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Zephaniah 3 :: New King James Version (NKJV)

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CHAPTER 3
The Wickedness of Jerusalem
Jerusalem’s Sin and Redemption
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 ​​Her princes in her midst are roaring lions;
​​Her judges are evening wolves
​​That leave not a bone till morning.
4 ​​Her prophets are insolent, treacherous people;
​​Her priests have polluted the sanctuary,
​​They have done 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 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 ​​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 corrupted all their deeds.
​
A Faithful Remnant
(cf. Gen. 11:1–9; Acts 2:1–11 )
8 ​​“Therefore wait for Me,” says the LORD,
​​“Until the day I rise up for plunder;[fn]
​​My determination is to gather the nations
​​To My assembly of kingdoms,
​​To pour on them My indignation,
​​All My fierce anger;
​​All the earth shall be devoured
​​With the fire of My jealousy.
​
9 ​​“For then I will restore to the peoples a pure language,
​​That they all may call on the name of the LORD,
​​To serve Him with one accord.
10 ​​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 rejoice in your pride,
​​And you shall no longer be haughty
​​In My holy mountain.
12 ​​I will leave in your midst
​​A meek and humble people,
​​And they shall trust in the name of the LORD.
13 ​​The remnant of Israel shall do no unrighteousness
​​And speak no lies,
​​Nor shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth;
​​For they shall feed their flocks and lie down,
​​And no one shall make them afraid.”
​
Joy in God’s Faithfulness
14 ​​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.
​​The King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst;
​​You shall see[fn] disaster no more.
​
16 ​​In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem:
​​“Do not fear;
​​Zion, let not your hands be weak.
17 ​​The LORD your God in your midst,
​​The Mighty One, will save;
​​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 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 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 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.
See the NKJV Preface (Especially for Parenthesis, Brackets, & Asterisks).
NKJV Footnotes
Septuagint and Syriac read for witness; Targum reads for the day of My revelation for judgment; Vulgate reads for the day of My resurrection that is to come.
Some Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint, and Bomberg read see; Masoretic Text and Vulgate read fear.
NKJV

New King James Version, © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

The text of the New King James Version (NKJV) appearing on or deriving from this or any other web page is for personal use only. Any other use of the NKJV must be in conformity with the Quotation Policy for the New King James Version. For more information about the New King James Version, the Quotation Policy, and for inquiries about permission to use the New King James Version, go to Thomas Nelson, Inc..

For more information on this translation, see the NKJV Preface.

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Zephaniah Chapter 3 — Additional Translations:

King James Version New Living Translation New International Version English Standard Version Christian Standard Bible New American Standard Bible 2020 New American Standard Bible 1995 Legacy Standard Bible Amplified Bible New English Translation Revised Standard Version American Standard Version Young's Literal Translation Darby Translation Webster's Bible Hebrew Names Version Latin Vulgate Westminster Leningrad Codex Septuagint Smith Van Dyck Arabic Bible Open New Arabic Version Brenton's English Septuagint Reina Valera 1909 Reina-Valera 1960 Bible in Basic English Chinese Traditional Union Espanol Moderno Korean Holy Bible Louis Segond German Luther Russian Synodal Translation Sagradas Escrituras