1 The word of the Lord that came to Zephaniah son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah,a in the days of Josiahb son of Amon,c king of Judah.

THE GREAT DAY OF THE LORD

2 I will completely sweep away everything

from the face of the earthd—

this is the Lord’s declaration.

3 I will sweep away people and animals;e

I will sweep away the birds of the sky

and the fish of the sea,

and the ruinsA along with the wicked.f

I will cut off mankind

from the face of the earth.

This is the Lord’s declaration.

4 I will stretch out my handg against Judah

and against all the residents of Jerusalem.

I will cut off every vestige of Baalh

from this place,

the names of the pagan priestsi

along with the priests;

5 those who bow in worship on the rooftopsj

to the stars in the sky;

those who bow and pledge loyalty to the Lordk

but also pledge loyalty to Milcom;B,l

6 and those who turn back from following the Lord,

who do not seek the Lord or inquire of him.

7 Be silent in the presence of the Lord God,m

for the day of the Lord is near.n

Indeed, the Lord has prepared a sacrifice;o

he has consecrated his guests.p

8 On the day of the Lord’s sacrifice

I will punish the officials, the king’s sons,

and all who are dressed in foreign clothing.

9 On that dayq I will punish

all who skip over the threshold,C,r

who fill their master’s house

with violence and deceit.

10 On that day—

this is the Lord’s declaration—

there will be an outcry from the Fish Gate,s

a wailing from the Second District,t

and a loud crashing from the hills.

11 Wail, you residents of the Hollow,D

for all the merchantsE will be silenced;

all those loaded with silver will be cut off.

12 And at that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps

and punish those who settle down comfortably,A,u

who say to themselves:

The Lord will do nothing—good or bad.v

13 Their wealth will become plunder

and their houses a ruin.

They will build houses but never live in them,

plant vineyards but never drink their wine.w

14 The great day of the Lord is near,x

near and rapidly approaching.

Listen, the day of the Lord—

then the warrior’s cry is bitter.

15 That day is a day of wrath,

a day of trouble and distress,

a day of destruction and desolation,

a day of darknessy and gloom,

a day of clouds and total darkness,z

16 a day of trumpet and battle cry

against the fortified cities,

and against the high corner towers.

17 I will bring distress on mankind,

and they will walk like the blindaa

because they have sinned against the Lord.

Their blood will be poured out like dust

and their flesh like dung.

18 Their silver and their gold

will be unable to rescue them

on the day of the Lord’s wrath.a

The whole earth will be consumed

by the fire of his jealousy,b

for he will make a complete,

yes, a horrifying end

of all the inhabitants of the earth.

A CALL TO REPENTANCE

2 Gather yourselves together;

gather together, undesirableB nation,

2 before the decreec takes effect

and the day passes like chaff,

before the burning of the Lord’s angerd overtakes you,

before the day of the Lord’s anger overtakes you.e

3 Seek the Lord,f all you humbleg of the earth,

who carry out what he commands.

Seek righteousness, seek humility;

perhaps you will be concealedh

on the day of the Lord’s anger.

JUDGMENT AGAINST THE NATIONS

4 For Gaza will be abandoned,

and Ashkelon will become a ruin.

Ashdod will be driven out at noon,

and Ekron will be uprooted.i

5 Woe, inhabitants of the seacoast,

nation of the Cherethites!A,j

The word of the Lord is against you,k

Canaan, land of the Philistines:

I will destroy you until there is no one left.l

6 The seacoast will become pasturelands

with caves for shepherds and pens for sheep.

7 The coastland will belong

to the remnant of the house of Judah;

they will find pasture there.

They will lie down in the evening

among the houses of Ashkelon,

for the Lord their God will return to them

and restore their fortunes.m

8 I have heard the tauntingn of Moab

and the insults of the Ammonites,o

who have taunted my people

and threatened their territory.

9 Therefore, as I live—this is the declaration of the Lord of Armies,

the God of Israel—

Moab will be like Sodomp

and the Ammonites like Gomorrah:q

a place overgrown with weeds,

a salt pit, and a perpetual wasteland.

The remnant of my people will plunder them;

the remainder of my nation will dispossess them.

10 This is what they get for their pride,

because they have taunted and acted arrogantlyr

against the people of the Lord of Armies.

11 The Lord will be terrifying to them

when he starves all the gods of the earth.

Then all the distant coasts and islands of the nations

will bow in worship to him,

each in its own place.

12 You Cushites will also be slain by my sword.s

13 He will also stretch out his hand against the north

and destroy Assyria;

he will make Nineveh a desolate ruin,t

dry as the desert.

14 Herds will lie down in the middle of it,

every kind of wild animal.B

Both eagle owlsC and heronsD

will roost in the capitals of its pillars.

Their calls will soundE from the window,

but devastationF will be on the threshold,

for he will expose the cedar work.G

15 This is the jubilantu city

that lives in security,

that says to herself:

I exist, and there is no one else.

What a desolation she has become,

a place for wild animals to lie down!

Everyone who passes by her

scoffsA and shakes his fist.

WOE TO OPPRESSIVE JERUSALEM

3 Woe to the city that is rebelliousB,a and defiled,b

the oppressive city!

2 She has not obeyed;c

she has not accepted discipline.d

She has not trustede in the Lord;

she has not drawn near to her God.

3 TheC princes within her are roaring lions;f

her judges are wolves of the night,g

which leave nothing forD the morning.

4 Her prophets are recklessh—

treacherous men.

Her priests profane the sanctuary;

they do violence to instruction.i

5 The righteous Lord is in her;j

he does no wrong.k

He applies his justice morning by morning;

he does not fail at dawn,

yet the one who does wrong knows no shame.l

6 I have cut off nations;

their corner towersm are destroyed.

I have laid waste their streets,

with no one to pass through.

Their cities lie devastated,

without a person, without an inhabitant.n

7 I said: You will certainly fear me

and accept correction.

Then her dwelling placeE

would not be cut off

based on all that I had allocated to her.

However, they became more corrupt

in all their actions.

8 Therefore, wait for meo—

this is the Lord’s declaration—

until the day I rise up for plunder.F

For my decision is to gather nations,

to assemble kingdoms,

in order to pour out my indignationp on them,

all my burning anger;

for the whole earth will be consumed

by the fire of my jealousy.q

FINAL RESTORATION PROMISED

9 For I will then restore

purer speech to the peoples

so that all of them may call

on the name of the Lord

and serve him with a single purpose.G

10 From beyond the rivers of Cushs

my supplicants, my dispersed people,

will bring an offering to me.

11 On that day youH will not be put to shamet

because of everything you have done

in rebellingu against me.

For then I will remove

from among you your jubilant,v arrogant people,

and you will never again be haughty

on my holy mountain.w

12 I will leave

a meek and humble peoplex among you,

and they will take refuge in the name of the Lord.

13 The remnanty of Israel will no longer

do wrong or tell lies;

a deceitful tongue will not be found

in their mouths.

They will pasture and lie down,

with nothing to make them afraid.z

14 Sing for joy, Daughter Zion;

shout loudly, Israel!

Be glad and celebrate with all your heart,

Daughter Jerusalem!

15 The Lord has removed your punishment;

he has turned back your enemy.

The King of Israel, the Lord, is among you;

you need no longer fear harm.

16 On that day it will be said to Jerusalem:

“Do not fear;

Zion, do not let your hands grow weak.aa

17 The Lord your God is among you,

a warriorab who saves.

He will rejoice over youac with gladness.

He will be quietA in his love.

He will delight in you with singing.”ad

18 I will gather those who have been drivena

from the appointed festivals;

they will be a tribute from youB

and a reproach on her.C

19 Yes, at that time

I will deal with all who oppress you.

I will save the lameb and gather the outcasts;c

I will make those who were disgraced

throughout the earth

receive praise and fame.

20 At that time I will bring youD back,

yes, at the time I will gather you.

I will give you fame and praise

among all the peoples of the earth,

when I restore your fortunesd before your eyes.

The Lord has spoken.

HAGGAI

COMMAND TO REBUILD THE TEMPLE

1 In the second year of King Darius,A,a on the first day of the sixth month, the word of the Lord came through the prophetb Haggai to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel,c the governor of Judah, and to Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest:d

2 “The Lord of Armies says this: These people say: The time has not come for the house of the Lord to be rebuilt.”e

3 The word of the Lord came through the prophet Haggai: 4 “Is it a time for you yourselves to live in your paneled houses,f while this houseB lies in ruins?” 5 Now, the Lord of Armies says this: “Think carefullyg about* your ways:

6 You have planted much

but harvested little.

You eat

but never have enough to be satisfied.

You drink

but never have enough to be happy.

You put on clothes

but never have enough to get warm.

The wage earner puts his wages

into a bag with a hole in it.”h

7 The Lord of Armies says this: “Think carefully about your ways. 8 Go up into the hills, bring down lumber, and build the house; and I will be pleased with it and be glorified,” says the Lord. 9 “You expected much, but then it amounted to little. When you brought the harvest to your house, I ruinedD it. Why?” This is the declaration of the Lord of Armies. “Because my house still lies in ruins, while each of you is busy with his own house.

10 So on your account,E

the skies have withheld the dew

and the land its crops.i

11 I have summoned a drought

on the fields and the hills,

on the grain, new wine, fresh oil,

and whatever the ground yields,

on people and animals,

and on all that your hands produce.”

THE PEOPLE’S RESPONSE

12 Then Zerubbabelj son of Shealtiel, the high priest Joshua son of Jehozadak, and the entire remnant of the peoplek obeyed the Lord their God and the words of the prophet Haggai, because the Lord their God had sent him. So the people feared the Lord.l

13 Then Haggai, the Lord’s messenger, delivered the Lord’s message to the people: “I am with youm—this is the Lord’s declaration.”

14 The Lord roused the spiritn of Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, the spirit of the high priest Joshua son of Jehozadak, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people. They began work on the house of the Lord of Armies, their God, 15 on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month, in the second year of King Darius.