The word of the LORD that came to Zephaniah the son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah.

    “I will utterly sweep away everything
        from the face of the earth,” declares the LORD.
    “I will sweep away man and beast;
        I will sweep away the birds of the heavens
        and the fish of the sea,
    and the rubble with the wicked.
        I will cut off mankind
        from the face of the earth,” declares the LORD.
    “I will stretch out my hand against Judah
        and against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem;
    and I will cut off from this place the remnant of Baal
        and the name of the idolatrous priests along with the priests,
    those who bow down on the roofs
        to the host of the heavens,
    those who bow down and swear to the LORD
        and yet swear by Milcom,
    those who have turned back from following the LORD,
        who do not seek the LORD or inquire of him.”
    
    
        Be silent before the Lord GOD!
        For the day of the LORD is near;
    the LORD has prepared a sacrifice
        and consecrated his guests.
    And on the day of the LORD’s sacrifice—
    “I will punish the officials and the king’s sons
        and all who array themselves in foreign attire.
    On that day I will punish
        everyone who leaps over the threshold,
    and those who fill their master’s house
        with violence and fraud.
    
    
    “On that day,” declares the LORD,
        “a cry will be heard from the Fish Gate,
    a wail from the Second Quarter,
        a loud crash from the hills.
    Wail, O inhabitants of the Mortar!
        For all the traders are no more;
        all who weigh out silver are cut off.
    At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps,
        and I will punish the men
    who are complacent,
        those who say in their hearts,
    ‘The LORD will not do good,
        nor will he do ill.’
    Their goods shall be plundered,
        and their houses laid waste.
    Though they build houses,
        they shall not inhabit them;
    though they plant vineyards,
        they shall not drink wine from them.”
    
    
    The great day of the LORD is near,
        near and hastening fast;
    the sound of the day of the LORD is bitter;
        the mighty man cries aloud there.
    A day of wrath is that day,
        a day of distress and anguish,
    a day of ruin and devastation,
        a day of darkness and gloom,
    a day of clouds and thick darkness,
        a day of trumpet blast and battle cry
    against the fortified cities
        and against the lofty battlements.
    
    
    I will bring distress on mankind,
        so that they shall walk like the blind,
        because they have sinned against the LORD;
    their blood shall be poured out like dust,
        and their flesh like dung.
    Neither their silver nor their gold
        shall be able to deliver them
        on the day of the wrath of the LORD.
    In the fire of his jealousy,
        all the earth shall be consumed;
    for a full and sudden end
        he will make of all the inhabitants of the earth.
    
    
        Gather together, yes, gather,
        O shameless nation,
    before the decree takes effect
        —before the day passes away like chaff—
    before there comes upon you
        the burning anger of the LORD,
    before there comes upon you
        the day of the anger of the LORD.
    Seek the LORD, all you humble of the land,
        who do his just commands;
    seek righteousness; seek humility;
        perhaps you may be hidden
        on the day of the anger of the LORD.
    For Gaza shall be deserted,
        and Ashkelon shall become a desolation;
    Ashdod’s people shall be driven out at noon,
        and Ekron shall be uprooted.
    
    
    Woe to you inhabitants of the seacoast,
        you nation of the Cherethites!
    The word of the LORD is against you,
        O Canaan, land of the Philistines;
        and I will destroy you until no inhabitant is left.
    And you, O seacoast, shall be pastures,
        with meadows for shepherds
        and folds for flocks.
    The seacoast shall become the possession
        of the remnant of the house of Judah,
        on which they shall graze,
    and in the houses of Ashkelon
        they shall lie down at evening.
    For the LORD their God will be mindful of them
        and restore their fortunes.
    
    
    “I have heard the taunts of Moab
        and the revilings of the Ammonites,
    how they have taunted my people
        and made boasts against their territory. (ESV)

As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him. Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand.

  One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God. For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.

  Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; for it is written,

    “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me,
        and every tongue shall confess to God.”
    
    
      So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.

  Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother. I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself, but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean. For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. By what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died. So do not let what you regard as good be spoken of as evil. For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Whoever thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men. So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.

  Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats. It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble. The faith that you have, keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who has no reason to pass judgment on himself for what he approves. But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin. (ESV)