Condemning the Overbearing City

Zephaniah 3:1–8

Biblical Period

1Ah, sullied, polluted,
Overbearing city!
2She has been disobedient,
Has learned no lesson;
She has not trusted in the Lord,
Has not drawn near to her God.
3The officials within her
Are roaring lions;
Her judges are wolves of the steppe,
They leave no bone until morning.
4Her prophets are reckless,
Faithless fellows;
Her priests profane what is holy,
They give perverse rulings.
5But the Lord in her midst is righteous,
He does no wrong;
He issues judgment every morning,
As unfailing as the light.
The wrongdoer knows no shame!
6I wiped out nations:
Their corner towers are desolate;
I turned their thoroughfares into ruins,
With none passing by;
Their towns lie waste without people,
Without inhabitants.
7And I thought that she would fear Me,
Would learn a lesson,
And that the punishment I brought on them
Would not be lost on her.
Instead, all the more eagerly
They have practiced corruption in all their deeds.
8But wait for Me—says the Lord—
For the day when I arise as an accuser;
When I decide to gather nations,
To bring kingdoms together,
To pour out My indignation on them,
All My blazing anger.
Indeed, by the fire of My passion
All the earth shall be consumed.

Credits

Reprinted from Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures by permission of the University of Nebraska Press. Copyright 1985 by the Jewish Publication Society, Philadelphia.

Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 1.

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