October 10

Zephaniah 1:1 — Haggai 2:23

Zephaniah

1 The word of Jehovah that occurred to Zephaniah the son of Cushi the son of Gedaliah the son of Amariah the son of Hezekiah in the days of Josiah the son of Amon the king of Judah:

2 “I shall without fail finish everything off the surface of the ground,” is the utterance of Jehovah.

3 “I shall finish off earthling man and beast. I shall finish off the flying creature of the heavens and the fishes of the sea, and the stumbling blocks with the wicked ones; and I will cut off mankind from the surface of the ground,” is the utterance of Jehovah. 4 “And I will stretch out my hand against Judah and against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and I will cut off from this place the remaining ones of the Baal, the name of the foreign-god priests along with the priests, 5 and those who are bowing down upon the roofs to the army of the heavens, and those who are bowing down, making sworn oaths to Jehovah and making sworn oaths by Malcam; 6 and those who are drawing back from following Jehovah and who have not sought Jehovah and have not inquired of him.”

7 Keep silence before the Sovereign Lord Jehovah; for the day of Jehovah is near, for Jehovah has prepared a sacrifice; he has sanctified his invited ones.

8 “And it must occur on the day of Jehovah’s sacrifice that I will give attention to the princes, and to the sons of the king, and to all those wearing foreign attire. 9 And I will give attention to everyone that is climbing upon the platform in that day, those who are filling the house of their masters with violence and deception. 10 And there must occur on that day,” is the utterance of Jehovah, “the sound of an outcry from the Fish Gate, and a howling from the second quarter, and a great crashing from the hills. 11 Howl, YOU inhabitants of Maktesh, for all the people who are tradesmen have been silenced; all those weighing out silver have been cut off.

12 “And it must occur at that time that I shall carefully search Jerusalem with lamps, and I will give attention to the men who are congealing upon their dregs [and] who are saying in their heart, ‘Jehovah will not do good, and he will not do bad.’ 13 And their wealth must come to be for pillage and their houses for a desolate waste. And they will build houses, but they will not have occupancy; and they will plant vineyards, but they will not drink the wine of them.

14 “The great day of Jehovah is near. It is near, and there is a hurrying [of it] very much. The sound of the day of Jehovah is bitter. There a mighty man is letting out a cry. 15 That day is a day of fury, a day of distress and of anguish, a day of storm and of desolation, a day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick gloom, 16 a day of horn and of alarm signal, against the fortified cities and against the high corner towers. 17 And I will cause distress to mankind, and they will certainly walk like blind men; because it is against Jehovah that they have sinned. And their blood will actually be poured out like dust, and their bowels like the dung. 18 Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to deliver them in the day of Jehovah’s fury; but by the fire of his zeal the whole earth will be devoured, because he will make an extermination, indeed a terrible one, of all the inhabitants of the earth.”

2 Gather yourselves together, yes, do the gathering, O nation not paling in shame. 2 Before [the] statute gives birth to [anything], [before the] day has passed by just like chaff, before there comes upon YOU people the burning anger of Jehovah, before there comes upon YOU the day of Jehovah’s anger, 3 seek Jehovah, all YOU meek ones of the earth, who have practiced His own judicial decision. Seek righteousness, seek meekness. Probably YOU may be concealed in the day of Jehovah’s anger. 4 For, as regards Gaza, an abandoned [city] is what she will become; and Ashkelon is to be a desolate waste. As regards Ashdod, at high noon they will drive her out; and as regards Ekron, she will be uprooted.

5 “Woe to those inhabiting the region of the sea, the nation of Cherethites! The word of Jehovah is against YOU people. O Canaan, the land of the Philistines, I will also destroy you, so that there will be no inhabitant. 6 And the region of the sea must become pasture grounds, [with] wells for shepherds and stone pens for sheep. 7 And it must become a region for the remaining ones of the house of Judah. Upon them they will feed. In the houses of Ashkelon, in the evening, they will lie stretched out. For Jehovah their God will turn his attention to them and certainly gather back the captive ones of them.”

8 “I have heard the reproach by Moab and the abusive words of the sons of Ammon, with which they have reproached my people and kept putting on great airs against their territory. 9 Therefore, as I am alive,” is the utterance of Jehovah of armies, the God of Israel, “Moab herself will become just like Sodom, and the sons of Ammon like Gomorrah, a place possessed by nettles, and a salt pit, and a desolate waste, even to time indefinite. The remaining ones of my people will plunder them, and the remnant of my own nation will take possession of them. 10 This is what they will have instead of their pride, because they reproached and kept putting on great airs against the people of Jehovah of armies. 11 Jehovah will be fear-inspiring against them; for he will certainly emaciate all the gods of the earth, and people will bow down to him, each one from his place, all the islands of the nations.

12 “YOU also, YOU Ethiopians, YOU yourselves will be people slain by my sword.

13 “And he will stretch out his hand toward the north, and he will destroy Assyria. And he will make Nineveh a desolate waste, a waterless region like the wilderness. 14 And in the midst of her, droves will certainly lie stretched out, all the wild animals of a nation. Both pelican and porcupine will spend the night right among her pillar capitals. A voice will keep singing in the window. There will be devastation at the threshold; for he will certainly lay bare the very wainscoting. 15 This is the exultant city that was sitting in security, that was saying in her heart, ‘I am, and there is nobody else.’ O how she has become an object of astonishment, a place for the wild animals to lie stretched out! Everyone passing along by her will whistle; he will wag his hand.”

3 Woe to her that is rebelling and polluting herself, the oppressive city! 2 She did not listen to a voice; she did not accept discipline. In Jehovah she did not trust. To her God she did not draw near. 3 Her princes in the midst of her were roaring lions. Her judges were evening wolves that did not gnaw [bones] till the morning. 4 Her prophets were insolent, were men of treachery. Her priests themselves profaned what was holy; they did violence to [the] law. 5 Jehovah was righteous in the midst of her; he would do no unrighteousness. Morning by morning he kept giving his own judicial decision. At daylight it did not prove lacking. But the unrighteous one was knowing no shame.

6 “I cut off nations; their corner towers were desolated. I devastated their streets, so that there was no one passing through. Their cities were laid waste, so that there was no man, so that there was no inhabitant. 7 I said, ‘Surely you will fear me; you will accept discipline’; so that her dwelling might not be cut off—all that I must call to account against her. Truly they acted promptly in making all their dealings ruinous.

8 “‘Therefore keep yourselves in expectation of me,’ is the utterance of Jehovah, ‘till the day of my rising up to [the] booty, for my judicial decision is to gather nations, for me to collect together kingdoms, in order to pour out upon them my denunciation, all my burning anger; for by the fire of my zeal all the earth will be devoured. 9 For then I shall give to peoples the change to a pure language, in order for them all to call upon the name of Jehovah, in order to serve him shoulder to shoulder.’

10 “From the region of the rivers of Ethiopia the ones entreating me, [namely,] the daughter of my scattered ones, will bring a gift to me. 11 In that day you will not be ashamed because of all your dealings with which you transgressed against me, for then I shall remove from the midst of you your haughtily exultant ones; and you will never again be haughty in my holy mountain. 12 And I shall certainly let remain in the midst of you a people humble and lowly, and they will actually take refuge in the name of Jehovah. 13 As regards the remaining ones of Israel, they will do no unrighteousness, nor speak a lie, nor will there be found in their mouths a tricky tongue; for they themselves will feed and actually lie stretched out, and there will be no one making [them] tremble.”

14 Joyfully cry out, O daughter of Zion! Break out in cheers, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem! 15 Jehovah has removed the judgments upon you. He has turned away your enemy. The king of Israel, Jehovah, is in the midst of you. You will fear calamity no more. 16 In that day it will be said to Jerusalem: “Do not be afraid, O Zion. May your hands not drop down. 17 Jehovah your God is in the midst of you. As a mighty One, he will save. He will exult over you with rejoicing. He will become silent in his love. He will be joyful over you with happy cries.

18 “The ones grief-stricken in absence from [your] festal season I shall certainly gather together; absent from you they happened to be, because of bearing reproach on her account. 19 Here I am acting against all those afflicting you, at that time; and I will save her that is limping, and her that is dispersed I shall collect together. And I will set them as a praise and as a name in all the land of their shame. 20 At that time I shall bring YOU people in, even in the time of my collecting YOU together. For I shall make YOU people to be a name and a praise among all the peoples of the earth, when I gather back YOUR captive ones before YOUR eyes,” Jehovah has said.

Haggai

1 In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, on the first day of the month, the word of Jehovah occurred by means of Haggai the prophet to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, the governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak the high priest, saying:

2 “This is what Jehovah of armies has said, ‘As regards this people, they have said: “The time has not come, the time of the house of Jehovah, for [it] to be built.”’”

3 And the word of Jehovah continued to come by means of Haggai the prophet, saying: 4 “Is it the time for YOU yourselves to dwell in YOUR paneled houses, while this house is waste? 5 And now this is what Jehovah of armies has said, ‘Set YOUR heart upon YOUR ways. 6 YOU have sown much seed, but there is a bringing of little in. There is an eating, but it is not to satisfaction. There is a drinking, but not to the point of getting intoxicated. There is a putting on of clothes, but it is not with anyone’s getting warm; and he that is hiring himself out is hiring himself out for a bag having holes.’”

7 “This is what Jehovah of armies has said, ‘Set YOUR heart upon YOUR ways.’

8 “‘Go up to the mountain, and YOU must bring in lumber. And build the house, that I may take pleasure in it and I may be glorified,’ Jehovah has said.”

9 “‘There was a looking for much, but here there was just a little; and YOU have brought [it] into the house, and I blew upon it—for what reason?’ is the utterance of Jehovah of armies. ‘By reason of my house that is waste, while YOU are on the run, each one in behalf of his own house. 10 Therefore over YOU [the] heavens kept back [their] dew, and the earth itself kept back its yield. 11 And I kept calling for dryness upon the earth, and upon the mountains, and upon the grain, and upon the new wine, and upon the oil, and upon what the ground would bring forth, and upon earthling man, and upon domestic animal, and upon all the toil of [the] hands.’”

12 And Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua the son of Jehozadak the high priest, and all the remaining ones of the people began to listen to the voice of Jehovah their God, and to the words of Haggai the prophet, as Jehovah their God had sent him; and the people began to fear because of Jehovah.

13 And Haggai the messenger of Jehovah went on to say to the people according to the messenger’s commission from Jehovah, saying: “‘I am with YOU people,’ is the utterance of Jehovah.”

14 And Jehovah proceeded to rouse up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, the governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Jehozadak the high priest, and the spirit of all the remaining ones of the people; and they began to enter in and to do the work in the house of Jehovah of armies their God. 15 It was on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month in the second year of Darius the king.

2 In the seventh [month], on the twenty-first [day] of the month, the word of Jehovah occurred by means of Haggai the prophet, saying: 2 “Say, please, to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, the governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak the high priest, and to the remaining ones of the people, saying, 3 ‘Who is there among YOU that is remaining over who saw this house in its former glory? And how are YOU people seeing it now? Is it not, in comparison with that, as nothing in YOUR eyes?’

4 “‘But now be strong, O Zerubbabel,’ is the utterance of Jehovah, ‘and be strong, O Joshua the son of Jehozadak the high priest.’
        “‘And be strong, all YOU people of the land,’ is the utterance of Jehovah, ‘and work.“‘For I am with YOU people,’ is the utterance of Jehovah of armies. 5 ‘[Remember] the thing that I concluded with YOU people when YOU came forth from Egypt, and [when] my spirit was standing in among YOU. Do not be afraid.’”
       6 “For this is what Jehovah of armies has said, ‘Yet once—it is a little while—and I am rocking the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry ground.’
       7 “‘And I will rock all the nations, and the desirable things of all the nations must come in; and I will fill this house with glory,’ Jehovah of armies has said.
       8 “‘The silver is mine, and the gold is mine,’ is the utterance of Jehovah of armies.
       9 “‘Greater will the glory of this later house become than [that of] the former,’ Jehovah of armies has said.
      “‘And in this place I shall give peace,’ is the utterance of Jehovah of armies.”

10 In the twenty-fourth [day] of the ninth [month], in the second year of Darius, the word of Jehovah occurred to Haggai the prophet, saying: 11 “This is what Jehovah of armies has said, ‘Ask, please, the priests as to [the] law, saying: 12 “If a man carries holy flesh in the skirt of his garment, and he actually touches with his skirt bread or stew or wine or oil or any sort of food, will it become holy?”’”
      And the priests proceeded to answer and say: “No!”
      13 And Haggai went on to say: “If someone unclean by a deceased soul touches any of these things, will it become unclean?”
      In turn the priests answered and said: “It will become unclean.”
      14 Accordingly Haggai answered and said: “‘That is how this people is, and that is how this nation is before me,’ is the utterance of Jehovah, ‘and that is how all the work of their hands is, and whatever they present there. It is unclean.’

15 “‘But now, please, set YOUR heart [on this] from this day and forward, before there was the placing of a stone upon a stone in the temple of Jehovah, 16 from when those things happened to be—one came to a heap of twenty [measures], and it proved to be ten; one came to the press vat to draw off fifty [measures] of the wine trough, and it proved to be twenty; 17 I struck YOU people with scorching and with mildew and with hail, even all the work of YOUR hands, and there was no one with YOU [turning] to me,’ is the utterance of Jehovah—

18 “‘Set YOUR heart, please, [on this] from this day and forward, from the twenty-fourth [day] of the ninth [month], from the day that the foundation of the temple of Jehovah was laid; set YOUR heart [on this]: 19 Is there as yet the seed in the grain pit? And as yet, the vine and the fig tree and the pomegranate tree and the olive tree—it has not borne, has it? From this day I shall bestow blessing.’”

20 And the word of Jehovah proceeded to occur a second time to Haggai on the twenty-fourth [day] of the month, saying: 21 “Say to Zerubbabel the governor of Judah, ‘I am rocking the heavens and the earth. 22 And I shall certainly overthrow the throne of kingdoms and annihilate the strength of the kingdoms of the nations; and I will overthrow [the] chariot and its riders, and [the] horses and their riders will certainly come down, each one by the sword of his brother.’”

23 “‘In that day,’ is the utterance of Jehovah of armies, ‘I shall take you, O Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, my servant,’ is the utterance of Jehovah; ‘and I shall certainly set you as a seal ring, because you are the one whom I have chosen,’ is the utterance of Jehovah of armies.”