Zefanya 1:3

1:3 “I will destroy people and animals;

I will destroy the birds in the sky

and the fish in the sea.

(The idolatrous images of these creatures will be destroyed along with evil people.) ¹ 

I will remove ²  humanity from the face of the earth,” says the Lord.

Zefanya 2:15

2:15 This is how the once-proud city will end up ³  –

the city that was so secure. ⁴ 

She thought to herself, ⁵  “I am unique! No one can compare to me!” ⁶ 

What a heap of ruins she has become, a place where wild animals live!

Everyone who passes by her taunts her ⁷  and shakes his fist. ⁸ 

Zefanya 3:20

3:20 At that time I will lead you –

at the time I gather you together. ⁹ 

Be sure of this! ¹⁰  I will make all the nations of the earth respect and admire you ¹¹ 

when you see me restore you,” ¹²  says the Lord.

[1:3]  ¹ tn Heb “And the stumbling blocks [or, “ruins”] with the evil”; or “the things that make the evil stumble.” The line does not appear in the original form of the LXX; it may be a later scribal addition. The present translation assumes the “stumbling blocks” are idolatrous images of animals, birds, and fish. See J. J. M. Roberts, Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah (OTL), 167, and Adele Berlin, Zephaniah (AB), 73-74.

[1:3]  ² tn Heb “cut off.”

[2:15]  ³ tn Heb “this is the proud city.”

[2:15]  ⁴ tn Heb “the one that lived securely.”

[2:15]  ⁵ tn Heb “the one who says in her heart.”

[2:15]  ⁶ tn Heb “I [am], and besides me there is no other.”

[2:15]  ⁷ tn Heb “hisses”; or “whistles.”

[2:15]  ⁸ sn Hissing (or whistling) and shaking the fist were apparently ways of taunting a defeated foe or an object of derision in the culture of the time.

[3:20]  ⁹ tn In this line the second person pronoun is masculine plural, indicating that the exiles are addressed.

[3:20]  ¹⁰ tn Or “for.”

[3:20]  ¹¹ tn Heb “I will make you into a name and praise among all the peoples of the earth.” Here the word “name” carries the nuance of “good reputation.”

[3:20]  ¹² tn Heb “when I restore your fortunes to your eyes.” See the note on the phrase “restore them” in 2:7.