Zephaniah 1; Zephaniah 2; Zephaniah 3; Haggai 1; Haggai 2

Zephaniah 1

1 The LORD's word that came to Zephaniah, Cushi's son, Gedaliah's grandson, Amariah's great-grandson, and Hezekiah's great-great-grandson in the days of Judah's King Josiah, Amon's son.

2 I will wipe out everything from the earth, says the LORD.

3 I will destroy humanity and the beasts; I will destroy the birds in the sky and the fish in the sea. I will make the wicked into a heap of ruins; I will eliminate humanity from the earth, says the LORD.

4 I will stretch out my hand against Judah and against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem. I will eliminate what's left of Baal from this place and the names of the priests of foreign gods,

5 those bowing down to the forces of heaven on the rooftops, those swearing by the LORD along with those swearing by Milcom,

6 those turning away from the LORD, those who don't seek the LORD and don't pursue him.

7 Hush before the LORD God, for the day of the LORD is near! The LORD has established a sacrifice; he has made holy those he has summoned.

8 On the day of the LORD's sacrifice, I will punish the princes, the king's sons, and all those wearing foreign clothes.

9 I will punish the one leaping on the threshold on that day, those filling the house of their master with violence and deceit.

10 On that day—says the LORD— an outcry will resound from the Fish Gate, wailing from the second quarter, a loud crash from the hills.

11 The ones who grind the grain will wail; all the merchants will be silenced. I will eliminate all those weighing out silver.

12 At that time, I will search Jerusalem with lamps; I will punish the men growing fat on the sediment in their wine, those saying to themselves, The LORD won't do good or evil.

13 Their wealth will be looted and their houses destroyed. They will rebuild houses, but not live in them; they will plant vineyards, but not drink the wine.

14 The great day of the LORD is near; it is near and coming very quickly. The sound of the day of the LORD is bitter. A warrior screams there.

15 That day is a day of fury, a day of distress and anxiety, a day of desolation and devastation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and deep darkness,

16 a day for blowing the trumpet and alarm against their invincible cities and against their high towers.

17 I will make humanity suffer; they will walk like the blind because they sinned against the LORD. Their blood will be poured out like dust and their intestines like manure.

18 Moreover, their silver and their gold won't be able to deliver them on the day of the LORD's fury. His jealousy will devour the entire land with fire; he will make an end, a truly horrible one, for all the inhabitants of the land.

Zephaniah 2

1 Gather together and assemble yourselves, shameless nation,

2 before the decision is made—the day vanishes like chaff— before the burning anger of the LORD comes against you, before the day of the LORD's anger comes against you.

3 Seek the LORD, all you humble of the land who practice his justice; seek righteousness; seek humility. Maybe you will be hidden on the day of the LORD's anger.

4 Gaza will certainly be abandoned; and Ashkelon destroyed. Ashdod will be driven out at noon; Ekron will be uprooted.

5 Doom, inhabitants of the seacoast, nation of Cretans. The LORD's word is against you, Canaan, land of the Philistines. I will exterminate you, leaving no inhabitant.

6 The seacoast will become pastureland, with wells for shepherds and pens for the flocks.

7 The coast will belong to the survivors from the house of Judah; they will pasture beside the sea; in the houses of Ashkelon they will lie down in the evening. The LORD their God will visit them and restore their possessions.

8 I have heard the taunting of Moab and the defamation of the Ammonites; they taunted my people and enlarged their borders.

9 Therefore, as I live— says the LORD of heavenly forces, the God of Israel— Moab will become like Sodom and the Ammonites like Gomorrah: a plot of weeds, salt pits, and devastation forever. The few remaining from my people will plunder them; the rest of my nation will possess them.

10 This will happen on account of their pride, because they taunted and boasted over the people of the LORD of heavenly forces.

11 The LORD will terrify them; he will make all the gods of the earth disappear. All the coastlands of the nations will bow down to the LORD, each one in its own place.

12 Moreover, you too, Cushites, will be pierced by my sword.

13 He will stretch out his hand against the north and will cause Assyria to perish. Let him make Nineveh a desolation, a desolate place like the wilderness.

14 Flocks will lie down in its midst, every living thing of the nation. Moreover, the owl and the porcupine will spend the night on its columns. A bird's call will resound from the window. Desolation will be on the sill, for the cedar will be stripped bare.

15 This is the jubilant city, the one dwelling securely, the one saying in her heart, I, and no one else, will endure forever. How she has become a desolation, a resting place for the wild animals. All those who pass through her hiss and shake their fist.

Zephaniah 3

1 Doom, obstinate one, the defiled one, the violent city.

2 She listened to no voice; she accepted no discipline. She didn't trust in the LORD, nor did she draw near to her God.

3 The princes in her midst are roaring lions. Her judges are wolves of the evening; they leave nothing for the morning.

4 Her prophets are reckless, men of treachery. Her priests pollute that which is holy; they do violence to the Instruction.

5 The LORD is righteous in her midst. He does nothing unjust. Morning by morning he renders justice, but the unrighteous one knows no shame.

6 I will cut off nations; their towers will be destroyed; I will devastate their streets. No one will pass through. Their cities will be laid waste. There will be no person, no inhabitant left.

7 I said, "Surely, she will fear me; she will take instruction so that her habitation won't be cut off because of everything I did to her." However, they rose early to corrupt their deeds.

8 Therefore, wait for me, says the LORD, wait for the day when I rise up as a witness, when I decide to gather nations, to collect kingdoms, to pour out my indignation upon them, all the heat of my anger. In the fire of my jealousy, all the earth will be devoured.

9 Then I will change the speech of the peoples into pure speech, that all of them will call on the name of the LORD and will serve him as one.

10 From beyond the rivers of Cush, my daughter, my dispersed ones, will bring me offerings.

11 On that day, you won't be ashamed of all your deeds with which you sinned against me; then I will remove from your midst those boasting with pride. No longer will you be haughty on my holy mountain,

12 but I will cause a humble and powerless people to remain in your midst; they will seek refuge in the name of the LORD.

13 The few remaining from Israel won't commit injustice; they won't tell lies; a deceitful tongue won't be found on their lips. They will graze and lie down; no one will make them afraid.

14 Rejoice, Daughter Zion! Shout, Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, Daughter Jerusalem.

15 The LORD has removed your judgment; he has turned away your enemy. The LORD, the king of Israel, is in your midst; you will no longer fear evil.

16 On that day, it will be said to Jerusalem: Don't fear, Zion. Don't let your hands fall.

17 The LORD your God is in your midst—a warrior bringing victory. He will create calm with his love; he will rejoice over you with singing.

18 I will remove from you those worried about the appointed feasts. They have been a burden for her, a reproach.

19 Watch what I am about to do to all your oppressors at that time. I will deliver the lame; I will gather the outcast. I will change their shame into praise and fame throughout the earth.

20 At that time, I will bring all of you back, at the time when I gather you. I will give you fame and praise among all the neighboring peoples when I restore your possessions and you can see them—says the LORD.

Haggai 1

1 The LORD's word came through Haggai the prophet in the second year of King Darius, in the sixth month on the first day of the month, to Judah's governor Zerubbabel, Shealtiel's son, and to the high priest Joshua, Jehozadak's son:

2 This is what the LORD of heavenly forces says: These people say, "The time hasn't come, the time to rebuild the LORD's house."

3 Then the LORD's word came through Haggai the prophet:

4 Is it time for you to dwell in your own paneled houses while this house lies in ruins?

5 So now, this is what the LORD of heavenly forces says: Take your ways to heart.

6 You have sown much, but it has brought little. You eat, but there's not enough to satisfy. You drink, but not enough to get drunk. There is clothing, but not enough to keep warm. Anyone earning wages puts those wages into a bag with holes.

7 This is what the LORD of heavenly forces says: Take your ways to heart.

8 Go up to the highlands and bring back wood. Rebuild the temple so that I may enjoy it and that I may be honored, says the LORD.

9 You expect a surplus, but look how it shrinks. You bring it home, and I blow it away, says the LORD of heavenly forces, because my house lies in ruins. But all of you hurry to your own houses.

10 Therefore, the skies above you have withheld the dew, and the earth has withheld its produce because of you.

11 I have called for drought on the earth, on the mountains, on the grain, on the wine, on the olive oil, on that which comes forth from the fertile ground, on humanity, on beasts, and upon everything that handles produce.

12 Zerubbabel, Shealtiel's son, and the high priest Joshua, Jehozadak's son, along with all who remained among the people, listened to the voice of the LORD God and to the words of Haggai the prophet because the LORD their God sent him. Then the people feared the LORD.

13 Then Haggai, the LORD's messenger, gave the LORD's message to the people: I am with you, says the LORD.

14 The LORD moved the spirit of Judah's governor Zerubbabel, Shealtiel's son, and the spirit of the high priest Joshua, Jehozadak's son, and the spirit of all the rest of the people. Then they came and did work on the house of the LORD of heavenly forces, their God,

15 on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month in the second year of Darius the king.

Haggai 2

1 On the twenty-first day of the seventh month, the LORD's word came through Haggai the prophet:

2 Say to Judah's governor Zerubbabel, Shealtiel's son, and to the chief priest Joshua, Jehozadak's son, and to the rest of the people:

3 Who among you is left who saw this house in its former glory? How does it look to you now? Doesn't it appear as nothing to you?

4 So now, be strong, Zerubbabel, says the LORD. Be strong, High Priest Joshua, Jehozadak's son, and be strong, all you people of the land, says the LORD. Work, for I am with you, says the LORD of heavenly forces.

5 As with our agreement when you came out of Egypt, my spirit stands in your midst. Don't fear.

6 This is what the LORD of heavenly forces says: In just a little while, I will make the heavens, the earth, the sea, and the dry land quake.

7 I will make all the nations quake. The wealth of all the nations will come. I will fill this house with glory, says the LORD of heavenly forces.

8 The silver and the gold belong to me, says the LORD of heavenly forces.

9 This house will be more glorious than its predecessor, says the LORD of heavenly forces. I will provide prosperity in this place, says the LORD of heavenly forces.

10 On the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month in the second year of Darius, the LORD's word came to Haggai the prophet:

11 This is what the LORD of heavenly forces says: Go ahead and ask the priests for a ruling:

12 "If someone lifts holy meat into the hem of one's garment and that hem touches bread, stew, wine, oil, or any kind of food, will it be made holy?" And the priests responded, "No."

13 Haggai said, "If an unclean person touches any of these things, will it become unclean?" And the priests responded, "It will be unclean."

14 Then Haggai responded: Thus has this people and this nation become to me, says the LORD, and everything that they do with their hands. Whatever they offer is unclean.

15 So now, take it to heart from this day forward. Before stone was placed on stone in the LORD's temple,

16 when one came to the granary for twenty measures, there were only ten; and when one came to the wine vat for fifty measures, there were only twenty.

17 I struck you—everything you do with your hands— with blight and mildew and hail; but you didn't return to me.

18 So take it to heart from this day forward, from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month. Take it to heart from the day when the foundation for the LORD's temple was laid.

19 Is the seed yet in the granary— or the vine, the fig tree, or the pomegranate— or has the olive tree not borne fruit? From this day forward, I will bless you.

20 And the LORD's word came to Haggai a second time on the twenty-fourth of the month, saying:

21 Speak to Judah's governor Zerubbabel: I am about to make the heavens and the earth quake.

22 I will overthrow the thrones of the kingdoms; I will destroy the strength of the nations. I will overthrow chariot and rider; horses and riders will fall. Each one will fall by the sword of his companion.

23 On that day, says the LORD of heavenly forces: I will take you, Zerubbabel, Shealtiel's son, my servant, says the LORD; I will make you like a signet ring because I have chosen you, says the LORD of heavenly forces.