The Book of Sephaniah

1 Jehovah’s word which came to Sephaniah the son of Cushi the son of Gedaliah the son of Amariah the son of Hezekiah in the time of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah.

2 I will take off everything off the face of the earth, quoth Jehovah: 3 I will take off man and beast, I will take off the birds of the air and the fish of the sea, and the stumbling-blocks with the wicked, and I will extirpate mankind off the face of the earth, quoth Jehovah. 4** And I will stretch out my hand over Judah and over all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and exterminate from this place the kin of the Baal and the kith of the komers, 5* and those who do reverence on the roof to the legions of the sky, and those who do reverence to Jehovah and swear by Malcam, 6 and those who fall back from following Jehovah and those who have not gone looking for Jehovah nor resorted to him.

7 Silence because of the Lord Jehovah, because Jehovah’s day is near; because Jehovah has prepared for a sacrifice, has hallowed his guests. 8 And on the day of Jehovah’s sacrifice I will punish the generals and the royal family and all that wear foreign clothing, 9 and I will punish on that day everyone who leaps over a threshold, those who fill their master’s house with outrage and fraud. 10 And on that day, quoth Jehovah, there shall be the sound of an outcry from the fish gate and a howling from the second quarter and a great crashing from the hills. 11* Howl, inhabitants of the hollow, because all the people of Canaan are cut off; all those who were laden with silver are exterminated. 12 And at that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps; and I will punish the men that are stiffened on their lees, that say to themselves “Jehovah will do no good and no harm.” 13 And their wealth shall be for pillage, and their houses become a desolation; and they shall build houses and not live there, and plant vineyards and not drink the wine of them.

14 Jehovah’s great day is near, near and speeding swiftly on; the sound of Jehovah’s day is bitter, a champion is yelling there. 15 That day is a day of wrath, a day of distress and hard straits, a day of blast and blight, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of cloud and thick air, 16* a day of horn-blowing and cheering against the fortified cities and against the high corner-towers. 17* And I will bring distress on men, and they shall go like blind men, because they have sinned against Jehovah; and their blood shall be spilled like dust, and their entrails like cow-droppings. 18** Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them on the day of Jehovah’s wrath; and by the fire of his jealousy all the country shall be consumed. For he will dispatch all the inhabitants of the country in a finish full of sheer consternation.

2* Get in your straw, get in your straw, nation unabashed, 2** before you become like chaff blowing along, before the day of Jehovah’s anger comes upon you. 3 Go looking for Jehovah, all you humble of the earth, you who have put his law in practice; look out for honesty, for humility—you may be screened on the day of Jehovah’s anger. 4* For Ghaza shall be abandoned, and Ashkelon become a desolation; Ashdod they shall oust at noon, and ‘Ekron shall be uprooted. 5 Ha, inhabitants of the seacoast strip, nation of the Cretans! Jehovah’s word is against you, Canaan, country of the Philistines, and I will destroy you to the last inhabitant; 6 and the Cretan country shall be shepherds’ pastures and folds for sheep. 7*** And the seacoast strip shall belong to the remnant of the house of Judah, they shall pasture on them, they shall have the flocks lie down at evening in the houses of Ashkelon, because their God Jehovah will take up their case and come back to them.

8 I have heard Moab’s taunts and the insults of the Bene-ʽAmmon, with which they have taunted my people and blustered against their territory. 9* So by my life, quoth Israel’s God Jehovah of Armies, Moab shall become like Sodom and the Bene-ʽAmmon like Ghomorrah, a place for brakes of weeds and for digging salt and a desolation forever; the remnant of my people shall plunder them, what is left of my nation shall fall heir to them; 10 this is what they get for their pride, for having taunted and blustered against the people of Jehovah of Armies. 11* Jehovah is terrible over them, because he has dwindled all the gods of the earth, and all the coasts of the nations shall do reverence to him each man at his own place.

12* You too, Nubians, are run through by Jehovah’s sword. 13* And he will stretch out his hand over the north and destroy Assyria and render Nineveh a dried-out desolation like the wilderness. 14**** And flocks shall lie down in the middle of her, every beast of pasture; both barn-owl and porcupine shall lodge in the capitals of her columns; there is a great owl’s voice in the window, a raven’s on the threshold. 15 This is the hilarious city that was seated in security, that said to herself “There’s me and that’s all!” how she has become a desolation, a place for beasts to lie down! everyone who passes her shall whistle and wave his hand.

3 Alas, the disobedient and polluted one, the arbitrary city, 2 that obeyed no voice, learned nothing by discipline, had no confidence in Jehovah, would not come near her God! 3 her generals in her midst are roaring lions, her judges evening wolves that do no morning gnawing; 4 her prophets are reckless, faithless men, her priests treat sanctities as profane, they tamper with rulings. 5** Jehovah, a righteous one, is in her; he will do no foul play; morning by morning he brings his justice to the light, he does not default, he does not know how to play foul. 6* I made away with nations, their corner-towers are desolate, I laid their streets waste till there is not a passer, their cities are wrecked till there is not a man, to the last inhabitant; 7* I thought “It must be you will fear me, will let yourself learn, and she will not lose sight of all the visitations I have sent her”; in fact the first thing they did was to make all their practices vicious. 8 So wait for me, quoth Jehovah, for my day of standing up as witness; for it is my judgment to bring nations together, to gather kingdoms, to pour out my hostility on them, all the heat of my anger; for in the fire of my jealousy all the earth shall be consumed.

9** For then I will turn the lips of all the peoples clean, that they may all call on Jehovah’s name and cooperate in his service. 10**** From beyond the African rivers the Pathrusites shall bring my aromas, my offering. 11* On that day you shall not be put to shame for all your practices in which you have been so rebellious against me: for then I will remove from among you your hilariously self-confident men, and they shall never again be pretentious in my holy mountain, 12 and I will leave among you a people in hardship and poverty, who shall take refuge in Jehovah’s name. 13 The remnant of Israel shall do no foul play and tell no lie, and a dishonest tongue shall not be found in their mouth. For they shall pasture and lie down with no one to alarm them.

14 Shout, daughter of Sion; cheer, Israel; be heartily glad and gleeful, daughter of Jerusalem. 15 Jehovah has taken off all your judgments, has cleared away all your enemies; Jehovah is king in your midst, you shall not see trouble again. 16 On that day Jerusalem shall have it said to her “Do not be afraid, Sion, do not lose heart: 17* your God Jehovah is in your midst, a saving champion; he will blithely delight in you, will be quiet in his love, will jubilate over you with a shout.” 18* As on an anniversary day I bring together her smitten ones on the day of taking off taunting from her.

19* Here I will at that time be making an end of those who inflict hardships on you, and will save what was breaking down and gather together what was straying, and render them a praise and a name in every country of their shame. 20** At that time I will bring you, and at that time I will gather you together; for I will make you a name and a praise among all the peoples of the earth, when I come back to you before your eyes, says Jehovah.

MARGINAL READINGS TO SEPHANIAH