Zefanya 3:4

3:4 Her prophets are proud; ¹ 

they are deceitful men.

Her priests defile what is holy; ² 

they break God’s laws. ³ 

Zefanya 3:3

3:3 Her princes ⁴  are as fierce as roaring lions; ⁵ 

her rulers ⁶  are as hungry as wolves in the desert, ⁷ 

who completely devour their prey by morning. ⁸ 

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; ⁹ 

he renews you by his love; ¹⁰ 

he shouts for joy over you.” ¹¹ 

Zefanya 2:5

2:5 Those who live by the sea, the people who came from Crete, ¹²  are as good as dead. ¹³ 

The Lord has decreed your downfall, ¹⁴  Canaan, land of the Philistines:

“I will destroy everyone who lives there!” ¹⁵ 

Zefanya 3:15

3:15 The Lord has removed the judgment against you; ¹⁶ 

he has turned back your enemy.

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

You no longer need to fear disaster.

Zefanya 2:15

2:15 This is how the once-proud city will end up ¹⁷  –

the city that was so secure. ¹⁸ 

She thought to herself, ¹⁹  “I am unique! No one can compare to me!” ²⁰ 

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

Everyone who passes by her taunts her ²¹  and shakes his fist. ²² 

Zefanya 3:6

The Lord’s Judgment will Purify

3:6 “I destroyed ²³  nations;

their walled cities ²⁴  are in ruins.

I turned their streets into ruins;

no one passes through them.

Their cities are desolate; ²⁵ 

no one lives there. ²⁶ 

Zefanya 1:1

Introduction

1:1 This is the prophetic message that the Lord gave to ²⁷  Zephaniah son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah. Zephaniah delivered this message during the reign of ²⁸  King Josiah son of Amon of Judah:

Zefanya 1:18

1:18 Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to deliver them

in the day of the Lord’s angry judgment.

The whole earth ²⁹  will be consumed by his fiery wrath. ³⁰ 

Indeed, ³¹  he will bring terrifying destruction ³²  on all who live on the earth.” ³³ 

Zefanya 3:5

3:5 The just Lord resides ³⁴  within her;

he commits no unjust acts. ³⁵ 

Every morning he reveals ³⁶  his justice.

At dawn he appears without fail. ³⁷ 

Yet the unjust know no shame.

Zefanya 3:12

3:12 I will leave in your midst a humble and meek group of people, ³⁸ 

and they will find safety in the Lord’s presence. ³⁹ 

Zefanya 2:7

2:7 Those who are left from the kingdom of Judah ⁴⁰  will take possession of it. ⁴¹ 

By the sea ⁴²  they ⁴³  will graze,

in the houses of Ashkelon they will lie down in the evening,

for the Lord their God will intervene for them ⁴⁴  and restore their prosperity. ⁴⁵ 

Zefanya 3:13

3:13 The Israelites who remain ⁴⁶  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 ⁴⁷  and lie down;

no one will terrify them.”

Zefanya 1:10

1:10 On that day,” says the Lord,

“a loud cry will go up ⁴⁸  from the Fish Gate, ⁴⁹ 

wailing from the city’s newer district, ⁵⁰ 

and a loud crash ⁵¹  from the hills.

Zefanya 1:15

1:15 That day will be a day of God’s anger, ⁵² 

a day of distress and hardship,

a day of devastation and ruin,

a day of darkness and gloom,

a day of clouds and dark skies,

Zefanya 2:2

2:2 before God’s decree becomes reality ⁵³  and the day of opportunity disappears like windblown chaff, ⁵⁴ 

before the Lord’s raging anger ⁵⁵  overtakes ⁵⁶  you –

before the day of the Lord’s angry judgment overtakes you!

Zefanya 3:2

3:2 She is disobedient; ⁵⁷ 

she refuses correction. ⁵⁸ 

She does not trust the Lord;

she does not seek the advice of ⁵⁹  her God.

Zefanya 2:14

2:14 Flocks and herds ⁶⁰  will lie down in the middle of it,

as well as every kind of wild animal. ⁶¹ 

Owls ⁶²  will sleep in the tops of its support pillars;

they will hoot through the windows. ⁶³ 

Rubble will cover the thresholds; ⁶⁴ 

even the cedar work ⁶⁵  will be exposed to the elements. ⁶⁶ 

Zefanya 3:11

3:11 In that day you ⁶⁷  will not be ashamed of all your rebelliousness against me, ⁶⁸ 

for then I will remove from your midst those who proudly boast, ⁶⁹ 

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

Zefanya 3:20

3:20 At that time I will lead you –

at the time I gather you together. ⁷⁰ 

Be sure of this! ⁷¹  I will make all the nations of the earth respect and admire you ⁷² 

when you see me restore you,” ⁷³  says the Lord.

[3:4]  ¹ sn Applied to prophets, the word פֹּחֲזִים (pokhazim, “proud”) probably refers to their audacity in passing off their own words as genuine prophecies from the Lord (see Jer 23:32).

[3:4]  ² tn Or “defile the temple.”

[3:4]  sn These priests defile what is holy by not observing the proper distinctions between what is ritually clean and unclean (see Ezek 22:26).

[3:4]  ³ tn Heb “they treat violently [the] law.”

[3:3]  ⁴ tn Or “officials.”

[3:3]  ⁵ tn Heb “her princes in her midst are roaring lions.” The metaphor has been translated as a simile (“as fierce as”) for clarity.

[3:3]  ⁶ tn Traditionally “judges.”

[3:3]  ⁷ tn Heb “her judges [are] wolves of the evening,” that is, wolves that prowl at night. The translation assumes an emendation to עֲרָבָה (’aravah, “desert”). For a discussion of this and other options, see Adele Berlin, Zephaniah (AB 25A), 128. The metaphor has been translated as a simile (“as hungry as”) for clarity.

[3:3]  ⁸ tn Heb “they do not gnaw [a bone] at morning.” The precise meaning of the line is unclear. The statement may mean these wolves devour their prey so completely that not even a bone is left to gnaw by the time morning arrives. For a discussion of this and other options, see Adele Berlin, Zephaniah (AB 25A), 129.

[3:17]  ⁹ tn Heb “he rejoices over you with joy.”

[3:17]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ tn Heb “he rejoices over you with a shout of joy.”

[2:5]  ¹² tn Heb “Kerethites,” a people settled alongside the Philistines in the coastal areas of southern Palestine (cf. 1 Sam 30:14; Ezek 25:16). They originally came from the island of Crete.

[2:5]  ¹³ tn Heb “Woe, inhabitants of the coast of the sea, nation of Kerethites.” The Hebrew term הוֹי (hoy, “ah, woe”), is used to mourn the dead and express outwardly one’s sorrow (see 1 Kgs 13:30; Jer 22:18; 34:5). By using it here the prophet mourns in advance the downfall of the Philistines, thereby emphasizing the certainty of their demise (“as good as dead”). Some argue the word does not have its earlier connotation here and is simply an attention-getting interjection, equivalent to “Hey!”

[2:5]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “the word of the Lord is against you.”

[2:5]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “I will destroy you so there is no inhabitant [remaining].”

[3:15]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “your judgments,” that is, “the judgments directed against you.” The translation reflects the implications of the parallelism.

[2:15]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “this is the proud city.”

[2:15]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “the one that lived securely.”

[2:15]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “the one who says in her heart.”

[2:15]  ²⁰ tn Heb “I [am], and besides me there is no other.”

[2:15]  ²¹ tn Heb “hisses”; or “whistles.”

[2:15]  ²² 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.

[3:6]  ²³ tn Heb “cut off.”

[3:6]  ²⁴ tn Heb “corner towers”; NEB, NRSV “battlements.”

[3:6]  ²⁵ tn This Hebrew verb (צָדָה, tsadah) occurs only here in the OT, but its meaning is established from the context and from an Aramaic cognate.

[3:6]  ²⁶ tn Heb “so that there is no man, without inhabitant.”

[1:1]  ²⁷ tn Heb “The word of the Lord which came to.”

[1:1]  ²⁸ tn Heb “in the days of.” The words “Zephaniah delivered this message” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[1:18]  ²⁹ tn Or “land” (cf. NEB). This same word also occurs at the end of the present verse.

[1:18]  ³⁰ tn Or “passion”; traditionally, “jealousy.”

[1:18]  ³¹ tn Or “for.”

[1:18]  ³² tn Heb “complete destruction, even terror, he will make.”

[1:18]  ³³ tn It is not certain where the Lord’s words end and the prophet’s words begin. It is possible that Zephaniah begins speaking in the middle of v. 17 or at the beginning of v. 18 (note the third person pronouns referring to the Lord).

[3:5]  ³⁴ tn The word “resides” is supplied for clarification.

[3:5]  ³⁵ tn Or “he does no injustice.”

[3:5]  ³⁶ tn Heb “gives”; or “dispenses.”

[3:5]  ³⁷ tn Heb “at the light he is not missing.” Note that NASB (which capitalizes pronouns referring to Deity) has divided the lines differently: “Every morning He brings His justice to light; // He does not fail.”

[3:12]  ³⁸ 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]  ³⁹ 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.

[2:7]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “the remnant of the house of Judah.”

[2:7]  ⁴¹ tn Or “the coast will belong to the remnant of the house of Judah.”

[2:7]  ⁴² tc Heb “on them,” but the antecedent of the masculine pronoun is unclear. It may refer back to the “pasture lands,” though that noun is feminine. It is preferable to emend the text from עֲלֵיהֶם (’alehem) to עַל־הַיָּם (’al-hayyam, “by the sea”) an emendation that assumes a misdivision and transposition of letters in the MT (cf. NEB “They shall pasture their flocks by the sea”). See J. J. M. Roberts, Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah (OTL), 192.

[2:7]  ⁴³ tn The referent of the pronominal subject (“they”) is unclear. It may refer (1) to the shepherds (in which case the first verb should be translated, “pasture their sheep,” cf. NEB), or (2) to the Judahites occupying the area, who are being compared to sheep (cf. NIV, “there they will find pasture”).

[2:7]  ⁴⁴ tn Or “will care for them.”

[2:7]  ⁴⁵ tn Traditionally, “restore their captivity,” i.e., bring back their captives, but it is more likely the expression means “restore their fortunes” in a more general sense (cf. NEB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[3:13]  ⁴⁶ tn Or “the remnant of Israel.”

[3:13]  ⁴⁷ tn The words “peacefully like sheep” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[1:10]  ⁴⁸ tn The words “will go up” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[1:10]  ⁴⁹ sn The Fish Gate was located on Jerusalem’s north side (cf. 2 Chr 33:14; Neh 3:3; 12:39).

[1:10]  ⁵⁰ 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]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “great breaking.”

[1:15]  ⁵² tn Heb “a day of wrath.” The word “God’s” is supplied in the translation for clarification.

[2:2]  ⁵³ tn Heb “before the giving birth of a decree.” For various alternative readings, see J. J. M. Roberts, Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah (OTL), 187-88.

[2:2]  ⁵⁴ tn The second half of the line reads literally, “like chaff it passes by a day.” The translation above assumes the “day” is the brief time God is giving the nation to repent. The comparison of this quickly passing opportunity to chaff is consistent with the straw imagery of v. 1.

[2:2]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “the fury of the anger of the Lord.” The synonyms are combined to emphasize the extreme degree of the Lord’s anger.

[2:2]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “comes upon.” This phrase occurs twice in this verse.

[3:2]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “she does not hear a voice” Refusing to listen is equated with disobedience.

[3:2]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “she does not receive correction.” The Hebrew phrase, when negated, refers elsewhere to rejecting verbal advice (Jer 17:23; 32:33; 35:13) and refusing to learn from experience (Jer 2:30; 5:3).

[3:2]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “draw near to.” The present translation assumes that the expression “draw near to” refers to seeking God’s will (see 1 Sam 14:36).

[2:14]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “flocks.” The Hebrew word can refer to both flocks of sheep and herds of cattle.

[2:14]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “[and] all the wild animals of a nation.” How גוֹי (goy, “nation”) relates to what precedes is unclear. It may be a corruption of another word. See J. J. M. Roberts, Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah (OTL), 193.

[2:14]  ⁶² tn The Hebrew text reads here גַּם־קָאַת גַּם־קִפֹּד (gam-qa’at gam-qippod). The term קָאַת refers to some type of bird (see Lev 11:18; Deut 14:17) that was typically found near ruins (Isa 34:11); one of the most common translations is “owl” (cf. NEB “horned owl”; NIV, NRSV “desert owl”; contra NASB “pelican”). The term קִפֹּד may also refer to a type of bird (cf. NEB “ruffed bustard”; NIV, NRSV “screech owl”). Some suggest a rodent may be in view (cf. NASB “hedgehog”); this is not unreasonable, for a rodent or some other small animal would be able to sleep in the tops of pillars which would be lying in the ruins of the fallen buildings.

[2:14]  ⁶³ tn Heb “a sound will sing in the window.” If some type of owl is in view, “hoot” is a more appropriate translation (cf. NEB, NRSV).

[2:14]  ⁶⁴ tn Heb “rubble [will be] on the threshold.” “Rubble” translates the Hebrew word חֹרֶב (khorev, “desolation”). Some emend to עֹרֵב (’orev, “raven”) following the LXX and Vulgate; Adele Berlin translates, “A voice shall shriek from the window – a raven at the sill” (Zephaniah [AB 25A], 104).

[2:14]  ⁶⁵ tn The meaning of the Hebrew word translated “cedar work” (so NASB, NRSV) is unclear; NIV has “the beams of cedar.”

[2:14]  ⁶⁶ tn Heb “one will expose.” The subject is probably indefinite, though one could translate, “for he [i.e., God] will lay bare.”

[3:11]  ⁶⁷ sn The second person verbs and pronouns are feminine singular, indicating that personified Jerusalem is addressed here.

[3:11]  ⁶⁸ tn Heb “In that day you not be ashamed because of all your actions, [in] which you rebelled against me.”

[3:11]  ⁶⁹ tn Heb “the arrogant ones of your pride.”

[3:20]  ⁷⁰ tn In this line the second person pronoun is masculine plural, indicating that the exiles are addressed.

[3:20]  ⁷¹ tn Or “for.”

[3:20]  ⁷² 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]  ⁷³ tn Heb “when I restore your fortunes to your eyes.” See the note on the phrase “restore them” in 2:7.