¹ The word of Yahweh which was addressed to Zephaniah son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah son of Amon king of Judah.

² I shall sweep away everything off the face of the earth, declares Yahweh.

³ I shall sweep away humans and animals, the birds of the air and the fish of the sea, I shall topple the wicked and wipe all people off the face of the earth -declares Yahweh.

⁴ I shall raise my hand against Judah and against all who live in Jerusalem, and from this place I will wipe out Baal's remnant, the very name of his priests,

⁵ and those who prostrate themselves on the roofs before the array of heaven, and those who prostrate themselves before Yahweh but swear by Milcom,

⁶ and those who have turned their back on Yahweh, who do not seek Yahweh and do not consult him.

⁷ Silence before Lord Yahweh, for the Day of Yahweh is near! Yahweh has prepared a sacrifice, he has consecrated his guests.

⁸ On the Day of Yahweh's sacrifice, I shall punish the courtiers, the royal princes and all who dress in outlandish clothes.

⁹ On that day I shall punish all who go up the Step and fill the Temple of their lords, with violence and deceit.

¹⁰ On that Day -- declares Yahweh -- uproar will be heard from the Fish Gate, wailing from the New Quarter and a great crash from the hills.

¹¹ Wail, you who live in the Hollow, for it is all over with the merchants, all the money-bags have been wiped out!

¹² When that time comes I shall search Jerusalem by lamplight and punish the men stagnating over the remains of their wine, who say in their hearts, 'Yahweh can do nothing, either good or bad.'

¹³ For this, their wealth will be looted and their houses laid in ruins; they will build houses but not live in them, they will plant vineyards but not drink their wine.

¹⁴ The great Day of Yahweh is near, near, and coming with great speed. How bitter the sound of the Day of Yahweh, the Day when the warrior shouts his cry of war.

¹⁵ That Day is a day of retribution, a day of distress and tribulation, a day of ruin and of devastation, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of cloud and thick fog,

¹⁶ a day of trumpet blast and battle cry against fortified town and high corner-tower.

¹⁷ I shall bring such distress on humanity that they will grope their way like the blind for having sinned against Yahweh. Their blood will be poured out like mud, yes, their corpses like dung;

¹⁸ nor will their silver or gold be able to save them. On the Day of Yahweh's anger, by the fire of his jealousy, the whole earth will be consumed. For he will destroy, yes, annihilate everyone living on earth.

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The New Jerusalem Bible (NJB) is a Catholic translation of the Bible published in 1985. The New Jerusalem Bible (NJB) has become the most widely used Roman Catholic Bible outside of the United States. It has the imprimatur of Cardinal George Basil Hume.

Like its predecessor, the Jerusalem Bible, the New Jerusalem Bible (NJB) version is translated "directly from the Hebrew, Greek or Aramaic." The 1973 French translation, the Bible de Jerusalem, is followed only "where the text admits to more than one interpretation." Introductions and notes, with some modifications, are taken from the Bible de Jerusalem.

Source: The Very Reverend Dom (Joseph) Henry Wansbrough, OSB, MA (Oxon), STL (Fribourg), LSS (Rome), a monk of Ampleforth Abbey and a biblical scholar. He was General Editor of the New Jerusalem Bible. "New Jerusalem Bible, Regular Edition", pg. v.

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