Zephaniah

About the Book of Zephaniah

Zephaniah was a prophet. He spoke God's messages to the people of Judah when Josiah was king. Josiah was king from about 640 to 608 BC.
The book is in three parts.
In Chapter 1, Zephaniah tells the people of Judah that God will punish them.
In Chapter 2, Zephaniah warns the people of the countries that were near Judah. He tells them that God is angry with them. He tells them that God will punish them.
Chapter 3 is another message to the people of Judah. God says that one day he will bring his people back from the places where their enemies have taken them as prisoners.
At this time, God's prophet Jeremiah was also giving God's messages to the people of Judah. Both Zephaniah and Jeremiah said that God loved his people. But they taught that God was angry because the people had turned away from him. They must stop doing wrong things. If they continued to worship false gods, God would certainly punish them.
Some people in Judah listened to the message of God's prophets. But many people did not listen. So God sent Babylon's army to fight against them. The Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem in 586 BC.
God used Babylon's army to punish Judah's people and take them away as prisoners. But God said that his people would return home to Judah at a future time.