Judgment on Jerusalem and the Nations

Zephaniah 3

1 Woe to her who is rebellious and defiled,
f the oppressing city!
2 She listens to no voice;
g she accepts no correction.
h She does not trust in the Lord;
she does not draw near to her God.

3 i Her officials within her
are roaring lions;
her judges are j evening wolves
that leave nothing till the morning.
4 k Her prophets are fickle, treacherous men;
k her priests l profane what is holy;
they do violence to the law.
5 The Lord within her m is righteous;
he does no injustice;
every morning he shows forth his justice;
each dawn he does not fail;
but n the unjust knows no shame.

6 o "I have cut off nations;
their battlements are in ruins;
I have laid waste their streets
p so that no one walks in them;
their cities have been made desolate,
without a man, without an inhabitant.
7 q I said, 'Surely you will fear me;
r you will accept correction.
Then your 1 dwelling would not be cut off
according to all that I have appointed against you.' 1
But s all the more they were eager
to make all their deeds corrupt.

8 "Therefore t wait for me," declares the Lord,
"for the day when I rise up to seize the prey.
For my decision is u to gather nations,
to assemble kingdoms,
to pour out upon them my indignation,
all my burning anger;
for in the fire of my jealousy
v all the earth shall be consumed.

  1. Cross References
    Jeremiah 6:6
    For thus says the Lord of hosts: "Cut down her trees; cast up a siege mound against Jerusalem. This is the city that must be punished; there is nothing but oppression within her.
  2. Cross References
    Jeremiah 5:3
    O Lord, do not your eyes look for truth? You have struck them down, but they felt no anguish; you have consumed them, but they refused to take correction. They have made their faces harder than rock; they have refused to repent.
  3. Cross References
    Zephaniah 3:12
    But I will leave in your midst a people humble and lowly. They shall seek refuge in the name of the Lord.
  4. Cross References
    Ezekiel 22:27
    Her princes in her midst are like wolves tearing the prey, shedding blood, destroying lives to get dishonest gain.
    Micah 3:9 - 10
    Hear this, you heads of the house of Jacob and rulers of the house of Israel, who detest justice and make crooked all that is straight.
  5. Cross References
    Habakkuk 1:8
    Their horses are swifter than leopards, more fierce than the evening wolves; their horsemen press proudly on. Their horsemen come from afar; they fly like an eagle swift to devour.
  6. Cross References
    Jeremiah 23:11
    Both prophet and priest are ungodly; even in my house I have found their evil, declares the Lord.
    Hosea 9:7
    The days of punishment have come; the days of recompense have come; Israel shall know it. The prophet is a fool; the man of the spirit is mad, because of your great iniquity and great hatred.
  7. Cross References
    Jeremiah 23:11
    Both prophet and priest are ungodly; even in my house I have found their evil, declares the Lord.
    Hosea 9:7
    The days of punishment have come; the days of recompense have come; Israel shall know it. The prophet is a fool; the man of the spirit is mad, because of your great iniquity and great hatred.
  8. Cross References
    Ezekiel 22:26
    Her priests have done violence to my law and have profaned my holy things. They have made no distinction between the holy and the common, neither have they taught the difference between the unclean and the clean, and they have disregarded my Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them.
  9. Cross References
    Jeremiah 12:1
    Righteous are you, O Lord, when I complain to you; yet I would plead my case before you. Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all who are treacherous thrive?
  10. Cross References
    Zephaniah 2:1
    Gather together, yes, gather, O shameless nation.
  11. Cross References
    Zephaniah 2:4 - 15
    For Gaza shall be deserted, and Ashkelon shall become a desolation; Ashdod's people shall be driven out at noon, and Ekron shall be uprooted.
  12. Cross References
    Zechariah 7:14
    "and I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations that they had not known. Thus the land they left was desolate, so that no one went to and fro, and the pleasant land was made desolate."
    Zechariah 9:8
    Then I will encamp at my house as a guard, so that none shall march to and fro; no oppressor shall again march over them, for now I see with my own eyes.
  13. Cross References
    Jeremiah 36:3
    It may be that the house of Judah will hear all the disaster that I intend to do to them, so that every one may turn from his evil way, and that I may forgive their iniquity and their sin.
  14. Cross References
    Zephaniah 3:2
    She listens to no voice; she accepts no correction. She does not trust in the Lord ; she does not draw near to her God.
  15. Cross References
    Micah 7:3
    Their hands are on what is evil, to do it well; the prince and the judge ask for a bribe, and the great man utters the evil desire of his soul; thus they weave it together.
  16. Cross References
    Habakkuk 2:3
    For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end - it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay.
    Isaiah 8:17
    I will wait for the Lord, who is hiding his face from the house of Jacob, and I will hope in him.
  17. Cross References
    Joel 3:2
    I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. And I will enter into judgment with them there, on behalf of my people and my heritage Israel, because they have scattered them among the nations and have divided up my land.
  18. Cross References
    Zephaniah 1:18
    Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them on the day of the wrath of the Lord. In the fire of his jealousy, all the earth shall be consumed; for a full and sudden end he will make of all the inhabitants of the earth.
English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.
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