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The word of the LORDwhichcame to Zephaniahson of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah, in the days of Josiahson of Amon, king of Judah:
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"I will removeman and beast; I will remove the birds of the sky And the fish of the sea, And the ruinsalong with the wicked; And I will cutoffman from the face of the earth," declares the LORD.
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"So I will stretch out My handagainstJudah And againstall the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And I will cutoff the remnant of Baal from thisplace, And the names of the idolatrouspriestsalong with the priests.
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"Then it will come about on the day of the LORD'Ssacrifice That I will punish the princes, the king'ssons And all who clothe themselves with foreigngarments.
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"On that day," declares the LORD, "There will be the sound of a cry from the FishGate, A wail from the Second Quarter, And a loudcrash from the hills.
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"It will come about at that time That I will searchJerusalem with lamps, And I will punish the men Who are stagnant in spirit, Who say in their hearts, 'The LORD will not dogood or evil!'
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"Moreover, their wealth will becomeplunder And their housesdesolate; Yes, they will buildhouses but not inhabit them, And plantvineyards but not drink their wine."
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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 thickdarkness,
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I will bringdistress on men So that they will walk like the blind, Because they have sinned against the LORD; And their blood will be poured out like dust And their flesh like dung.
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Neither* their silvernor their gold Will be able to deliver them On the day of the LORD'Swrath; And all the earth will be devoured In the fire of His jealousy, For He will make a completeend, Indeed a terrifying one, Of all the inhabitants of the earth.