in their shame—into praise and a name

In all the earth.

At that time I will bring you in,

Even at the time when I gather you together;

Indeed, I will give you to be a name and praise

Among all the peoples of the earth,

When I restore your fortunes before your eyes,”

Says Yahweh.

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