Zefanya 3:6-8

The Lord’s Judgment will Purify

3:6 “I destroyed ¹  nations;

their walled cities ²  are in ruins.

I turned their streets into ruins;

no one passes through them.

Their cities are desolate; ³ 

no one lives there. ⁴ 

3:7 I thought, ⁵  ‘Certainly you will respect ⁶  me!

Now you will accept correction!’

If she had done so, her home ⁷  would not be destroyed ⁸ 

by all the punishments I have threatened. ⁹ 

But they eagerly sinned

in everything they did. ¹⁰ 

3:8 Therefore you must wait patiently ¹¹  for me,” says the Lord,

“for the day when I attack and take plunder. ¹² 

I have decided ¹³  to gather nations together

and assemble kingdoms,

so I can pour out my fury on them –

all my raging anger.

For ¹⁴  the whole earth will be consumed

by my fiery anger.

[3:6]  ¹ tn Heb “cut off.”

[3:6]  ² tn Heb “corner towers”; NEB, NRSV “battlements.”

[3:6]  ³ 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]  ⁴ tn Heb “so that there is no man, without inhabitant.”

[3:7]  ⁵ tn Heb “said.”

[3:7]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ tn Or “dwelling place.”

[3:7]  ⁸ tn Heb “cut off.”

[3:7]  ⁹ tn Heb “all which I have punished her.” The precise meaning of this statement and its relationship to what precedes are unclear.

[3:7]  ¹⁰ 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.

[3:8]  ¹¹ tn The second person verb form (“you must wait patiently”) is masculine plural, indicating that a group is being addressed. Perhaps the humble individuals addressed earlier (see 2:3) are in view. Because of Jerusalem’s sin, they must patiently wait for judgment to pass before their vindication arrives.

[3:8]  ¹² tn Heb “when I arise for plunder.” The present translation takes עַד (’ad) as “plunder.” Some, following the LXX, repoint the term עֵד (’ed) and translate, “as a witness” (cf. NASB, NIV, NRSV). In this case the Lord uses a legal metaphor to picture himself as testifying against his enemies. Adele Berlin takes לְעַד (lÿ’ad) in a temporal sense (“forever”) and translates “once and for all” (Zephaniah [AB 25A], 133).

[3:8]  ¹³ tn Heb “for my decision is.”

[3:8]  ¹⁴ tn Or “certainly.”