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Zephaniah |
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1:1: The word of the LORD which came unto
Zephaniah the son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son
of Hizkiah, in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah. |
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1:2: I will utterly consume all things from
off the land, saith the LORD. |
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1:3: I will consume man and beast; I will
consume the fowls of the heaven, and the fishes of the sea, and the
stumblingblocks with the wicked; and I will cut off man from off the land,
saith the LORD. |
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1:4: I will also stretch out mine hand upon |
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1:5: And them that worship the host of heaven
upon the housetops; and them that worship and that swear by the LORD, and
that swear by Malcham; |
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1:6: And them that are turned back from the
LORD; and those that have not sought the LORD, nor enquired for him. |
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1:7: 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. |
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1:8: 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. |
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1:9: In the same day also will I punish all
those that leap on the threshold, which fill their masters' houses with
violence and deceit. |
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1:11: Howl, ye inhabitants of Maktesh, for
all the merchant people are cut down; all they that bear silver are cut off. |
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1:12: 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. |
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1:13: 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. |
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1:14: 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. |
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1:15: 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, |
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1:16: A day of the trumpet and alarm against
the fenced cities, and against the high towers. |
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1:17: And I will bring distress upon men,
that they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the
LORD: and their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as the
dung. |
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1:18: Neither their silver nor their gold
shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD's wrath; but the whole
land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a
speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land. |
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2:1: Gather yourselves together, yea, gather
together, O nation not desired; |
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2:2: Before the decree bring forth, before
the day pass as the chaff, before the fierce anger of the LORD come upon you,
before the day of the LORD's anger come upon you. |
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2:3: Seek ye the LORD, all ye meek of the
earth, which have wrought his judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it
may be ye shall be hid in the day of the LORD's anger. |
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2:4: For Gaza shall be forsaken, and Ashkelon
a desolation: they shall drive out Ashdod at the noon day, and Ekron shall be
rooted up. |
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2:5: Woe unto the inhabitants of the sea
coast, the nation of the Cherethites! the
word of the LORD is against you; O Canaan, the land of the Philistines, I will
even destroy thee, that there shall be no inhabitant. |
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2:6: And the sea coast shall be dwellings and
cottages for shepherds, and folds for flocks. |
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2:7: And the coast shall be for the remnant
of the house of Judah; they shall feed thereupon: in the houses of Ashkelon
shall they lie down in the evening: for the LORD their God shall visit them,
and turn away their captivity. |
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2:8: I have heard the reproach of Moab, and
the revilings of the children of Ammon, whereby they have reproached my
people, and magnified themselves against their border. |
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2:9: Therefore as I live, saith the LORD of
hosts, the God of Israel, Surely Moab shall be as Sodom, and the children of
Ammon as Gomorrah, even the breeding of nettles, and saltpits, and a
perpetual desolation: the residue of my people shall spoil them, and the
remnant of my people shall possess them. |
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2:10: This shall they have for their pride,
because they have reproached and magnified themselves against the people of
the LORD of hosts. |
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2:11: The LORD will be terrible unto them:
for he will famish all the gods of the earth; and men shall worship him,
every one from his place, even all the isles of the heathen. |
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2:12: Ye Ethiopians also, ye shall be slain
by my sword. |
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2:13: And he will stretch out his hand
against the north, and destroy Assyria; and will make Nineveh a desolation,
and dry like a wilderness. |
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2:14: And flocks shall lie down in the midst
of her, all the beasts of the nations: both the cormorant and the bittern
shall lodge in the upper lintels of it; their voice shall sing in the
windows; desolation shall be in the thresholds: for he shall uncover the
cedar work. |
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2:15: This is the rejoicing city that dwelt
carelessly, that said in her heart, I am, and there is none beside me: how is
she become a desolation, a place for beasts to lie down in! every one that passeth by her shall hiss,
and wag his hand. |
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3:1: Woe to her that is filthy and polluted,
to the oppressing city! |
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3:2: She obeyed not the voice; she received
not correction; she trusted not in the LORD; she drew not near to her God. |
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3:3: Her princes within her are roaring
lions; her judges are evening wolves; they gnaw not the bones till the
morrow. |
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3:4: Her prophets are light and treacherous
persons: her priests have polluted the sanctuary, they have done violence to
the law. |
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3:5: The just LORD is in the midst thereof;
he will not do iniquity: every morning doth he bring his judgment to light,
he faileth not; but the unjust knoweth no shame. |
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3:6: I have cut off the nations: their towers
are desolate; I made their streets waste, that none passeth by: their cities
are destroyed, so that there is no man, that there is none inhabitant. |
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3:7: I said, Surely thou wilt fear me, thou
wilt receive instruction; so their dwelling should not be cut off, howsoever
I punished them: but they rose early, and corrupted all their doings. |
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3:8: Therefore wait ye upon me, saith the
LORD, until the day that I rise up to the prey: for my determination is to
gather the nations, that I may assemble the kingdoms, to pour upon them mine
indignation, even all my fierce anger: for all the earth shall be devoured
with the fire of my jealousy. |
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3:9: For then will I turn to the people a
pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the LORD, to serve him
with one consent. |
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3:10: From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia my
suppliants, even the daughter of my dispersed, shall bring mine offering. |
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3:11: In that day shalt thou not be ashamed
for all thy doings, wherein thou hast transgressed against me: for then I
will take away out of the midst of thee them that rejoice in thy pride, and
thou shalt no more be haughty because of my holy mountain. |
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3:12: I will also leave in the midst of thee
an afflicted and poor people, and they shall trust in the name of the LORD. |
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3:13: The remnant of Israel shall not do
iniquity, nor speak lies; neither shall a deceitful tongue be found in their
mouth: for they shall feed and lie down, and none shall make them afraid. |
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3:14: Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout, O
Israel; be glad and rejoice with all the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem. |
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3:15: The LORD hath taken away thy judgments,
he hath cast out thine enemy: the king of Israel, even the LORD, is in the
midst of thee: thou shalt not see evil any more. |
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3:16: In that day it shall be said to
Jerusalem, Fear thou not: and to Zion, Let not thine hands be slack. |
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3:17: The LORD thy God in the midst of thee
is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in
his love, he will joy over thee with singing. |
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3:18: I will gather them that are sorrowful
for the solemn assembly, who are of thee, to whom the reproach of it was a
burden. |
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3:19: Behold, at that time I will undo all
that afflict thee: and I will save her that halteth, and gather her that was
driven out; and I will get them praise and fame in every land where they have
been put to shame. |
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