Zefanya 1:9

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

who fill the house of their master ²  with wealth taken by violence and deceit. ³ 

Zefanya 3:17

3:17 The Lord your God is in your midst;

he is a warrior who can deliver.

He takes great delight in you; ⁴ 

he renews you by his love; ⁵ 

he shouts for joy over you.” ⁶ 

[1:9]  ¹ 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]  ² tn The referent of “their master” is unclear. The king or a pagan god may be in view.

[1:9]  ³ tn Heb “who fill…with violence and deceit.” The expression “violence and deceit” refers metonymically to the wealth taken by oppressive measures.

[3:17]  ⁴ tn Heb “he rejoices over you with joy.”

[3:17]  ⁵ tc The MT reads, “he is silent in his love,” but this makes no sense in light of the immediately preceding and following lines. Some take the Hiphil verb form as causative (see Job 11:3) rather than intransitive and translate, “he causes [you] to be silent by his love,” that is, “he soothes [you] by his love.” The present translation follows the LXX and assumes an original reading יְחַדֵּשׁ (yÿkhaddesh, “he renews”) with ellipsis of the object (“you”).

[3:17]  ⁶ tn Heb “he rejoices over you with a shout of joy.”