Zephaniah 1:7-11

¶[Hush!] Be silent before the Lord GOD [there is no acceptable excuse to offer]! For the day [of the vengeance] of the LORD is near, For the LORD has prepared a sacrifice (Judah), He has set apart [for His use] those who have accepted His invitation [the Chaldeans who rule Babylon]. [Hab 2:20] “Then it will come about on the day of the LORD’S sacrifice That I will punish the princes and the king’s sons And all who are clothed in [lavish] foreign apparel [reflecting their paganism]. [Num 15:38, 39] “On that day I will also punish all those who leap over the temple threshold, Who fill their [pagan] lord’s temple with violence and deceit. “On that day,” declares the LORD, “There will be the sound of crying from the Fish (Damascus) Gate [in the northern wall of Jerusalem where invaders enter] And wailing from the Second Quarter [of the city], And a loud crash from the hills. “Wail [in anguish], you inhabitants of the Mortar (Valley of Siloam), For all the merchants of Canaan will be silenced and destroyed; All who weigh out silver will be cut off.