1Yahweh’s word which came to Zephaniah, the son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah, the son of Amon, king of Judah.
2I will utterly sweep away everything from the surface of the earth, says Yahweh. 3I will sweep away man and animal. I will sweep away the birds of the sky, the fish of the sea, and the heaps of rubble with the wicked. I will cut off man from the surface of the earth, says Yahweh. 4I will stretch out my hand against Judah and against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem. I will cut off the remnant of Baal from this place—the name of the idolatrous and pagan priests, 5those who worship the army of the sky on the housetops, those who worship and swear by Yahweh and also swear by Malcam, 6those who have turned back from following Yahweh, and those who haven’t sought Yahweh nor inquired after him.
7Be silent at the presence of the Lord Yahweh, for the day of Yahweh is at hand. For Yahweh has prepared a sacrifice. He has consecrated his guests. 8It will happen in the day of Yahweh’s sacrifice that I will punish the princes, the king’s sons, and all those who are clothed with foreign clothing. 9In that day, I will punish all those who leap over the threshold, who fill their master’s house with violence and deceit.
10In that day, says Yahweh, there will be the noise of a cry from the fish gate, a wailing from the second quarter, and a great crashing from the hills. 11Wail, you inhabitants of Maktesh, for all the people of Canaan are undone! All those who were loaded with silver are cut off. 12It will happen at that time, that I will search Jerusalem with lamps, and I will punish the men who are settled on their dregs, who say in their heart, “Yahweh will not do good, neither will he do evil.” 13Their wealth will become a plunder, and their houses a desolation. Yes, they will build houses, but won’t inhabit them. They will plant vineyards, but won’t drink their wine.
14The great day of Yahweh is near. It is near and hurries greatly, the voice of the day of Yahweh. The mighty man cries there bitterly. 15That day is a day of wrath, a day of distress and anguish, a day of trouble and ruin, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness, 16a day of the trumpet and alarm against the fortified cities and against the high battlements. 17I will bring such distress on men that they will walk like blind men because they have sinned against Yahweh. Their blood will be poured out like dust and their flesh like dung. 18Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to deliver them in the day of Yahweh’s wrath, but the whole land will be devoured by the fire of his jealousy; for he will make an end, yes, a terrible end, of all those who dwell in the land.
To the minds of the Hebrew, the day of the Lord was the future day when God would intervene in human history to vindicate Himself and the people of Israel. This concept seems to have appeared during the Conquest when God judged the Canaanites on behalf of His people Israel.
When Amos incorporated the concept of the day of the Lord in his preaching, however, his view was shocking to his people because Amos' understanding of this day was in total contrast to the popular notion of the 8th century B.C. Amos proclaimed that Israel would lament rather than rejoice on that day (Amos 5:16-17) for God was to judge Israel (5:18-20) and the world. On that day, God was going to reject Israel's meaningless religious rituals (5:21-27) and it was to be a day of darkness and woe (6:1-6). The moral corruption of Israel would ultimately usher in Israel's destruction on the day.
Expressing the concept in variant forms such as "by that day" and "on that day," the prophets frequently used this concept in their proclamation of judgment and hope. Zephaniah used it seven times, Isaiah six times, and Joel five times. These are the characteristics of the day of the Lord: 1) It will be a day of judgment (Joel 3:19-21; Amos 5:18) on the enemies of God including Israel and a day of vindication for the faithful; 2) The day of the Lord will be experienced everywhere (Isa 2:12; Zeph 1, 2; Amos 5:18-20); 3) The day of the Lord is near--not far out in the future (Isa 13:6); 4) There will be transformation in nature (Joel 3:18; Amos 9:13), in human relationships (Mic 4:3), and in the relationship between human beings and animals (Isa 11:6-8) which will result in the emergence of a better world; 5) On that day, Jerusalem will be exalted (Zech 14:16); 6) It will be accompanied by cosmic phenomena (Joel 2:28-32; Isa 13:10; 34:4; Ezek 32:7-8); 7) There will be a Davidic ruler (Isa 11:10); 8) There will be a re-gathering of God’s people (Isa 11:11). The New Testament equivalent for this is the second coming of Jesus Christ (2 Thess 2:1) and the day of the Lord Paul mentions in 2:2.