Zephaniah

Zephaniah, prophesying in Josiah's reign, sounds the alarm of the coming 'day of the Lord' — a sweeping judgement on Judah, the surrounding nations and a complacent Jerusalem that has grown indifferent to God.

Yet the book turns, as the prophets so often do, to grace. A humble remnant will be preserved, and God himself will rejoice over his restored people: 'he will exult over you with loud singing' (3:17) — one of the tenderest images of God in all Scripture.