Zephaniah
Zephaniah, a priest during King Zedekiah's reign, was taken captive to Babylon.
Zephaniah was a seventh-century BC prophet who preached during the reign of King Josiah (640–609 BC), making him a contemporary of Jeremiah. His royal lineage is notable: his genealogy traces back four generations to King Hezekiah, making him possibly the only Hebrew prophet of royal descent (Zephaniah 1:1). His book opens with one of the most comprehensive announcements of cosmic judgment in the entire Hebrew Bible, threatening to 'sweep away everything' from the face of the earth (Zephaniah 1:2–3). The famous 'Day of the LORD' section (Zephaniah 1:14–18) inspired the medieval Latin hymn Dies Irae. Yet the book concludes with a moving promise of God's restoration and rejoicing over his people (Zephaniah 3:14–17).