Zephaniah 3
1
Woe to her who is rebellious and polluted,
To the oppressing city!
2
She has not obeyed His voice,
She has not received correction;
She has not trusted in the LORD,
She has not drawn near to her God.
3
a Her princes in her midst are roaring lions;
Her judges are b evening wolves
That leave not a bone till morning.
4
Her c prophets are insolent, treacherous people;
Her priests have polluted the sanctuary,
They have done d violence to the law.
5
The LORD is righteous in her midst,
He will do no unrighteousness.
Every morning He brings His justice to light;
He never fails,
But e the unjust knows no shame.
6
"I have cut off nations,
Their fortresses are devastated;
I have made their streets desolate,
With none passing by.
Their cities are destroyed;
There is no one, no inhabitant.
7
f I said, 'Surely you will fear Me,
You will receive instruction' -
So that her dwelling would not be cut off,
Despite everything for which I punished her.
But they rose early and g corrupted all their deeds.
8
"Therefore h wait for Me," says the LORD,
"Until the day I rise up for plunder;
My determination is to i gather the nations
To My assembly of kingdoms,
To pour on them My indignation,
All My fierce anger;
All the earth j shall be devoured
With the fire of My jealousy.
9
"For then I will restore to the peoples k a pure language,
That they all may call on the name of the LORD,
To serve Him with one accord.
10
l From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia
My worshipers,
The daughter of My dispersed ones,
Shall bring My offering.
11
In that day you shall not be shamed for any of your deeds
In which you transgress against Me;
For then I will take away from your midst
Those who m rejoice in your pride,
And you shall no longer be haughty
In My holy mountain.
12
I will leave in your midst
n A meek and humble people,
And they shall trust in the name of the LORD.
13
o The remnant of Israel p shall do no unrighteousness
q And speak no lies,
Nor shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth;
For r they shall feed their flocks and lie down,
And no one shall make them afraid."
14
s Sing, O daughter of Zion!
Shout, O Israel!
Be glad and rejoice with all your heart,
O daughter of Jerusalem!
15
The LORD has taken away your judgments,
He has cast out your enemy.
t The King of Israel, the LORD, u is in your midst;
You shall see disaster no more.
16
In that day v it shall be said to Jerusalem:
"Do not fear;
Zion, w let not your hands be weak.
17
The LORD your God x in your midst,
The Mighty One, will save;
y He will rejoice over you with gladness,
He will quiet you with His love,
He will rejoice over you with singing."
18
"I will gather those who z sorrow over the appointed assembly,
Who are among you,
To whom its reproach is a burden.
19
Behold, at that time
I will deal with all who afflict you;
I will save the a lame,
And gather those who were driven out;
I will appoint them for praise and fame
In every land where they were put to shame.
20
At that time b I will bring you back,
Even at the time I gather you;
For I will give you fame and praise
Among all the peoples of the earth,
When I return your captives before your eyes,"
Says the LORD.
-
Cross References
Ezekiel 22:27
Her princes in her midst are like wolves tearing the prey, to shed blood, to destroy people, and to get dishonest gain.
-
Cross References
Jeremiah 5:6
Therefore a lion from the forest shall slay them, A wolf of the deserts shall destroy them; A leopard will watch over their cities. Everyone who goes out from there shall be torn in pieces, Because their transgressions are many; Their backslidings have increased.
Habakkuk 1:8
Their horses also are swifter than leopards, And more fierce than evening wolves. Their chargers charge ahead; Their cavalry comes from afar; They fly as the eagle that hastens to eat.
-
Cross References
Hosea 9:7
The days of punishment have come; The days of recompense have come. Israel knows! The prophet is a fool, The spiritual man is insane, Because of the greatness of your iniquity and great enmity.
-
Cross References
Ezekiel 22:26
Her priests have violated My law and profaned My holy things; they have not distinguished between the holy and unholy, nor have they made known the difference between the unclean and the clean; and they have hidden their eyes from My Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them.
Malachi 2:7
For the lips of a priest should keep knowledge, And people should seek the law from his mouth; For he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts.
Malachi 2:8
But you have departed from the way; You have caused many to stumble at the law. You have corrupted the covenant of Levi," Says the LORD of hosts.
-
Cross References
Jeremiah 3:3
Therefore the showers have been withheld, And there has been no latter rain. You have had a harlot's forehead; You refuse to be ashamed.
-
Cross References
Jeremiah 8:6
I listened and heard, But they do not speak aright. No man repented of his wickedness, Saying, 'What have I done?' Everyone turned to his own course, As the horse rushes into the battle.
-
Cross References
Genesis 6:12
So God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth.
-
Cross References
Proverbs 20:22
Do not say, "I will recompense evil"; Wait for the LORD, and He will save you.
Micah 7:7
Therefore I will look to the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation; My God will hear me.
Habakkuk 2:3
For the vision is yet for an appointed time; But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; Because it will surely come, It will not tarry.
-
Cross References
Isaiah 66:18
For I know their works and their thoughts. It shall be that I will gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come and see My glory.
Ezekiel 38:14 - 23
Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say to Gog, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "On that day when My people Israel dwell safely, will you not know it?
Joel 3:2
I will also gather all nations, And bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat; And I will enter into judgment with them there On account of My people, My heritage Israel, Whom they have scattered among the nations; They have also divided up My land.
Micah 4:12
But they do not know the thoughts of the LORD, Nor do they understand His counsel; For He will gather them like sheaves to the threshing floor.
Matthew 25:32
All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats.
-
Cross References
Zephaniah 1:18
Neither their silver nor their gold Shall be able to deliver 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 make speedy riddance Of all those who dwell in the land.
-
Cross References
Isaiah 19:18
In that day five cities in the land of Egypt will speak the language of Canaan and swear by the LORD of hosts; one will be called the City of Destruction.
Isaiah 57:19
"I create the fruit of the lips: Peace, peace to him who is far off and to him who is near," Says the LORD, "And I will heal him."
-
Cross References
Psalms 68:31
Envoys will come out of Egypt; Ethiopia will quickly stretch out her hands to God.
Isaiah 18:1
Woe to the land shadowed with buzzing wings, Which is beyond the rivers of Ethiopia.
Acts 8:27
So he arose and went. And behold, a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candace the queen of the Ethiopians, who had charge of all her treasury, and had come to Jerusalem to worship.
-
Cross References
Isaiah 2:12
For the day of the LORD of hosts Shall come upon everything proud and lofty, Upon everything lifted up - And it shall be brought low -
Isaiah 5:15
People shall be brought down, Each man shall be humbled, And the eyes of the lofty shall be humbled.
Matthew 3:9
And do not think to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones.
-
Cross References
Isaiah 14:32
What will they answer the messengers of the nation? That the LORD has founded Zion, And the poor of His people shall take refuge in it.
Zechariah 13:8
And it shall come to pass in all the land," Says the LORD, " That two-thirds in it shall be cut off and die, But one -third shall be left in it:
Zechariah 13:9
I will bring the one -third through the fire, Will refine them as silver is refined, And test them as gold is tested. They will call on My name, And I will answer them. I will say, 'This is My people'; And each one will say, 'The LORD is my God.'
-
Cross References
Isaiah 10:20 - 22
And it shall come to pass in that day That the remnant of Israel, And such as have escaped of the house of Jacob, Will never again depend on him who defeated them, But will depend on the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, in truth.
Micah 4:7
I will make the lame a remnant, And the outcast a strong nation; So the LORD will reign over them in Mount Zion From now on, even forever.
-
Cross References
Isaiah 60:21
Also your people shall all be righteous; They shall inherit the land forever, The branch of My planting, The work of My hands, That I may be glorified.
-
Cross References
Zechariah 8:3
"Thus says the LORD: 'I will return to Zion, And dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. Jerusalem shall be called the City of Truth, The Mountain of the LORD of hosts, The Holy Mountain.'
Zechariah 8:16
These are the things you shall do: Speak each man the truth to his neighbor; Give judgment in your gates for truth, justice, and peace.
Revelation 14:5
And in their mouth was found no deceit, for they are without fault before the throne of God.
-
Cross References
Ezekiel 34:13 - 15
And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land; I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, in the valleys and in all the inhabited places of the country.
Ezekiel 34:28
And they shall no longer be a prey for the nations, nor shall beasts of the land devour them; but they shall dwell safely, and no one shall make them afraid.
-
Cross References
Isaiah 12:6
Cry out and shout, O inhabitant of Zion, For great is the Holy One of Israel in your midst!
-
Cross References
John 1:49
Nathanael answered and said to Him, "Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!
-
Cross References
Ezekiel 48:35
"All the way around shall be eighteen thousand cubits; and the name of the city from that day shall be: THE LORD IS THERE."
Revelation 7:15
Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple. And He who sits on the throne will dwell among them.
-
Cross References
Isaiah 35:3
Strengthen the weak hands, And make firm the feeble knees.
Isaiah 35:4
Say to those who are fearful-hearted, "Be strong, do not fear! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, With the recompense of God; He will come and save you.
-
Cross References
Job 4:3
Surely you have instructed many, And you have strengthened weak hands.
Hebrews 12:12
Therefore strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees.
-
Cross References
Zephaniah 3:5
The LORD is righteous in her midst, He will do no unrighteousness. Every morning He brings His justice to light; He never fails, But the unjust knows no shame.
Zephaniah 3:15
The LORD has taken away your judgments, He has cast out your enemy. The King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst; You shall see disaster no more.
-
Cross References
Deuteronomy 30:9
The LORD your God will make you abound in all the work of your hand, in the fruit of your body, in the increase of your livestock, and in the produce of your land for good. For the LORD will again rejoice over you for good as He rejoiced over your fathers.
Isaiah 62:5
For as a young man marries a virgin, So shall your sons marry you; And as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, So shall your God rejoice over you.
Isaiah 65:19
I will rejoice in Jerusalem, And joy in My people; The voice of weeping shall no longer be heard in her, Nor the voice of crying.
Jeremiah 32:41
'Yes, I will rejoice over them to do them good, and I will assuredly plant them in this land, with all My heart and with all My soul.'
-
Cross References
Lamentations 2:6
He has done violence to His tabernacle, As if it were a garden; He has destroyed His place of assembly; The LORD has caused The appointed feasts and Sabbaths to be forgotten in Zion. In His burning indignation He has spurned the king and the priest.
-
Cross References
Ezekiel 34:16
"I will seek what was lost and bring back what was driven away, bind up the broken and strengthen what was sick; but I will destroy the fat and the strong, and feed them in judgment."
Micah 4:6
In that day," says the LORD, "I will assemble the lame, I will gather the outcast And those whom I have afflicted.
Micah 4:7
I will make the lame a remnant, And the outcast a strong nation; So the LORD will reign over them in Mount Zion From now on, even forever.
-
Cross References
Isaiah 11:12
He will set up a banner for the nations, And will assemble the outcasts of Israel, And gather together the dispersed of Judah From the four corners of the earth.
Ezekiel 28:25
Thus says the Lord GOD: "When I have gathered the house of Israel from the peoples among whom they are scattered, and am hallowed in them in the sight of the Gentiles, then they will dwell in their own land which I gave to My servant Jacob.
Amos 9:14
I will bring back the captives of My people Israel; They shall build the waste cities and inhabit them; They shall plant vineyards and drink wine from them; They shall also make gardens and eat fruit from them.
New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.