To The Word – Day 132

₁This is the message that the LORD gave to Zephaniah during the time that Josiah son of Amon was king of Judah. (Zephaniah was descended from King Hezekiah through Amariah, Gedaliah, and Cushi.)

₂The LORD said, “I am going to destroy everything on earth, ₃all human beings and animals, birds and fish. I will bring about the downfall of the wicked. I will destroy the whole human race, and no survivors will be left. I, the LORD, have spoken.

₄“I will punish the people of Jerusalem and of all Judah. I will destroy the last trace of the worship of Baal there, and no one will even remember the pagan priests who serve him. ₅I will destroy anyone who goes up on the roof and worships the sun, the moon, and the stars. I will also destroy those who worship me and swear loyalty to me, but then take oaths in the name of the god Molech. ₆I will destroy those who have turned back and no longer follow me, those who do not come to me or ask me to guide them.”

₇The day is near when the LORD will sit in judgement; so be silent in his presence. The LORD is preparing to sacrifice his people and has invited enemies to plunder Judah. ₈“On that day of slaughter,” says the LORD, “I will punish the officials, the king's sons, and all who practise foreign customs. ₉I will punish all who worship like pagans and who steal and kill in order to fill their master's house with loot.

₁₀“On that day,” says the LORD, “you will hear the sound of crying at the Fish Gate in Jerusalem. You will hear wailing in the newer part of the city and a great crashing sound in the hills. ₁₁Wail and cry when you hear this, you that live in the lower part of the city, because all the merchants will be dead!

₁₂“At that time I will take a lamp and search Jerusalem. I will punish the people who are self-satisfied and confident, who say to themselves, ‘The LORD never does anything, one way or the other.’ ₁₃Their wealth will be looted and their houses destroyed. They will never live in the houses they are building or drink wine from the vineyards they are planting.”

₁₄The great day of the LORD is near — very near and coming fast! That will be a bitter day, for even the bravest soldiers will cry out in despair! ₁₅It will be a day of fury, a day of trouble and distress, a day of ruin and destruction, a day of darkness and gloom, a black and cloudy day, ₁₆a day filled with the sound of war trumpets and the battle cry of soldiers attacking fortified cities and high towers.

₁₇The LORD says, “I will bring such disasters on mankind that everyone will grope about like someone blind. They have sinned against me, and now their blood will be poured out like water, and their dead bodies will lie rotting on the ground.”

₁₈On the day when the LORD shows his fury, not even all their silver and gold will save them. The whole earth will be destroyed by the fire of his anger. He will put an end — a sudden end — to everyone who lives on earth.

₁Shameless nation, come to your senses ₂before you are driven away like chaff blown by the wind, before the burning anger of the LORD comes upon you, before the day when he shows his fury. ₃Turn to the LORD, all you humble people of the land, who obey his commands. Do what is right, and humble yourselves before the LORD. Perhaps you will escape punishment on the day when the LORD shows his anger.

₄No one will be left in the city of Gaza. Ashkelon will be deserted. The people of Ashdod will be driven out in half a day, and the people of Ekron will be driven from their city. ₅You Philistines are doomed, you people who live along the coast. The LORD has passed sentence on you. He will destroy you, and not one of you will be left. ₆Your land by the sea will become open fields with shepherds' huts and sheep pens. ₇The people of Judah who survive will occupy your land. They will pasture their flocks there and sleep in the houses of Ashkelon. The LORD their God will be with them and make them prosper again.

₈The LORD Almighty says, “I have heard the people of Moab and Ammon insulting and taunting my people, and boasting that they would seize their land. ₉As surely as I am the living LORD, the God of Israel, I swear that Moab and Ammon are going to be destroyed like Sodom and Gomorrah. They will become a place of salt pits and everlasting ruin, overgrown with weeds. Those of my people who survive will plunder them and take their land.”

₁₀That is how the people of Moab and Ammon will be punished for their pride and arrogance and for insulting the people of the LORD Almighty. ₁₁The LORD will terrify them. He will reduce the gods of the earth to nothing, and then every nation will worship him, each in its own land.

₁₂The LORD will also put the people of Ethiopia to death.

₁₃The LORD will use his power to destroy Assyria. He will make the city of Nineveh a deserted ruin, a waterless desert. ₁₄It will be a place where flocks, herds, and animals of every kind will lie down. Owls will live among its ruins and hoot from the windows. Crows will caw on the doorsteps. The cedar wood of her buildings will be stripped away. ₁₅That is what will happen to the city that is so proud of its own power and thinks it is safe. Its people think that their city is the greatest in the world. What a desolate place it will become, a place where wild animals will rest! Everyone who passes by will shrink back in horror.

₁Jerusalem is doomed, that corrupt, rebellious city that oppresses its own people. ₂It has not listened to the LORD or accepted his discipline. It has not put its trust in the LORD or asked for his help. ₃Its officials are like roaring lions; its judges are like hungry wolves, too greedy to leave a bone until morning. ₄The prophets are irresponsible and treacherous; the priests defile what is sacred, and twist the law of God to their own advantage. ₅But the LORD is still in the city; he does what is right and never what is wrong. Every morning without fail, he brings justice to his people. And yet the unrighteous people there keep on doing wrong and are not ashamed.

₆The LORD says, “I have wiped out whole nations; I have destroyed their cities and left their walls and towers in ruins. The cities are deserted; the streets are empty — no one is left. ₇I thought that then my people would have reverence for me and accept my discipline, that they would never forget the lesson I taught them. But soon they were behaving as badly as ever.

₈“Just wait,” the LORD says. “Wait for the day when I rise to accuse the nations. I have made up my mind to gather nations and kingdoms, in order to let them feel the force of my anger. The whole earth will be destroyed by the fire of my fury.

₉“Then I will change the people of the nations, and they will pray to me alone and not to other gods. They will all obey me. ₁₀Even from distant Ethiopia my scattered people will bring offerings to me. ₁₁At that time you, my people, will no longer need to be ashamed that you rebelled against me. I will remove everyone who is proud and arrogant, and you will never again rebel against me on my sacred hill. ₁₂I will leave there a humble and lowly people, who will come to me for help. ₁₃The people of Israel who survive will do no wrong to anyone, tell no lies, nor try to deceive. They will be prosperous and secure, afraid of no one.”

₁The LORD hates people who use dishonest scales. He is happy with honest weights.

₂People who are proud will soon be disgraced. It is wiser to be modest.

₃If you are good, you are guided by honesty. People who can't be trusted are destroyed by their own dishonesty.

₄Riches will do you no good on the day you face death, but honesty can save your life.

₅Honesty makes a good person's life easier, but the wicked will cause their own downfall.

₆Righteousness rescues those who are honest, but those who can't be trusted are trapped by their own greed.

₇When the wicked die, their hope dies with them. Confidence placed in riches comes to nothing.

₈The righteous are protected from trouble; it comes to the wicked instead.

₉You can be ruined by the talk of godless people, but the wisdom of the righteous can save you.

₁₀A city is happy when honest people have good fortune, and there are joyful shouts when the wicked die.

₁₁A city becomes great when the righteous give it their blessing; but a city is brought to ruin by the words of the wicked.

₁₂It is foolish to speak scornfully of others. If you are sensible, you will keep quiet.

₁₃No one who gossips can be trusted with a secret, but you can put confidence in someone who is trustworthy.

₁₄A nation will fall if it has no guidance. Many advisers mean security.

₁₅If you promise to pay a stranger's debt, you will regret it. You are better off if you don't get involved.

₁₆A gracious woman is respected, but a woman without virtue is a disgrace.

Lazy people will never have money, but aggressive people will get rich.

₁₇You do yourself a favour when you are kind. If you are cruel, you only hurt yourself.

₁₈Wicked people do not really gain anything, but if you do what is right, you are certain to be rewarded.

₁₉Anyone who is determined to do right will live, but anyone who insists on doing wrong will die.

₂₀The LORD hates evil-minded people, but loves those who do right.

₂₁You can be sure that evil people will be punished, but the righteous will escape.

₂₂Beauty in a woman without good judgement is like a gold ring in a pig's snout.

₂₃What good people want always results in good; when the wicked get what they want, everyone is angry.

₂₄Some people spend their money freely and still grow richer. Others are cautious, and yet grow poorer.

₂₅Be generous, and you will be prosperous. Help others, and you will be helped.

₂₆People curse someone who hoards grain, waiting for a higher price, but they praise the one who puts it up for sale.

₂₇If your goals are good, you will be respected, but if you are looking for trouble, that is what you will get.

₂₈Those who depend on their wealth will fall like the leaves of autumn, but the righteous will prosper like the leaves of summer.

₂₉Those who bring trouble on their families will have nothing at the end.

Foolish people will always be servants to the wise.

₃₀Righteousness gives life, but violence takes it away.

₃₁Those who are good are rewarded here on earth, so you can be sure that wicked and sinful people will be punished.