See in Reader
102 lines
4.2 KiB
Plaintext
102 lines
4.2 KiB
Plaintext
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\s5
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\c 1
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\p
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\v 1 Yahweh's message came to Zephaniah son of Cushi, the grandson of Gedaliah, and the great-grandson of Amariah, whose father was King Hezekiah.
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Yahweh gave this message during the time when King Amon's son Josiah was the king of Judah.
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\q1
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\v 2 Yahweh said,
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\q2 "I will sweep away everything that is on the earth.
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\q1
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\v 3 I will sweep away people and animals.
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\q2 I will sweep away birds and fish.
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\q1 I will get rid of wicked people;
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\q2 so that there will be no more wicked people on the earth."
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\s5
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\q1
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\v 4 "These are some of the things that I will do:
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\q2 I will punish the people who live in Jerusalem and other places in Judah,
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\q2 and destroy everything that has been used in the worship of Baal and
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\q1 and cause people to no longer remember the names of the pagan priests
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\q2 or the other priests who have turned away from me.
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\q1
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\v 5 I will get rid of those who go up on the roofs of their houses and worship the sun, moon, and stars,
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\q2 and those who claim to worship me but also swear using the name of their king.
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\q1
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\v 6 Finally, I will get rid of all those who previously worshiped me but no longer do;
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\q2 those who no longer seek my help or request me to tell them what they should do."
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\s5
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\q1
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\v 7 Be silent in front of Yahweh the Lord,
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\q2 because it will soon be the time when Yahweh will judge and punish people.
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\q1 Yahweh has prepared himself to get rid of the people of Judah;
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\q2 they will be like animals that are set apart to be slaughtered for sacrifices,
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\q2 and he has chosen their enemies to be the ones who will get rid of them.
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\q1
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\v 8 Yahweh says, "On that day when I will get rid of the people of Judah,
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\q2 I will punish their officials and the king's sons,
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\q2 and all those who worship foreign gods—
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\q1
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\v 9 including those who show that they revere their god Dagan by avoiding stepping on the threshold of his temple,
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\q2 and those who do violent things and tell lies in the temples of their gods."
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\s5
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\q1
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\v 10 Yahweh also says,
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\q2 "On that day, people will cry out at the Fish Gate of Jerusalem.
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\q1 People will wail in the Second Quarter of the city,
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\q2 and people will hear a loud crash of buildings collapsing in the hills.
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\q1
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\v 11 All you people who live in the market area of Jerusalem should wail,
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\q2 because all those who sell goods for money will be slaughtered.
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\s5
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\q1
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\v 12 It will be as though I will light lanterns to search in dark places in Jerusalem
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\q2 for those who have become very satisfied with their behavior and complacent about their sins.
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\q1 They think that I, Yahweh, will do neither good nor bad things, as if I do not even exist!
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\q1
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\v 13 So I have decided that armies will come and carry off their valuable possessions,
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\q2 after destroying their houses.
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\q1 The people will build new homes,
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\q2 but they will not live in them;
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\q1 they will plant vineyards again,
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\q2 but they will never drink any wine made from grapes that grow."
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\s5
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\q1
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\v 14 It will soon be the day when Yahweh will punish people.
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\q2 It will be here quickly.
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\q1 It will be a time when even brave soldiers will cry loudly.
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\q1
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\v 15 It will be a time when God shows that he is very angry,
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\q2 a time when people experience much distress and trouble.
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\q1 It will be a time when many things are ruined, destroyed, and when everyone goes away.
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\q2 It will be a time when it is very gloomy and dark,
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\q2 when the clouds are very black.
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\q1
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\v 16 It will be a time when soldiers will blow trumpets to call other soldiers to battle.
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\q2 Your enemies will tear down the walls around your cities
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\q2 and the high towers at the corners of those walls.
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\s5
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\q1
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\v 17 Because you sinned against Yahweh,
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\q2 he will cause you to experience great distress;
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\q2 you will walk around groping as blind people do.
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\q1 Your blood will flow from your bodies like falling soil,
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\q2 and your corpses will lie on the ground and rot.
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\q1
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\v 18 At the time that Yahweh shows that he is very angry with you,
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\q2 you will not be able to save yourselves
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\q2 by giving silver or gold to your enemies.
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\q1 Because Yahweh is very jealous,
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\q2 he will send a fire to burn up the entire world,
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\q1 and he will completely get rid, in a most terrifying way, of all the wicked people who live on the earth.
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