Zephaniah 3

God will punish Jerusalem

1  Terrible trouble will come to this city!

It is a dirty, wicked place,

full of cruel people.

2 The people of the city do not obey any laws.

They do not listen to advice.

They do not trust in the Lord.

They do not ask their God to help them.

3 The city's rulers roar like lions

to make people afraid.

Its judges are like hungry wolves.

They kill their food in the evening

and by the next morning nothing remains.

4 The city's prophets are proud people

that nobody can trust.

Its priests do not obey God's laws.

They cause God's temple to be an unclean place.

5 But the Lord is in the city

and he never does any wrong thing.

Every day he shows that he is fair.

He never fails to do what is right.

But wicked people are not ashamed

when they do bad things.

6 The Lord says,

‘I have destroyed nations.

I have knocked down the strong walls and towers of their cities.

I have caused their streets to be empty,

with no people in them.

Nobody lives in their cities any more.

7 I thought, “Now you people of Jerusalem will respect me!

Now you will listen to me when I warn you.”

If my people had obeyed me,

I would not have destroyed their city.

I would not punish them as they deserve.

But they all continued to do evil things.

Every day they only wanted to do something bad.

8 So you must wait for me to act.

Wait for the day when I will show who is right.

I have decided to bring together nations and kingdoms.

Then I will punish them with my great anger.

I will be so angry that I destroy the whole earth,

like a fire that destroys everything.’

That is what the Lord says.

God will bring people together to worship him

9 ‘At that time, I will change people

so that they speak words that are pure.

Then they can pray to me,

and they can all worship me together.

10 My people who now live far away, beyond the rivers of Ethiopia,

will bring offerings to me.

11 At that time, you people of Jerusalem will not be ashamed,

because you will no longer turn against me.

I will remove from among you those people

who boast about themselves.

There will be no proud people who remain on my holy hill.

12 But I will leave a group of poor and humble people among you.

They will trust me, the Lord, to keep them safe.

13 The Israelites who remain will be honest people.

They will not speak lies.

They will not deceive other people.

They will have food to eat and a place to sleep.

Nobody will cause them to be afraid.’

God will take care of his people

14 Be happy and sing, you people of Zion!

Yes, shout aloud, you people of Israel!

People of Jerusalem, use everything in you

to show how happy you are!

15 The Lord has taken away the punishment that you deserved.

He has sent your enemy's army away.

The Lord, Israel's King, is with you!

You do not need to be afraid of trouble any more.

16 On that day, people will say to Jerusalem,

‘Do not be afraid, people of Zion!

Do not let fear make you weak!

17 The Lord, your God, is with you.

He is strong, like a brave soldier.

He will save you.

He will be very happy because he is pleased with you!

He will give you new life because of his love.

He will sing with joy because you make him happy!’

18 The Lord says,

‘I will bring together those people who were sad

because they could not meet together at the festivals.

I will take away the trouble that you have had,

and you will no longer feel ashamed.

19 Listen to me! At that time, I will punish

all those people who have been cruel to you.

I will rescue those who are helpless.

I will bring back together the people who have gone away.

I will cause people to give them honour

so they will no longer be ashamed.

People everywhere in the world will praise them.

20 At that time, I will bring you back together

and I will lead you home.

Yes, I will cause all the nations of the earth to respect you.

You will have success again, and you will see me do this.’

That is what the Lord says.