From the Greek Septuagint text as was used by First Century Christians
A mid 7^th Century BCE prophecy agains Jerusalem, its surrounding countries, and the Assyrians.

Chapter 1

¹ These are the words of Jehovah that came to ZephaniAh (the son of Cushi, grandson of GedaliAh, and great-grandson of AmariAh, the son of HezekiAh) in the days of JosiAh (the son of Amon) the king of Judah.

² 'When it comes to being in want, let all on the face of the earth be in want,' says Jehovah! ³ 'Let men and cattle be in want; let things that fly in the sky be in want, as well as the fish in the sea. May the irreverent all become ill… because of their lawless deeds, from the land I'll remove them,' says Jehovah.

⁴ 'Then over Judah I'll stretch out My hand, and on those who live in JeruSalem. The name of BaAl I'll remove from this place, as well as the names of his priests, along with the things dedicated [to him]. ⁵ [I'll remove] those who bow on their roofs, to the armies [and stars] of the skies, as well as those who bow low, and swear their oaths by their Lord, and those swearing oaths by their king… ⁶ all who have turned from Jehovah, and those not seeking the Lord… those who refuse to stick closely [to Him].

⁷ 'Be cautious before Jehovah [your] God, for the Day of the Lord is now near! Jehovah has readied His [great] sacrifice, and His Chosen One He's made holy. ⁸ So, the day of sacrifice will soon come, when He'll take vengeance on the rulers, as well as on the house of the king, and on all those who dress in foreign clothes.

⁹ 'When I take vengeance, you will see it; for, it will come to the gates in that day, of those filling the House of Jehovah their God, with treachery and godless ways.

¹⁰ 'And it will be in that day,' says Jehovah, 'that there'll come the sounds of cries from the gates… [the sounds] of men being stabbed, and in the second quarter, shrieks of women, as well as great battles in the hills.'

¹¹ 'So wail, all you who now dwell there, in this place that will be cut to pieces. For, [as happened] to the people of CanaAn; those who carry silver will be slaughtered!

¹² 'And in that day; I will search through JeruSalem with a lamp, and take vengeance upon all the men, who've not paid no attention to My orders, and on those who say in their hearts, Jehovah will do neither evil nor good!

¹³ 'Then the power to ravage will be given, and to bring all the houses to ruin. For, you will build homes in which you won't live, and you'll plant vineyards but not drink the wine.

¹⁴ 'The Lord's Great Day is now near, and it will come very soon! The sounds of the Day of Jehovah, are ordered to be bitter and harsh.

¹⁵ 'It is a great day of anger; a day of affliction and distress; a day of misery and extinction; a day of dimness and darkness; a day of clouds and [thick] fog.

¹⁶ 'It is a day of the trumpets, and cries against fortified cities, as well as against their high corners. ¹⁷ For, I will squeeze out the men, and they will walk like the blind; for against Jehovah they've sinned.

'So, He'll pour out their blood like the dust, and [pour] their flesh out like dung. ¹⁸ Then their silver and gold will not save them, in the Day of the Rage of Jehovah; for the fire of His zeal will consume the whole land.

'With diligence He will complete it, upon all who dwell in this land.

Chapter 2

¹ 'Gather and be bound together, O you nation that has failed to learn, ² before this day's passed like a blossom… before [God's] wrath comes upon you… before the Day of the Lord's wrath and rage. ³ Seek Jehovah, you meek of the earth! Seek what is righteous and fair; give truthful answers to all; tell them to hide in the Day of God's wrath. ⁴ For, Gaza will soon be plundered, and AshKelon will be an extinction. AshDod will fall at mid-day, and EkRon will be uprooted.

⁵ 'Woe to you in the lands by the sea… all who've [moved there] from Crete. For, the word of the Lord is against you, O Philistines in CanaAn's land; and I will destroy the place where you dwell. ⁶ [Your land] will become pastures for flocks, and havens for sheep. ⁷ And for those who live in the land by the sea (those who are left of Judah's house); AshKelon's homes will be sheep [pens]; for, in the afternoons they will rest there. Then Jehovah will visit Judah's sons, and from their captivity return them.

⁸ 'I've heard the scorning of Moab, and of the ill-treatment by AmMon's sons, when they berated My people, and pushed themselves over My borders. ⁹ Because of this, as I live,' says Jehovah of armies, IsraEl's God; 'Moab will soon be like Sodom, and the sons of AmMon like GomorRah. Damascus will also come to its end, and be heaps of salt through the age! They'll be plundered by the remnants of My people, and inherited by what's left of My nation. ¹⁰ This will happen to them for their insolent ways… because they berated [My people], and because they put themselves over, Jehovah, the Almighty [God].

¹¹ 'Then, before them the Lord will appear, and destroy all the gods of the nations on earth. Then they will bow down before Him, each one within his own land, and in all the islands of the nations. ¹² 'And you, O Ethiopians, will be slain by My broadsword!

¹³ 'He'll stretch out His hand toward the north, and the Assyrians will all be destroyed, turning Nineveh into desert. ¹⁴ Flocks will then feed in her midst, with the wild beasts of the land. Chameleons and hedgehogs will live in her fretwork; wild beasts will roar in her ditches; and crows will nest in her gates… though she was once a tall cedar.

¹⁵ 'This is the city that paid no attention, and one that now dwells in hope. For, she has said in her heart, I am, and none will replace me! But it will soon all be gone… it will be a place for wild beasts; so all who then travel through her, will just whistle and wring their hands.

Chapter 3

¹ 'O [JeruSalem] you prominent city; O you, my dove whom I ransomed; ² To Your voice, he wouldn't listen, and Your instructions she didn't follow… upon Jehovah she wouldn't rely… she refused to return to her God.

³ 'Her rulers are like roaring lions; her judges are like Arabian wolves, who leave nothing over 'til morning. ⁴ Her prophets are despisers blown by the winds; her priests profane Holy Things, and they have no respect for the Law.

⁵ 'But in her midst Jehovah is righteous, and no way will He do what's unjust. He brings justice and light every morning… nothing is hidden before Him. He doesn't buy into injustice, yet the unjust still cannot be shamed.

⁶ 'So, I will tear down their proud ones, and destroy all of their niches. I'll wipe away all of their roads, and no one will go through their cities, since all of their towns will have vanished… none will exist and no one will live there.

⁷ 'I told you to fear Me and do as I say, and then you'd not be destroyed. So, prepare for the vengeance I'm bringing upon her… yes, it's best to rise early, for even her gleanings will be ruined,' says Jehovah.

⁸ 'Then I'll pass judgment on the gathering of nations; I'll take their kings and pour out My rage… yes, all the anger of My rage. And the fire of My zeal will consume the whole earth.

⁹ 'Then I'll bring one tongue to that generation, so all can call on the Name of the Lord, and serve Him under one yoke.

¹⁰ 'From the ends of Ethiopia's rivers, I'll welcome back those who were scattered, and they'll bring their sacrifices to Me.

¹¹ 'In that Day, you'll not be disgraced, by the disrespect you once showed Me. I'll remove your insolence and careless attitudes, and of My Holy Mountain you'll boast.

¹² 'I'll leave the meek and humble among you (those who revere the Name of the Lord). ¹³ And this remnant of IsraEl won't be unrighteous; of things that are vain they won't speak, and no way will their tongues then deceive. So, they will eat as they lie in their beds, and no one will make them afraid.

¹⁴ 'Rejoice, O daughter of Zion… O JeruSalem's daughter, shout aloud! With your whole hearts be joyful… O daughter of JeruSalem find delight! ¹⁵ For, Jehovah has removed your offenses, and ransomed you from your enemy's hands. Jehovah (IsraEl's King) is within you, so you'll not see bad anymore!

¹⁶ 'To JeruSalem, Jehovah will say in that time, Be courageous O Zion, and don't let your hands become weary! ¹⁷ For, Jehovah your God is among you… the Mighty One will bring you salvation! He will bring gladness among you, and in His affection revive you; He'll be glad over you with delight, as in the days of your holiday feasts.

¹⁸ 'I'll gather all those who are broken, and bring woe upon any who scorn them!

¹⁹ 'Look! Among you I will then act, on your behalf in that time. I'll save she who was pressured, and take back she whom I'd thrust away. Then, throughout the whole earth I will make them, [a people] for boasting and fame. ²⁰ Since, her enemies will all be disgraced in that time, and whatever you think to be good I will do; because, in that time I'll take you back, making you famous and reasons to boast, among all the peoples of the earth; when, before their eyes I return you, from your captive condition,' says Jehovah.

Notes

Zeal

At Psalm 37:8 we read, 'Stop being angry and abandon your rage. Don't allow zeal to make you act wicked' (yes, we know, the word should be wickedly, but this is poetic license). However, those words could also be translated as, 'Do not allow jealously to cause you to act wickedly,' because the Greek word zelos can either be translated as zealous or as jealous, depending on the circumstances, for both words mean the same thing. Yet, the two words imply different things in English.

Zeal is usually thought of as something good… something that all Christians should have, as in zeal for God and righteousness. And jealously is thought of as something bad… as wanting something that belongs to someone else. Yet, God may be spoken of as being jealous over His Name and His position as God, so jealously isn't always a bad thing. And we can have zeal for things that are ours and we are proud of (which is not bad), and be jealous for things that belong to others (which is bad). So, the same Greek word (zelos) may be correctly translated as zeal in one place, and as jealously in another, depending on the context.

Then, is it proper for a man to be jealous of his wife, or for a wife to be jealous of her husband? No, we should never be jealous of each other, but rather, for each other. We shouldn't want what the other has, but we should have a burning zeal for each other. So, if one has good reason to worry about losing the love of the other, that is zeal. However, if such concern is baseless, that is wicked suspicion, not jealously.

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Age, Eternal, Perpetual, Everlasting, Immortal, or Forever?

Two words imply infinite states in the Bible; one is the Greek word athanasia (undying), which is only found in two places, 1 Corinthians 15:53, where it mentions resurrected ones as clothing themselves with immortality, and at 1 Timothy 6:16, where Paul speaks of Jesus alone as having it. The other Greek word is aidios, which is used at Romans 1:20 to describe God's Power and Might as eternal, and at Jude 6 when speaking of the perpetual state of gloomy darkness that rebellious angels have been confined to.

However, the Greek word aionos, which is used throughout the Bible in various conjugated forms and is often translated as eternal and forever, is what the English word eon is derived from. It means an indefinite period, and there is no exact English word to translate it. The best equivalents are age or era.

Where the singular form (aionos) is used, this appears to mean a period such as a lifetime, generation, or era. And where the plural form of the word (aiōnōn) is used, it refers to a longer time… at least multiple generations. Also, where the term ages of the ages is used (such as at Ephesians 3:21), which is usually said in reference to The God, we would assume that this truly means forever.

It is noteworthy that aionos is the word that is used in the Greek Septuagint in place of the Hebrew word ohlam, which is also translated as forever and time indefinite in popular versions of the Ancient Scriptures of IsraEl. So, this one word (aionos) is translated as forever, everlasting, eternal, system of things, time indefinite, [end of] the world, long ago, from of old, etc. Obviously, something is very wrong here, because the word can't mean a period having a definite end in one place and infinity in another.

Take for example, the unique way that aionos is used in the question that Jesus' Apostles asked him, which is found at Matthew 24:3: 'Tell us; When will these things happen… what will be the signs when you are to arrive and this age will come to its conclusion?' Notice that aionos is also translated as world here in many Bibles, such as the KJ, and as system of things in other Bibles, such as the NWT. However, if the Apostles had meant any of those things, they would have used the Greek word cosmos (world or arrangement), not aionos.

You can see that aionos obviously doesn't mean forever, everlasting, or eternal in this case, nor did it mean world or system of things. It simply meant the age, or, the time before the end would come. And for them, that meant the age when God's Temple in JeruSalem would be destroyed, because that's what Jesus was explaining to them.

Yet, there are instances when some forms of the word could imply forever, such as when we find it in the form aiōniŏn. This is an adjective in the singular case, which, when combined with the Greek word zoe (in its various forms) is usually translated in other Bibles as everlasting life. However, that isn't a totally-accurate description.

In the past, we had tried to reconcile the words zoe aiōniŏn as meaning, life in the age. However, the word age in this instance would not be an adjective, so we have recently chosen, in most cases where we find this word combination, to translate them more accurately as age-long life, which we will agree could mean everlasting life.

For more information, see the linked Scriptural Commentary, Does the Bible Promise Everlasting Life?

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Why the Name Changes?

You have likely noticed that we are putting some of the letters in Bible names in capital letters. For example, we've started spelling such names as Jonathan as JoNathan, Isaiah as IsaiAh, and Eliezer as EliEzer. Why? Well, partly to help with the correct pronunciations of the names, and partly to show some translating consistency.

Of course, the common English pronunciation of Jonathan (for example) is Jon-uh-thun. But did you know that the first part of the name (Io in Greek, Ieho in Hebrew) refers to the name Jehovah, and the second part of the Name (Nathan) means Gift? So, the name was originally pronounced closer to Ye-hoh-nuh-thahn.

In the case of names that end with an iah, as in Isaiah, the last part of the name often includes the name of God. Isaiah, for example, means Salvation [of] JehovAH, and it was originally pronounced Ee-sai-Yah. Yet, there are other names (such as EliJah), where the IEs have been changed to Js.

So, why have translators substituted a capital 'J' for the letters 'Ie' in both of the above cases? Well, there is an inconsistency here, because there was no letter 'J' in Hebrew or Greek alphabets. However, the letters were changed to coincide with the common English pronunciations of these names. Unfortunately though, this process wasn't followed consistently by ancient translators; so while some names are spelled with a J, many others are still spelled with an Ie or Iah.

Another important word in names that we usually capitalize is 'El' (from the Hebrew Elohe, or God). So EliEzer (which people commonly pronounce Eelai-eezer and means God [has] Helped), should actually be pronounced Elee-ehzer. The same is true for the letters Ai, especially in the names of cities, because Ai in Hebrew refers to the word city. So, AiLam (for example) probably meant the City of Lam.

Similar words, such as Bel (as in BelShazzar), Baal, and Beel, refer to 'the Lord' or 'the God.' Also, the prefixes 'Ben' and 'Bar' mean 'the son of.' 'Beth' means 'the house of,' 'Beer' refers to a 'well,' 'Is' or 'Ish' means 'Man,' etc.

Does this mean that we have put all the capitals in the right places? No, for we make no claim to Hebrew scholarship (all our translating here has been from Greek). So, what we are trying to do is provide a better understanding to how these names were pronounced by First-Century Christians.

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Day of the Lord

Throughout the Bible, we find references to 'the Day of Jehovah,' and 'the Day of the Lord' (Jesus). Are both of these references to the same time, and if so, how do we know?

There is no conflict between the two Days; in fact, they appear to be the same. Notice what we are told in the Revelation, when it is speaking of the beginning of that Day (at Revelation 12:10), 'Now it has come to pass; the salvation, the power, the Kingdom of our God, and the empowerment of His Anointed One!'

As you can see, the purposes of that Day are tied together. For, the establishment of God's Kingdom (with the battle in heaven and the ouster of the Opposer and his messengers) and the empowerment for Jesus (the Lord) to begin his rule, appear to begin at the same time.

So, does the Lord's Day begin when the things spoken of in the Revelation start to happen? It appears to be so, because it starts out with John's words (at Revelation 1:10), 'Through the Breath [of God] I found myself in the Lord's Day.'

What are some of the features of that Day? Well, they appear to start with the ouster of the Opposer and his messengers from heaven (See Revelation 12), which is followed by the destruction of 'The Great Babylon' (See Revelation 17, 18). Then in rapid succession there comes the 'marriage of the Lamb,' the Battle of Armageddon, tossing the Opposer and his messengers into the abyss, and the resurrection (see Revelation 19, 20). And finally, the Opposer is released for a short time, which precipitates the battle against Gog of Magog , and is thereafter followed by the descent of 'New JeruSalem' to the earth and the making of the 'new earth and sky' (see Revelation 21).

Also, in the prophecy found at Joel 2:1-12, 'the Day of the Lord' appears to start with the destruction of JeruSalem by worldly armies, and this is followed by the destruction of the worldly armies (see Joel Chapter Three). Then, in between these two events, we read of the marvelous outpouring of God's Breath upon His faithful servants (Joel 2:28-32).

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