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The Blue Letter Bible

Zephaniah 1 :: New Living Translation (NLT)

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Unchecked Copy Box Zep 1:1

Unchecked Copy BoxZep 1:1 - The LORD gave this message to Zephaniah when Josiah son of Amon was king of Judah. Zephaniah was the son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah.
Coming Judgment against Judah
(cf. Amo 5:18–20 )

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Unchecked Copy Box Zep 1:2

Unchecked Copy BoxZep 1:2 - “I will sweep away everything
from the face of the earth,” says the LORD.

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Unchecked Copy Box Zep 1:3

Unchecked Copy BoxZep 1:3 - “I will sweep away people and animals alike.
I will sweep away the birds of the sky and the fish in the sea.
I will reduce the wicked to heaps of rubble,[fn]
and I will wipe humanity from the face of the earth,” says the LORD.

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Unchecked Copy Box Zep 1:4

Unchecked Copy BoxZep 1:4 - “I will crush Judah and Jerusalem with my fist
and destroy every last trace of their Baal worship.
I will put an end to all the idolatrous priests,
so that even the memory of them will disappear.

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Unchecked Copy Box Zep 1:5

Unchecked Copy BoxZep 1:5 - For they go up to their roofs
and bow down to the sun, moon, and stars.
They claim to follow the LORD,
but then they worship Molech,[fn] too.

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Unchecked Copy Box Zep 1:6

Unchecked Copy BoxZep 1:6 - And I will destroy those who used to worship me
but now no longer do.
They no longer ask for the LORD’s guidance
or seek my blessings.”

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Unchecked Copy Box Zep 1:7

Unchecked Copy BoxZep 1:7 - Stand in silence in the presence of the Sovereign LORD,
for the awesome day of the LORD’s judgment is near.
The LORD has prepared his people for a great slaughter
and has chosen their executioners.[fn]

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Unchecked Copy Box Zep 1:8

Unchecked Copy BoxZep 1:8 - “On that day of judgment,”
says the LORD,
“I will punish the leaders and princes of Judah
and all those following pagan customs.

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Unchecked Copy Box Zep 1:9

Unchecked Copy BoxZep 1:9 - Yes, I will punish those who participate in pagan worship ceremonies,
and those who fill their masters’ houses with violence and deceit.

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Unchecked Copy Box Zep 1:10

Unchecked Copy BoxZep 1:10 - “On that day,” says the LORD,
“a cry of alarm will come from the Fish Gate
and echo throughout the New Quarter of the city.[fn]
And a great crash will sound from the hills.

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Unchecked Copy Box Zep 1:11

Unchecked Copy BoxZep 1:11 - Wail in sorrow, all you who live in the market area,
for all the merchants and traders will be destroyed.

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Unchecked Copy Box Zep 1:12

Unchecked Copy BoxZep 1:12 - “I will search with lanterns in Jerusalem’s darkest corners
to punish those who sit complacent in their sins.
They think the LORD will do nothing to them,
either good or bad.

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Unchecked Copy Box Zep 1:13

Unchecked Copy BoxZep 1:13 - So their property will be plundered,
their homes will be ransacked.
They will build new homes
but never live in them.
They will plant vineyards
but never drink wine from them.

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Unchecked Copy Box Zep 1:14

Unchecked Copy BoxZep 1:14 - “That terrible day of the LORD is near.
Swiftly it comes—
a day of bitter tears,
a day when even strong men will cry out.

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Unchecked Copy Box Zep 1:15

Unchecked Copy BoxZep 1:15 - It will be a day when the LORD’s anger is poured out—
a day of terrible distress and anguish,
a day of ruin and desolation,
a day of darkness and gloom,
a day of clouds and blackness,

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Unchecked Copy Box Zep 1:16

Unchecked Copy BoxZep 1:16 - a day of trumpet calls and battle cries.
Down go the walled cities
and the strongest battlements!

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Unchecked Copy Box Zep 1:17

Unchecked Copy BoxZep 1:17 - “Because you have sinned against the LORD,
I will make you grope around like the blind.
Your blood will be poured into the dust,
and your bodies will lie rotting on the ground.”

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Unchecked Copy Box Zep 1:18

Unchecked Copy BoxZep 1:18 - Your silver and gold will not save you
on that day of the LORD’s anger.
For the whole land will be devoured
by the fire of his jealousy.
He will make a terrifying end
of all the people on earth.[fn]
See the NLT Preface (Especially for Parenthesis, Brackets, & Asterisks).
NLT Footnotes
The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
Hebrew Malcam, a variant spelling of Molech; or it could possibly mean their king.
Hebrew has prepared a sacrifice and sanctified his guests.
Or the Second Quarter, a newer section of Jerusalem. Hebrew reads the Mishneh.
Or the people living in the land.
NLT

Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Full copyright information is provided here. Visit the New Living Translation website.

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

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Zephaniah Chapter 1 — Additional Translations:

King James Version New King James Version 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