Zephaniah 1-3, Psalm 74, 2 Corinthians 8 - NASB Bible Online

Zephaniah 1-3

Day of Judgment on Judah

The word of the Lord which came to Zephaniah son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah, in the days of ^aJosiah son of ^bAmon, king of Judah:
2

“I will completely ^aremove all things

From the face of the ¹earth,” declares the Lord.

“I will remove ^aman and beast;

I will remove the ^bbirds of the sky

And the fish of the sea,

And the ¹^cruins along with the wicked;

And I will cut off man from the face of the ²earth,” declares the Lord.

“So I will ^astretch out My hand against Judah

And against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

And I will ^bcut off the remnant of Baal from this place,

And the names of the ^cidolatrous priests along with the priests.

“And those who bow down on the ^ahousetops to the host of heaven,

And those who bow down and ^bswear to the Lord and yet swear by ¹^cMilcom,

And those who have ^aturned back from following the Lord,

And those who have ^bnot sought the Lord or inquired of Him.”

¹^aBe silent before the Lord ²God!

For the ^bday of the Lord is near,

For the Lord has prepared a ^csacrifice,

He has ^dconsecrated His guests.

“Then it will come about on the day of the Lord’s sacrifice

That I will ^apunish the princes, the king’s sons

And all who clothe themselves with ^bforeign garments.

“And I will punish on that day all who leap on the temple threshold,

Who fill the house of their ¹lord with ^aviolence and deceit.

“On that day,” declares the Lord,

“There will be the sound of a cry from the ^aFish Gate,

A wail from the ¹^bSecond Quarter,

And a loud crash from the ^chills.

“Wail, O inhabitants of the ¹Mortar,

For all the ²people of ^aCanaan will be silenced;

All who weigh out ^bsilver will be cut off.

“It will come about at that time

That I will ^asearch Jerusalem with lamps,

And I will punish the men

Who are ¹^bstagnant in spirit,

Who say in their hearts,

‘The Lord will ^cnot do good or evil!’

“Moreover, their wealth will become ^aplunder

And their houses desolate;

Yes, ^bthey will build houses but not inhabit them,

And plant vineyards but not drink their wine.”

Near is the ^agreat ^bday of the Lord,

Near and coming very quickly;

Listen, the day of the Lord!

¹In it the warrior ^ccries out bitterly.

A day of wrath is that day,

A day of ^atrouble and distress,

A day of destruction and desolation,

A day of ^bdarkness and gloom,

A day of clouds and thick darkness,

A day of ^atrumpet and battle cry

Against the ^bfortified cities

And the high corner towers.

I will bring ^adistress on men

So that they will walk ^blike the blind,

Because they have sinned against the Lord;

And their ^cblood will be poured out like dust

And their ^dflesh like dung.

Neither their ^asilver nor their gold

Will be able to deliver them

On the day of the Lord’s wrath;

And ^ball the earth will be devoured

In the fire of His jealousy,

For He will ^cmake a complete end,

Indeed a terrifying one,

Of all the inhabitants of the earth.

Judgments on Judah’s Enemies

Gather yourselves together, yes, ^agather,

O nation ^bwithout ¹shame,

Before the decree ¹takes effect⁠—

The day passes ^alike the chaff⁠—

Before the ^bburning anger of the Lord comes upon you,

Before the ^cday of the Lord’s anger comes upon you.

^aSeek the Lord,

All you ^bhumble of the ¹earth

Who have carried out His ²ordinances;

^cSeek righteousness, seek humility.

Perhaps you will be ^dhidden

In the day of the Lord’s anger.

For ^aGaza will be abandoned

And Ashkelon a desolation;

^aAshdod will be driven out at noon

And ^aEkron will be uprooted.

Woe to the inhabitants of the seacoast,

The nation of the ¹^aCherethites!

The word of the Lord is ^bagainst you,

O ^cCanaan, land of the Philistines;

And I will ^ddestroy you

So that there will be ^eno inhabitant.

So the seacoast will be ^apastures,

With ¹caves for shepherds and folds for flocks.

And the coast will be

For the ^aremnant of the house of Judah,

They will ^bpasture on it.

In the houses of Ashkelon they will lie down at evening;

For the Lord their God will ^ccare for them

And ^drestore their fortune.

“I have heard the ¹^ataunting of Moab

And the ^brevilings of the sons of Ammon,

With which they have ²taunted My people

And ³^cbecome arrogant against their territory.

“Therefore, as I live,” declares the Lord of hosts,

The God of Israel,

“Surely ^aMoab will be like ^bSodom

And the sons of ^cAmmon like ^dGomorrah⁠—

A place possessed by nettles and salt pits,

And a perpetual desolation.

The remnant of My people will ^eplunder them

And the remainder of My nation will inherit them.”

10 This they will have in return for their ^apride, because they have ¹^btaunted and ²become arrogant against the people of the Lord of hosts. 11 The Lord will be ^aterrifying to them, for He will ¹starve ^ball the gods of the earth; and all the ^ccoastlands of the nations will ^dbow down to Him, everyone from his own place.
12

“You also, O ^aEthiopians, will be slain by My sword.”

And He will ^astretch out His hand against the north

And destroy ^bAssyria,

And He will make ^cNineveh a desolation,

Parched like the wilderness.

Flocks will lie down in her midst,

¹All beasts which range in herds;

Both the ²^apelican and the hedgehog

Will lodge in ³the tops of her pillars;

⁴Birds will sing in the window,

Desolation will be on the threshold;

For He has laid bare the cedar work.

This is the ^aexultant city

Which ^bdwells securely,

Who says in her heart,

“^cI am, and there is no one besides me.”

How she has become a ^ddesolation,

A resting place for beasts!

^eEveryone who passes by her will hiss

And wave his hand in contempt.

Woe to Jerusalem and the Nations

Woe to her who is ^arebellious and ^bdefiled,

The ^ctyrannical city!

She ^aheeded no voice,

She ^baccepted no instruction.

She did not ^ctrust in the Lord,

She did not ^ddraw near to her God.

Her ^aprinces within her are roaring lions,

Her judges are ^bwolves at evening;

They leave nothing for the morning.

Her prophets are ^areckless, treacherous men;

Her ^bpriests have profaned the sanctuary.

They have done violence to the law.

The Lord is ^arighteous ^bwithin her;

He will ^cdo no injustice.

^dEvery morning He brings His justice to light;

He does not fail.

But the unjust ^eknows no shame.

“I have cut off nations;

Their corner towers are in ruins.

I have made their streets ^adesolate,

With no one passing by;

Their ^bcities are laid waste,

Without a man, ^cwithout an inhabitant.

“I said, ‘Surely you will revere Me,

^aAccept instruction.’

So her dwelling will ^bnot be cut off

According to all that I have appointed concerning her.

But they were eager to ^ccorrupt all their deeds.

“Therefore ^await for Me,” declares the Lord,

“For the day when I rise up as a witness.

Indeed, My decision is to ^bgather nations,

To assemble kingdoms,

To pour out on them My indignation,

All My burning anger;

For ^call the earth will be devoured

By the fire of My zeal.

“For then I will ¹give to the peoples ^apurified lips,

That all of them may ^bcall on the name of the Lord,

To serve Him ²shoulder to shoulder.

“From beyond the rivers of ^aEthiopia

My ¹worshipers, ²My dispersed ones,

Will ^bbring My offerings.

“In that day you will ^afeel no shame

Because of all your deeds

By which you have rebelled against Me;

For then I will remove from your midst

Your ^bproud, exulting ones,

And you will never again be haughty

On My ^choly mountain.

A Remnant of Israel

“But I will leave among you

A ^ahumble and lowly people,

And they will ^btake refuge in the name of the Lord.

“The ^aremnant of Israel will ^bdo no wrong

And ^ctell no lies,

Nor will a deceitful tongue

Be found in their mouths;

For they will ^dfeed and lie down

With no one to make them tremble.”

Shout for joy, O daughter of Zion!

^aShout in triumph, O Israel!

Rejoice and exult with all your heart,

O daughter of Jerusalem!

The Lord has taken away ^aHis judgments against you,

He has cleared away your enemies.

The King of Israel, the Lord, is ^bin your midst;

You will ^cfear disaster no more.

^aIn that day it will be said to Jerusalem:

“^bDo not be afraid, O Zion;

^cDo not let your hands fall limp.

“The Lord your God is ^ain your midst,

A ¹^bvictorious warrior.

He will ^cexult over you with joy,

He will ²be quiet in His love,

He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.

“I will gather those who ^agrieve about the appointed feasts⁠—

They ¹came from you, O Zion;

The reproach of exile is a burden on ²them.

“Behold, I am going to deal at that time

With all your ^aoppressors,

I will save the ^blame

And gather the outcast,

And I will turn their ^cshame into ^dpraise and renown

In all the earth.

“At that time I will ^abring you in,

Even at the time when I gather you together;

Indeed, I will give you ^brenown and praise

Among all the peoples of the earth,

When I ^crestore your fortunes before your eyes,”

Says the Lord.

Psalm 74

An Appeal against the Devastation of the Land by the Enemy.

A ¹Maskil of Asaph.

O God, why have You ^arejected us forever?

Why does Your anger ^bsmoke against the ^csheep of Your ²pasture?

Remember Your congregation, which You have ^apurchased of old,

Which You have ^bredeemed to be the ^ctribe of Your inheritance;

And this Mount ^dZion, where You have dwelt.

¹Turn Your footsteps toward the ^aperpetual ruins;

The enemy ^bhas damaged everything within the sanctuary.

Your adversaries have ^aroared in the midst of Your meeting place;

They have set up their ^bown ¹standards ^cfor signs.

It seems as if one had lifted up

His ¹^aaxe in a ²forest of trees.

And now ¹all its ^acarved work

They smash with hatchet and ²hammers.

They have ¹^aburned Your sanctuary ²to the ground;

They have ^bdefiled the dwelling place of Your name.

They ^asaid in their heart, “Let us ¹completely ²subdue them.”

They have burned all the meeting places of God in the land.

We do not see our ^asigns;

There is ^bno longer any prophet,

Nor is there any among us who knows ^chow long.

How long, O God, will the adversary ^arevile,

And the enemy ^bspurn Your name forever?

Why ^ado You withdraw Your hand, even Your right hand?

From within Your bosom, ^bdestroy them!

Yet God is ^amy king from of old,

Who works deeds of deliverance in the midst of the earth.

¹You ^adivided the sea by Your strength;

¹You ^bbroke the heads of the ^csea monsters ²in the waters.

¹You crushed the heads of ²^aLeviathan;

¹You gave him as food for the ³creatures ^bof the wilderness.

¹You ^abroke open springs and torrents;

¹You ^bdried up ever‑flowing streams.

Yours is the day, Yours also is the night;

¹You have ^aprepared the ²light and the sun.

¹You have ^aestablished all the boundaries of the earth;

¹You have ²made ^bsummer and winter.

Remember this, ¹O Lord, that the enemy has ^areviled,

And a ^bfoolish people has spurned Your name.

Do not deliver the soul of Your ^aturtledove to the wild beast;

^bDo not forget the life of Your afflicted forever.

Consider the ^acovenant;

For the ^bdark places of the land are full of the habitations of violence.

Let not the ^aoppressed return dishonored;

Let the ^bafflicted and needy praise Your name.

Arise, O God, and ^aplead Your own cause;

Remember ¹how the ^bfoolish man reproaches You all day long.

Do not forget the voice of Your ^aadversaries,

The ^buproar of those who rise against You which ascends continually.

2 Corinthians 8

Great Generosity

Now, brethren, we wish to make known to you the grace of God which has been ^agiven in the churches of ^bMacedonia, 2 that in a great ordeal of affliction their abundance of joy and their deep poverty overflowed in the ^awealth of their liberality. 3 For I testify that ^aaccording to their ability, and beyond their ability, they gave of their own accord, 4 begging us with much urging for the ^afavor ¹of participation in the ²^bsupport of the ³saints, 5 and this, not as we had ¹expected, but they first ^agave themselves to the Lord and to us by ^bthe will of God. 6 So we ^aurged ^bTitus that as he had previously ^cmade a beginning, so he would also complete in you ^dthis gracious work as well.
7 But just as you ^aabound ^bin everything, in faith and utterance and knowledge and in all earnestness and in the ¹love we inspired in you, see that you ^aabound in this gracious work also. 8 I ^aam not speaking this as a command, but as proving through the earnestness of others the sincerity of your love also. 9 For you know ^athe grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ^bthough He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich. 10 I ^agive my opinion in this matter, for this is to your advantage, who were the first to begin ^ba year ago not only to do this, but also to desire to do it. 11 But now finish ¹doing it also, so that just as there was the ^areadiness to desire it, so there may be also the completion of it by your ability. 12 For if the readiness is present, it is acceptable ^aaccording to what a person has, not according to what he does not have. 13 For this is not for the ease of others and for your affliction, but by way of equality⁠— 14 at this present time your abundance being a supply for ^atheir need, so that their abundance also may become a supply for ^ayour need, that there may be equality; 15 as it is written, “^aHe who gathered much did not have too much, and he who gathered little had no lack.”
16 But ^athanks be to God who ^bputs the same earnestness on your behalf in the heart of ^cTitus. 17 For he not only accepted our ^aappeal, but being himself very earnest, he has gone to you of his own accord. 18 We have sent along with him ^athe brother whose fame in the things of the ^bgospel has spread through ^call the churches; 19 ^aand not only this, but he has also been ^bappointed by the churches to travel with us in ^cthis gracious work, which is being administered by us for the glory of the Lord Himself, and to show our ^dreadiness, 20 ¹taking precaution so that no one will discredit us in our administration of this generous gift; 21 for we ^ahave regard for what is honorable, not only in ^bthe sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men. 22 We have sent with them our brother, whom we have often tested and found diligent in many things, but now even more diligent because of his great confidence in you. 23 As for ^aTitus, he is my ^bpartner and fellow worker ¹among you; as for our ^cbrethren, they are ²^dmessengers of the churches, ^ea glory to Christ. 24 Therefore ¹openly before the churches, ²show them the proof of your love and of our ^areason for boasting about you.

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