A church that says no to missions is not just saying no to men. It is not just a matter of leaving men in their sins. It is saying no to God’s greatest concern: the spreading of His glorious name among the peoples of the world. This is His passionate concern; it must be ours.
Steve Fernandez

Zephaniah

Zephaniah

{1:1} The word of Jehovah which came unto Zephaniah the son ofCushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hezekiah, inthe days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah. {1:2} I will utterlyconsume all things from off the face of the ground, saith Jehovah.{1:3} I will consume man and beast; I will consume the birds of theheavens, and the fishes of the sea, and the stumblingblocks with thewicked; and I will cut off man from off the face of the ground, saithJehovah. {1:4} And I will stretch out my hand upon Judah, and upon allthe inhabitants of Jerusalem; and I will cut off the remnant of Baalfrom this place, [and] the name of the Chemarim with the priests; {1:5}and them that worship the host of heaven upon the housetops; and themthat worship, that swear to Jehovah and swear by Malcam; {1:6} and themthat are turned back from following Jehovah; and those that have notsought Jehovah, nor inquired after him. {1:7} Hold thy peace at thepresence of the Lord Jehovah; for the day of Jehovah is at hand: forJehovah hath prepared a sacrifice, he hath consecrated his guests.{1:8} And it shall come to pass in the day of Jehovah’s sacrifice, thatI will punish the princes, and the king’s sons, and all such as areclothed with foreign apparel. {1:9} And in that day I will punish allthose that leap over the threshold, that fill their master’s house withviolence and deceit. {1:10} And in that day, saith Jehovah, there shallbe the noise of a cry from the fish gate, and a wailing from the secondquarter, and a great crashing from the hills. {1:11} Wail, yeinhabitants of Maktesh; for all the people of Canaan are undone; allthey that were laden with silver are cut off. {1:12} And it shall cometo pass at that time, that I will search Jerusalem with lamps; and Iwill punish the men that are settled on their lees, that say in theirheart, Jehovah will not do good, neither will he do evil. {1:13} Andtheir wealth shall become a spoil, and their houses a desolation: yea,they shall build houses, but shall not inhabit them; and they shallplant vineyards, but shall not drink the wine thereof. {1:14} The greatday of Jehovah is near, it is near and hasteth greatly, [even] thevoice of the day of Jehovah; the mighty man crieth there bitterly.{1:15} That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a dayof wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day ofclouds and thick darkness, {1:16} a day of the trumpet and alarm,against the fortified cities, and against the high battlements. {1:17}And I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like blindmen, because they have sinned against Jehovah; and their blood shall bepoured out as dust, and their flesh as dung. {1:18} Neither theirsilver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day ofJehovah’s wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire ofhis jealousy: for he will make an end, yea, a terrible end, of all themthat dwell in the land.

{2:1} Gather yourselves together, yea, gather together, O nationthat hath no shame; {2:2} before the decree bring forth, [before] theday pass as the chaff, before the fierce anger of Jehovah come uponyou, before the day of Jehovah’s anger come upon you. {2:3} Seek yeJehovah, all ye meek of the earth, that have kept his ordinances; seekrighteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye will be hid in the day ofJehovah’s anger. {2:4} For Gaza shall be forsaken, and Ashkelon adesolation; they shall drive out Ashdod at noonday, and Ekron shall berooted up. {2:5} Woe unto the inhabitants of the sea-coast, the nationof the Cherethites! The word of Jehovah is against you, O Canaan, theland of the Philistines; I will destroy thee, that there shall be noinhabitant. {2:6} And the sea-coast shall be pastures, with cottagesfor shepherds and folds for flocks. {2:7} And the coast shall be forthe remnant of the house of Judah; they shall feed [their flocks]thereupon; in the houses of Ashkelon shall they lie down in theevening; for Jehovah their God will visit them, and bring back theircaptivity. {2:8} I have heard the reproach of Moab, and the revilingsof the children of Ammon, wherewith they have reproached my people, andmagnified themselves against their border. {2:9} Therefore as I live,saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, Surely Moab shall be asSodom, and the children of Ammon as Gomorrah, a possession of nettles,and saltpits, and a perpetual desolation: the residue of my peopleshall make a prey of them, and the remnant of my nation shall inheritthem. {2:10} This shall they have for their pride, because they havereproached and magnified themselves against the people of Jehovah ofhosts. {2:11} Jehovah will be terrible unto them; for he will famishall the gods of the earth; and men shall worship him, every one fromhis place, even all the isles of the nations. {2:12} Ye Ethiopiansalso, ye shall be slain by my sword. {2:13} And he will stretch out hishand against the north, and destroy Assyria, and will make Nineveh adesolation, and dry like the wilderness. {2:14} And herds shall liedown in the midst of her, all the beasts of the nations: both thepelican and the porcupine shall lodge in the capitals thereof; [their]voice shall sing in the windows; desolation shall be in the thresholds:for he hath laid bare the cedar-work. {2:15} This is the joyous citythat dwelt carelessly, that said in her heart, I am, and there is nonebesides me: how is she become a desolation, a place for beasts to liedown in! every one that passeth by her shall hiss, and wag his hand.

{3:1} Woe to her that is rebellious and polluted! to the oppressingcity! {3:2} She obeyed not the voice; she received not correction; shetrusted not in Jehovah; she drew not near to her God. {3:3} Her princesin the midst of her are roaring lions; her judges are evening wolves;they leave nothing till the morrow. {3:4} Her prophets are light andtreacherous persons; her priests have profaned the sanctuary, they havedone violence to the law. {3:5} Jehovah in the midst of her isrighteous; he will not do iniquity; every morning doth he bring hisjustice to light, he faileth not; but the unjust knoweth no shame.{3:6} I have cut off nations; their battlements are desolate; I havemade their streets waste, so that none passeth by; their cities aredestroyed, so that there is no man, so that there is no inhabitant.{3:7} I said, Only fear thou me; receive correction; so her dwellingshall not be cut off, [according to] all that I have appointedconcerning her: but they rose early and corrupted all their doings.{3:8} Therefore wait ye for me, saith Jehovah, until the day that Irise up to the prey; for my determination is to gather the nations,that I may assemble the kingdoms, to pour upon them mine indignation,even all my fierce anger; for all the earth shall be devoured with thefire of my jealousy. {3:9} For then will I turn to the peoples of apure language, that they may all call upon the name of Jehovah, toserve him with one consent. {3:10} From beyond the rivers of Ethiopiamy suppliants, even the daughter of my dispersed, shall bring mineoffering. {3:11} In that day shalt thou not be put to shame for all thydoings, wherein thou hast transgressed against me; for then I will takeaway out of the midst of thee thy proudly exulting ones, and thou shaltno more be haughty in my holy mountain. {3:12} But I will leave in themidst of thee an afflicted and poor people, and they shall take refugein the name of Jehovah. {3:13} The remnant of Israel shall not doiniquity, nor speak lies; neither shall a deceitful tongue be found intheir mouth; for they shall feed and lie down, and none shall make themafraid. {3:14} Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel; be glad andrejoice with all the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem. {3:15} Jehovahhath taken away thy judgments, he hath cast out thine enemy: the Kingof Israel, even Jehovah, is in the midst of thee; thou shalt not fearevil any more. {3:16} In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem, Fearthou not; O Zion, let not thy hands be slack. {3:17} Jehovah thy God isin the midst of thee, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice overthee with joy; he will rest in his love; he will joy over thee withsinging. {3:18} I will gather them that sorrow for the solemn assembly,who were of thee; [to whom] the burden upon her was a reproach. {3:19}Behold, at that time I will deal with all them that afflict thee; and Iwill save that which is lame, and gather that which was driven away;and I will make them a praise and a name, whose shame hath been in allthe earth. {3:20} At that time will I bring you in, and at that timewill I gather you; for I will make you a name and a praise among allthe peoples of the earth, when I bring back your captivity before youreyes, saith Jehovah.

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