Zephaniah 3:5 - Easy To Read Version But God is still in that city. And he continues to be good. God does not do anything wrong. He continues to help his people. Morning after morning he helps his people make good decisions. But those bad people are not ashamed of the bad things they do. Tuilleadh leaganachaKing James Version (Oxford) 1769 The just LORD is in the midst thereof; he will not do iniquity: every morning doth he bring his judgment to light, he faileth not; but the unjust knoweth no shame. Amplified Bible - Classic Edition The Lord in the midst of her is [uncompromisingly] righteous; He will not do iniquity. Every morning He brings His justice to light; He fails not, but the unjust [person] knows no shame. American Standard Version (1901) Jehovah in the midst of her is righteous; he will not do iniquity; every morning doth he bring his justice to light, he faileth not; but the unjust knoweth no shame. Common English Bible The LORD is righteous in her midst. He does nothing unjust. Morning by morning he renders justice, but the unrighteous one knows no shame. Catholic Public Domain Version The just Lord is in their midst; he will not do iniquity. In the morning, in the morning, he will bring his judgment into the light, and it will not be hidden. But the impious one has not known shame. Douay-Rheims version of The Bible - 1752 version The just Lord is in the midst thereof, he will not do iniquity: in the morning, in the morning he will bring his judgment to light, and it shall not be hid: but the wicked man hath not known shame. |
Surely you would not destroy the city. You would not destroy 50 good people to kill the evil people. If that happened, then good people and evil people would be the same—they would both be punished. You are the judge of all the earth. I know you will do the right thing.”
“You men can understand,\par so listen to me.\par God would never do what is evil!\par God All-Powerful would never do wrong!\par
Why do you visit man every morning\par and test him every moment?\par
God is always fair.\par God All-Powerful never changes\par the things that are right.\par
Everything the Lord does is good.\par Everything he does shows how good he is.\par
They are there to show everyone\par that the Lord is good. {\cf2\super [520]} \par He is my Rock, {\cf2\super [521]} \par and he does nothing wrong. {\cf2\super [522]} \par
People of Zion, {\cf2\super [140]} shout about these things!\par The Holy One of Israel is with you\par in a powerful way.\par So, be happy!\par
That person will come and take you away. Your punishment will be terrible. Your punishment will come early in the morning, and it will continue late into the night.
“Lord, be kind to us.\par We have waited for your help.\par Lord, give us strength every morning.\par Save us when we are in trouble.\par
Tell these people to come to me. Let them present their case and discuss these things.)
The Lord my Master gave me the ability to teach. So now I teach these sad people. Every morning he wakes me and teaches me like a student.
Family of David, {\cf2\super [169]} \par the Lord says these things:\par ‘You must judge people fairly every day.\par Protect the victims {\cf2\super [170]} from the criminals.\par If you don’t do that,\par then I will become very angry.\par My anger will be like a fire\par that no person will be able to put out.\par This will happen because you\par have done evil things.’\par
You sinned, so the rain has not come.\par There have not been any springtime rains.\par But still you refuse to be ashamed.\par The look on your face is like the look\par that a prostitute has when she\par refuses to be ashamed.\par You refuse to be ashamed of what you did.\par
The priests and prophets should\par be ashamed\par of the bad things they do.\par But they are not ashamed at all.\par They don’t know enough\par to be embarrassed of their sins.\par So they will be punished with everyone else.\par They will be thrown to the ground\par when I punish the people.”\par The Lord said those things.\par
They should be ashamed\par of the bad things they do.\par But they are not ashamed at all.\par They don’t know enough\par to be embarrassed of their sins.\par So they will be punished with everyone else.\par They will be thrown to the ground\par when I punish the people.”\par The Lord said those things.\par
Every morning he shows it in new ways!\par Lord, you are so very true and loyal!\par
\{God said,\} “You people might say, ‘\{God\} my Master isn’t fair!’ But listen, family of Israel. I am fair. You are the ones who are not fair!
“The distance around the city will be 18,000 cubits. {\cf2\super [486]} From now on, the name of the city will be: THE LORD IS THERE. {\cf2\super [487]}
A wise person understands these things.\par A smart person should learn these things.\par The Lord’s ways are right.\par Good people will live by them.\par Sinners will die by them. {\cf2\super [153]} \par
I used the prophets,\par and made laws for the people.\par The people were killed at my command.\par But good things will come\par from those decisions. {\cf2\super [64]} \par
The judges in Jerusalem accept bribes\par to help them decide who wins in court.\par The priests in Jerusalem must be paid\par before they will teach the people.\par People must pay the prophets\par before they will look into the future.\par And then those leaders expect the Lord\par to help them. They say,\par “The Lord lives here with us.\par So nothing bad will happen to us.”\par
I sinned against the Lord.\par So he was angry at me.\par But he will argue my case for me in court.\par He will do the things that are right for me.\par Then he will bring me out into the light.\par And I will see that he is right.\par
People are stealing things and hurting other people. People are arguing and fighting. Why do you make me look at these terrible things?
The survivors {\cf2\super [22]} of Israel won’t do bad things. They won’t tell lies. They won’t try to trick people with lies. They will be like sheep that eat and lie down in peace—and no one will bother them.”
Why? Because the Lord stopped\par your punishment!\par He destroyed your enemies’ strong towers!\par King of Israel, the Lord is with you.\par You don’t need to worry\par about anything bad happening.\par
The Lord your God is with you.\par He is like a powerful soldier.\par He will save you.\par He will show how much he loves you.\par He will show you how happy he is\par with you.\par He will laugh and be happy about you,\par
The Lord says,\par ‘I will be a wall of fire around her,\par protecting her.\par And to bring glory to that city,\par I will live there.’”\par
City of Zion, rejoice!\par People of Jerusalem, shout with joy!\par Look, your king is coming to you!\par He is the good king that won the victory.\par But he is humble.\par He is riding on a donkey,\par on a young donkey\par born from a work animal.\par
Everything that is hidden will be shown. Everything that is secret will be made known.
But you people are hard and stubborn. You refuse to change. So you are making your own punishment greater and greater. You will get that punishment on the day when God will show his anger. On that day people will see God’s right judgments.
And God gave Jesus to show today that God does what is right. God did this so that he could judge rightly and also make right any person that has faith in Jesus.
So don’t judge before the right time; wait until the Lord comes. He will shine light on the things that are hidden in darkness. He will make known the secret purposes of people’s hearts. Then God will give every person the praise he should get.
Why? Because the Lord your God is there with you in your camp to save you and to help you defeat your enemies. So the camp must be holy. Then the Lord will not see something disgusting and leave you.
“The Rock (the Lord)—his work is perfect! Why? Because all his ways are right! God is true and faithful. He is good and honest.
You pray to God and call him Father. God judges each man’s work equally. So while you are visiting \{here on earth\}, you should live with fear (respect) for God.