Zefanya 1:16
Konteks1:16 a day of trumpet blasts 1 and battle cries. 2
Judgment will fall on 3 the fortified cities and the high corner towers.
Zefanya 2:4
Konteks2:4 Indeed, 4 Gaza will be deserted 5
and Ashkelon will become a heap of ruins. 6
Invaders will drive away the people of Ashdod by noon, 7
and Ekron will be overthrown. 8
Zefanya 3:10
Konteks3:10 From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia, 9
those who pray to me 10 will bring me tribute.
[1:16] 1 tn Heb “a ram’s horn.” By metonymy the Hebrew text mentions the trumpet (“ram’s horn”) in place of the sound it produces (“trumpet blasts”).
[1:16] 2 sn This description of the day of the
[1:16] 3 tn Heb “against.” The words “judgment will fall” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[2:4] 4 tn Or “for” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV).
[2:4] 5 tn There is a sound play here in the Hebrew text: the name Gaza (עַזָּה, ’azzah) sounds like the word translated “deserted” (עֲזוּבָה, ’azuvah).
[2:4] 6 tn Or “a desolate place.”
[2:4] 7 tn Heb “[As for] Ashdod, at noon they will drive her away.”
[2:4] sn The reference to noon may suggest a sudden, quick defeat (see Jer 6:4; 15:8).
[2:4] 8 tn Heb “uprooted.” There is a sound play here in the Hebrew text: the name “Ekron” (עֶקְרוֹן, ’eqron) sounds like the word translated “uprooted” (תֵּעָקֵר, te’aqer).
[3:10] 9 tn Or “Nubia”; Heb “Cush.” “Cush” is traditionally assumed to refer to the region south of Egypt, i.e. Nubia or northern Sudan, referred to as “Ethiopia” by classical authors (not the more recent Abyssinia).
[3:10] 10 tn Heb “those who pray to me, the daughter of my dispersed ones.” The meaning of the phrase is unclear. Perhaps the text is corrupt at this point or a proper name should be understood. For a discussion of various options see Adele Berlin, Zephaniah (AB 25A), 134-35.
[3:10] sn It is not certain if those who pray to me refers to the converted nations or to God’s exiled covenant people.