Zephaniah 1:7-16

Zephaniah 1:7-18 The Message (MSG)

“Quiet now! Reverent silence before me, GOD, the Master! Time’s up. My Judgment Day is near: The Holy Day is all set, the invited guests made holy. On the Holy Day, GOD’s Judgment Day, I will punish the leaders and the royal sons; I will punish those who dress up like foreign priests and priestesses, Who introduce pagan prayers and practices; And I’ll punish all who import pagan superstitions that turn holy places into hellholes. Judgment Day!” GOD’s Decree! “Cries of panic from the city’s Fish Gate, Cries of terror from the city’s Second Quarter, sounds of great crashing from the hills! Wail, you shopkeepers on Market Street! Moneymaking has had its day. The god Money is dead. On Judgment Day, I’ll search through every closet and alley in Jerusalem. I’ll find and punish those who are sitting it out, fat and lazy, amusing themselves and taking it easy, Who think, ‘GOD doesn’t do anything, good or bad. He isn’t involved, so neither are we.’ But just wait. They’ll lose everything they have, money and house and land. They’ll build a house and never move in. They’ll plant vineyards and never taste the wine. “The Great Judgment Day of GOD is almost here. It’s countdown time: . . . seven, six, five, four . . .  Bitter and noisy cries on my Judgment Day, even strong men screaming for help. Judgment Day is payday—my anger paid out: a day of distress and anguish, a day of catastrophic doom, a day of darkness at noon, a day of black storm clouds, a day of bloodcurdling war cries, as forts are assaulted, as defenses are smashed. I’ll make things so bad they won’t know what hit them. They’ll walk around groping like the blind. They’ve sinned against GOD! Their blood will be poured out like old dishwater, their guts shoveled into slop buckets. Don’t plan on buying your way out. Your money is worthless for this. This is the Day of GOD’s Judgment—my wrath! I care about sin with fiery passion— A fire to burn up the corrupted world, a wildfire finish to the corrupting people.”

Zephaniah 1:7-16 King James Version (KJV)

Hold thy peace at the presence of the Lord GOD: for the day of the LORD is at hand: for the LORD hath prepared a sacrifice, he hath bid his guests. And it shall come to pass in the day of the LORD's sacrifice, that I will punish the princes, and the king's children, and all such as are clothed with strange apparel. In the same day also will I punish all those that leap on the threshold, which fill their masters' houses with violence and deceit. And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD, that there shall be the noise of a cry from the fish gate, and an howling from the second, and a great crashing from the hills. Howl, ye inhabitants of Maktesh, for all the merchant people are cut down; all they that bear silver are cut off. And it shall come to pass at that time, that I will search Jerusalem with candles, and punish the men that are settled on their lees: that say in their heart, The LORD will not do good, neither will he do evil. Therefore their goods shall become a booty, and their houses a desolation: they shall also build houses, but not inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, but not drink the wine thereof. The great day of the LORD is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the LORD: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly. That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, a day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities, and against the high towers.

Zephaniah 1:7-16 New American Standard Bible - NASB 1995 (NASB1995)

Be silent before the Lord GOD! For the day of the LORD is near, For the LORD has prepared a sacrifice, He has consecrated His guests. “Then it will come about on the day of the LORD’S sacrifice That I will punish the princes, the king’s sons And all who clothe themselves with foreign garments. And I will punish on that day all who leap on the temple threshold, Who fill the house of their lord with violence and deceit. On that day,” declares the LORD, “There will be the sound of a cry from the Fish Gate, A wail from the Second Quarter, And a loud crash from the hills. Wail, O inhabitants of the Mortar, For all the people of Canaan will be silenced; All who weigh out silver will be cut off. It will come about at that time That I will search Jerusalem with lamps, And I will punish the men Who are stagnant in spirit, Who say in their hearts, ‘The LORD will not do good or evil!’ Moreover, their wealth will become plunder And their houses desolate; Yes, they will build houses but not inhabit them, And plant vineyards but not drink their wine.” Near is the great day of the LORD, Near and coming very quickly; Listen, the day of the LORD! In it the warrior cries out bitterly. A day of wrath is that day, A day of trouble and distress, A day of destruction and desolation, A day of darkness and gloom, A day of clouds and thick darkness, A day of trumpet and battle cry Against the fortified cities And the high corner towers.

Zephaniah 1:7-16 New Century Version (NCV)

Be silent before the Lord GOD, because the LORD’s day for judging people is coming soon. The LORD has prepared a sacrifice; he has made holy his invited guests. On the day of the LORD’s sacrifice, I, the LORD, will punish the princes and the king’s sons and all those who wear foreign clothes. On that day I will punish those who worship Dagon, those who hurt others and tell lies in the temples of their gods. “On that day,” says the LORD, “a cry will be heard at the Fish Gate. A wail will come from the new area of the city, and a loud crash will echo from the hills. Cry, you people living in the market area, because all the merchants will be dead; all the silver traders will be gone. At that time I, the LORD, will search Jerusalem with lamps. I will punish those who are satisfied with themselves, who think, ‘The LORD won’t help us or punish us.’ Their wealth will be stolen and their houses destroyed. They may build houses, but they will not live in them. They may plant vineyards, but they will not drink any wine from them. “The LORD’s day of judging is coming soon; it is near and coming fast. The cry will be very sad on the day of the LORD; even soldiers will cry. That day will be a day of anger, a day of terror and trouble, a day of destruction and ruin, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness, a day of alarms and battle cries. ‘Attack the strong, walled cities! Attack the corner towers!’

Zephaniah 1:7-16 American Standard Version (ASV)

Hold thy peace at the presence of the Lord Jehovah; for the day of Jehovah is at hand: for Jehovah hath prepared a sacrifice, he hath consecrated his guests. And it shall come to pass in the day of Jehovah’s sacrifice, that I will punish the princes, and the king’s sons, and all such as are clothed with foreign apparel. And in that day I will punish all those that leap over the threshold, that fill their master’s house with violence and deceit. And in that day, saith Jehovah, there shall be the noise of a cry from the fish gate, and a wailing from the second quarter, and a great crashing from the hills. Wail, ye inhabitants of Maktesh; for all the people of Canaan are undone; all they that were laden with silver are cut off. And it shall come to pass at that time, that I will search Jerusalem with lamps; and I will punish the men that are settled on their lees, that say in their heart, Jehovah will not do good, neither will he do evil. And their wealth shall become a spoil, and their houses a desolation: yea, they shall build houses, but shall not inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, but shall not drink the wine thereof. The great day of Jehovah is near, it is near and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of Jehovah; the mighty man crieth there bitterly. That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, a day of the trumpet and alarm, against the fortified cities, and against the high battlements.

Zephaniah 1:7-16 New International Version (NIV)

Be silent before the Sovereign LORD, for the day of the LORD is near. The LORD has prepared a sacrifice; he has consecrated those he has invited. “On the day of the LORD’s sacrifice I will punish the officials and the king’s sons and all those clad in foreign clothes. On that day I will punish all who avoid stepping on the threshold, who fill the temple of their gods with violence and deceit. “On that day,” declares the LORD, “a cry will go up from the Fish Gate, wailing from the New Quarter, and a loud crash from the hills. Wail, you who live in the market district; all your merchants will be wiped out, all who trade with silver will be destroyed. At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps and punish those who are complacent, who are like wine left on its dregs, who think, ‘The LORD will do nothing, either good or bad.’ Their wealth will be plundered, their houses demolished. Though they build houses, they will not live in them; though they plant vineyards, they will not drink the wine.” The great day of the LORD is near— near and coming quickly. The cry on the day of the LORD is bitter; the Mighty Warrior shouts his battle cry. That day will be a day of wrath— a day of distress and anguish, a day of trouble and ruin, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness— a day of trumpet and battle cry against the fortified cities and against the corner towers.

Zephaniah 1:7-16 New King James Version (NKJV)

Be silent in the presence of the Lord GOD; For the day of the LORD is at hand, For the LORD has prepared a sacrifice; He has invited His guests. “And it shall be, In the day of the LORD’s sacrifice, That I will punish the princes and the king’s children, And all such as are clothed with foreign apparel. In the same day I will punish All those who leap over the threshold, Who fill their masters’ houses with violence and deceit. “And there shall be on that day,” says the LORD, “The sound of a mournful cry from the Fish Gate, A wailing from the Second Quarter, And a loud crashing from the hills. Wail, you inhabitants of Maktesh! For all the merchant people are cut down; All those who handle money are cut off. “And it shall come to pass at that time That I will search Jerusalem with lamps, And punish the men Who are settled in complacency, Who say in their heart, ‘The LORD will not do good, Nor will He do evil.’ Therefore their goods shall become booty, And their houses a desolation; They shall build houses, but not inhabit them; They shall plant vineyards, but not drink their wine.” The great day of the LORD is near; It is near and hastens quickly. The noise of the day of the LORD is bitter; There the mighty men shall cry out. That day is a day of wrath, A day of trouble and distress, A day of devastation and desolation, A day of darkness and gloominess, A day of clouds and thick darkness, A day of trumpet and alarm Against the fortified cities And against the high towers.

Zephaniah 1:7-16 Amplified Bible (AMP)

¶[Hush!] Be silent before the Lord GOD [there is no acceptable excuse to offer]! For the day [of the vengeance] of the LORD is near, For the LORD has prepared a sacrifice (Judah), He has set apart [for His use] those who have accepted His invitation [the Chaldeans who rule Babylon]. [Hab 2:20] “Then it will come about on the day of the LORD’S sacrifice That I will punish the princes and the king’s sons And all who are clothed in [lavish] foreign apparel [reflecting their paganism]. [Num 15:38, 39] “On that day I will also punish all those who leap over the temple threshold, Who fill their [pagan] lord’s temple with violence and deceit. “On that day,” declares the LORD, “There will be the sound of crying from the Fish (Damascus) Gate [in the northern wall of Jerusalem where invaders enter] And wailing from the Second Quarter [of the city], And a loud crash from the hills. “Wail [in anguish], you inhabitants of the Mortar (Valley of Siloam), For all the merchants of Canaan will be silenced and destroyed; All who weigh out silver will be cut off. “It will come about at that time That I will search Jerusalem with lamps And I will punish the men Who [like old wine] are stagnant in spirit, Who say in their hearts, ‘The LORD will not do good, nor will He do evil.’ “Furthermore, their wealth will become plunder And their houses a desolation. Yes, they will build houses but not live in them, And plant vineyards but not drink their wine.” [Deut 28:30, 39; Amos 5:11, 12] ¶The great [judgment] day of the LORD is near, Near and coming very quickly. Listen! The [voice of the] day of the LORD! The warrior cries out bitterly [unable to fight or to flee]. That day is a day of [the outpouring of the] wrath [of God], A day of trouble and distress, A day of destruction and devastation, A day of darkness and gloom, A day of clouds and thick darkness, [Jer 30:7; Joel 2:11; Amos 5:18] A day of trumpet and the battle cry [of invaders] Against the fortified cities And against the high corner towers (battlements).

Zephaniah 1:7-16 New Living Translation (NLT)

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. “On that day of judgment,” says the LORD, “I will punish the leaders and princes of Judah and all those following pagan customs. Yes, I will punish those who participate in pagan worship ceremonies, and those who fill their masters’ houses with violence and deceit. “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. And a great crash will sound from the hills. Wail in sorrow, all you who live in the market area, for all the merchants and traders will be destroyed. “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. 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. “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. 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, a day of trumpet calls and battle cries. Down go the walled cities and the strongest battlements!

Zephaniah 1:7-16 English Standard Version 2016 (ESV)

Be silent before the Lord GOD! For the day of the LORD is near; the LORD has prepared a sacrifice and consecrated his guests. And on the day of the LORD’s sacrifice— “I will punish the officials and the king’s sons and all who array themselves in foreign attire. On that day I will punish everyone who leaps over the threshold, and those who fill their master’s house with violence and fraud. “On that day,” declares the LORD, “a cry will be heard from the Fish Gate, a wail from the Second Quarter, a loud crash from the hills. Wail, O inhabitants of the Mortar! For all the traders are no more; all who weigh out silver are cut off. At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps, and I will punish the men who are complacent, those who say in their hearts, ‘The LORD will not do good, nor will he do ill.’ Their goods shall be plundered, and their houses laid waste. Though they build houses, they shall not inhabit them; though they plant vineyards, they shall not drink wine from them.” The great day of the LORD is near, near and hastening fast; the sound of the day of the LORD is bitter; the mighty man cries aloud there. A day of wrath is that day, a day of distress and anguish, a day of ruin and devastation, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness, a day of trumpet blast and battle cry against the fortified cities and against the lofty battlements.