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Zephaniah 1

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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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I will utterly consume all things from off the land, saith the Lord.

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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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I will also stretch out mine hand upon Judah, and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and I will cut off the remnant of Baal from this place, and the name of the Chemarims with the priests;

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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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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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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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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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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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And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord, that there shall be the noise of a cry from the fish gate, and an howling from the second, and a great crashing from the hills.

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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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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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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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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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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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A day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities, and against the high towers.

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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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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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Zephaniah 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.”

Study Summary

Be silent before the Lord GOD! For the day of the LORD is at hand; the LORD has prepared a sacrifice; he has consecrated his guests—the command to silence before God establishes the sobering reality: the Day of the LORD approaches imminently, and its mechanism has been prepared. The metaphor of sacrifice and consecrated guests darkly invokes temple imagery; Judah and Jerusalem will become sacrificial victims, the 'guests' invited to their own doom. The verse establishes both imminence and inevitability.

Community Reflections

1
Elena Petrova (Test User)7h ago
What it means to love — Zephaniah 1

I notice the repetition here is deliberate — the author wants us to feel the emphasis, to let the truth sink deep into our hearts.. When we read this alongside the surrounding chapters, the narrative arc becomes clear: God is always working redemption, even in the darkest moments.. God is faithful in every circumstance.. God is faithful in every circumstance.. We bring nothing; He provides everything.. The thread of covenant runs through every book of the Bible.. There's something deeply comforting about knowing that the same God who spoke these words is the same yesterday, today, and forever.. What a reminder that God's ways are not our ways. His timing, His methods, His purposes — all beyond our comprehension, yet perfectly good.. God meets us exactly where we are — broken, uncertain, yet chosen. God is faithful in every circumstance.. God meets us exactly where we are — broken, uncertain,…

Read the note →
1
wJLrXXCmgFEEhqAcuusYmLp fJOmHAIFbPYmnreheyA (test user)7h ago
Living with purpose — Zephaniah 1

God is faithful in every circumstance.. God is faithful in every circumstance.. God is faithful in every circumstance.. God is faithful in every circumstance.. God is faithful in every circumstance.. Faith isn't the absence of doubt — it's choosing to believe despite it.. God is faithful in every circumstance.. It implies covenant loyalty, steadfast love that never wavers.. We bring nothing; He provides everything.. God is faithful in every circumstance.. God is faithful in every circumstance.. The contrast between human weakness and divine strength is so vivid in this passage. God is faithful in every circumstance.. His timing, His methods, His purposes — all beyond our comprehension, yet perfectly good.. God is faithful in every circumstance.. God is faithful in every circumstance.. God is faithful in every circumstance.. God is faithful in every circumstance.. Now I understand why — it's a daily declaration of dependence on God.. It implies covenant…

Read the note →

Zephaniah 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.”

Study Summary

Be silent before the Lord GOD! For the day of the LORD is at hand; the LORD has prepared a sacrifice; he has consecrated his guests—the command to silence before God establishes the sobering reality: the Day of the LORD approaches imminently, and its mechanism has been prepared. The metaphor of sacrifice and consecrated guests darkly invokes temple imagery; Judah and Jerusalem will become sacrificial victims, the 'guests' invited to their own doom. The verse establishes both imminence and inevitability.

Community Reflections

1
Elena Petrova (Test User)7h ago
What it means to love — Zephaniah 1

I notice the repetition here is deliberate — the author wants us to feel the emphasis, to let the truth sink deep into our hearts.. When we read this alongside the surrounding chapters, the narrative arc becomes clear: God is always working redemption, even in the darkest moments.. God is faithful in every circumstance.. God is faithful in every circumstance.. We bring nothing; He provides everything.. The thread of covenant runs through every book of the Bible.. There's something deeply comforting about knowing that the same God who spoke these words is the same yesterday, today, and forever.. What a reminder that God's ways are not our ways. His timing, His methods, His purposes — all beyond our comprehension, yet perfectly good.. God meets us exactly where we are — broken, uncertain, yet chosen. God is faithful in every circumstance.. God meets us exactly where we are — broken, uncertain,…

Read the note →
1
wJLrXXCmgFEEhqAcuusYmLp fJOmHAIFbPYmnreheyA (test user)7h ago
Living with purpose — Zephaniah 1

God is faithful in every circumstance.. God is faithful in every circumstance.. God is faithful in every circumstance.. God is faithful in every circumstance.. God is faithful in every circumstance.. Faith isn't the absence of doubt — it's choosing to believe despite it.. God is faithful in every circumstance.. It implies covenant loyalty, steadfast love that never wavers.. We bring nothing; He provides everything.. God is faithful in every circumstance.. God is faithful in every circumstance.. The contrast between human weakness and divine strength is so vivid in this passage. God is faithful in every circumstance.. His timing, His methods, His purposes — all beyond our comprehension, yet perfectly good.. God is faithful in every circumstance.. God is faithful in every circumstance.. God is faithful in every circumstance.. God is faithful in every circumstance.. Now I understand why — it's a daily declaration of dependence on God.. It implies covenant…

Read the note →

Zephaniah 1:7

Be silent before the Lord GOD! For the day of the LORD is at hand; the LORD has prepared a sacrifice; he has consecrated his guests—the command to silence before God establishes the sobering reality: the Day of the LORD approaches imminently, and its mechanism has been prepared. The metaphor of sacrifice and consecrated guests darkly invokes temple imagery; Judah and Jerusalem will become sacrificial victims, the 'guests' invited to their own doom. The verse establishes both imminence and inevitability.