Zefanya 1:8-9

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

I will punish the princes ¹  and the king’s sons,

and all who wear foreign styles of clothing. ² 

1:9 On that day I will punish all who leap over the threshold, ³ 

who fill the house of their master ⁴  with wealth taken by violence and deceit. ⁵ 

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, ⁶ 

those who think to themselves, ⁷ 

‘The Lord neither rewards nor punishes.’ ⁸ 

Zefanya 2:10

2:10 This is how they will be repaid for their arrogance, ⁹ 

for they taunted and verbally harassed ¹⁰  the people of the Lord who commands armies.

Zefanya 3:7

3:7 I thought, ¹¹  ‘Certainly you will respect ¹²  me!

Now you will accept correction!’

If she had done so, her home ¹³  would not be destroyed ¹⁴ 

by all the punishments I have threatened. ¹⁵ 

But they eagerly sinned

in everything they did. ¹⁶ 

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

[1:8]  ² sn The very dress of the royal court, foreign styles of clothing, revealed the degree to which Judah had assimilated foreign customs.

[1:9]  ³ sn The point of the statement all who hop over the threshold is unclear. A ritual or superstition associated with the Philistine god Dagon may be in view (see 1 Sam 5:5).

[1:9]  ⁴ tn The referent of “their master” is unclear. The king or a pagan god may be in view.

[1:9]  ⁵ tn Heb “who fill…with violence and deceit.” The expression “violence and deceit” refers metonymically to the wealth taken by oppressive measures.

[1:12]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ tn Heb “who say in their hearts.”

[1:12]  ⁸ tn Heb “The Lord does not do good nor does he do evil.”

[2:10]  ⁹ tn Heb “this is for them in place of their arrogance.”

[2:10]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “made great [their mouth?] against” (cf. the last phrase of v. 8).

[3:7]  ¹¹ tn Heb “said.”

[3:7]  ¹² tn Or “fear.” The second person verb form (“you will respect”) is feminine singular, indicating that personified Jerusalem is addressed.

[3:7]  sn God’s judgment of the nations (v. 6) was an object lesson for Israel’s benefit.

[3:7]  ¹³ tn Or “dwelling place.”

[3:7]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “cut off.”

[3:7]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “all which I have punished her.” The precise meaning of this statement and its relationship to what precedes are unclear.

[3:7]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “But they got up early, they made corrupt all their actions.” The phrase “they got up early” probably refers to their eagerness to engage in sinful activities.