Zefanya 1:1

Introduction

1:1 This is the prophetic message that the Lord gave to ¹  Zephaniah son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah. Zephaniah delivered this message during the reign of ²  King Josiah son of Amon of Judah:

Zefanya 1:8

1:8 “On the day of the Lord’s sacrificial meal,

I will punish the princes ³  and the king’s sons,

and all who wear foreign styles of clothing. ⁴ 

Zefanya 1:10

1:10 On that day,” says the Lord,

“a loud cry will go up ⁵  from the Fish Gate, ⁶ 

wailing from the city’s newer district, ⁷ 

and a loud crash ⁸  from the hills.

Zefanya 1:12

1:12 At that time I will search through Jerusalem with lamps.

I will punish the people who are entrenched in their sin, ⁹ 

those who think to themselves, ¹⁰ 

‘The Lord neither rewards nor punishes.’ ¹¹ 

Zefanya 3:11-16

3:11 In that day you ¹²  will not be ashamed of all your rebelliousness against me, ¹³ 

for then I will remove from your midst those who proudly boast, ¹⁴ 

and you will never again be arrogant on my holy hill.

3:12 I will leave in your midst a humble and meek group of people, ¹⁵ 

and they will find safety in the Lord’s presence. ¹⁶ 

3:13 The Israelites who remain ¹⁷  will not act deceitfully.

They will not lie,

and a deceitful tongue will not be found in their mouth.

Indeed, they will graze peacefully like sheep ¹⁸  and lie down;

no one will terrify them.”

3:14 Shout for joy, Daughter Zion! ¹⁹ 

Shout out, Israel!

Be happy and boast with all your heart, Daughter Jerusalem!

3:15 The Lord has removed the judgment against you; ²⁰ 

he has turned back your enemy.

Israel’s king, the Lord, is in your midst!

You no longer need to fear disaster.

3:16 On that day they will say ²¹  to Jerusalem,

“Don’t be afraid, Zion!

Your hands must not be paralyzed from panic! ²² 

[1:1]  ¹ tn Heb “The word of the Lord which came to.”

[1:1]  ² tn Heb “in the days of.” The words “Zephaniah delivered this message” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[1:8]  ³ tn Or “officials” (NRSV, TEV); NLT “leaders.”

[1:8]  ⁴ sn The very dress of the royal court, foreign styles of clothing, revealed the degree to which Judah had assimilated foreign customs.

[1:10]  ⁵ tn The words “will go up” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[1:10]  ⁶ sn The Fish Gate was located on Jerusalem’s north side (cf. 2 Chr 33:14; Neh 3:3; 12:39).

[1:10]  ⁷ tn Heb “from the second area.” This may refer to an area northwest of the temple where the rich lived (see Adele Berlin, Zephaniah [AB 25A], 86; cf. NASB, NRSV “the Second Quarter”; NIV “the New Quarter”).

[1:10]  ⁸ tn Heb “great breaking.”

[1:12]  ⁹ tn Heb “who thicken on their sediment.” The imagery comes from wine making, where the wine, if allowed to remain on the sediment too long, will thicken into syrup. The image suggests that the people described here were complacent in their sinful behavior and interpreted the delay in judgment as divine apathy.

[1:12]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “who say in their hearts.”

[1:12]  ¹¹ tn Heb “The Lord does not do good nor does he do evil.”

[3:11]  ¹² sn The second person verbs and pronouns are feminine singular, indicating that personified Jerusalem is addressed here.

[3:11]  ¹³ tn Heb “In that day you not be ashamed because of all your actions, [in] which you rebelled against me.”

[3:11]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “the arrogant ones of your pride.”

[3:12]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “needy and poor people.” The terms often refer to a socioeconomic group, but here they may refer to those who are humble in a spiritual sense.

[3:12]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and they will take refuge in the name of the Lord.”

[3:12]  sn Safety in the Lord’s presence. From the time the Lord introduced his special covenant name (Yahweh) to Moses, it served as a reminder of his protective presence as Israel’s faithful deliverer.

[3:13]  ¹⁷ tn Or “the remnant of Israel.”

[3:13]  ¹⁸ tn The words “peacefully like sheep” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[3:14]  ¹⁹ sn This phrase is used as an epithet for the city and the nation. “Daughter” may seem extraneous in English but consciously joins the various epithets and metaphors of Israel and Jerusalem as a woman, a device used to evoke sympathy from the reader.

[3:15]  ²⁰ tn Heb “your judgments,” that is, “the judgments directed against you.” The translation reflects the implications of the parallelism.

[3:16]  ²¹ tn Heb “it will be said.” The passive construction has been translated as active for stylistic reasons.

[3:16]  ²² tn Heb “your hands must not go limp.”