Zefanya 3:7

3:7 I thought, ¹  ‘Certainly you will respect ²  me!

Now you will accept correction!’

If she had done so, her home ³  would not be destroyed ⁴ 

by all the punishments I have threatened. ⁵ 

But they eagerly sinned

in everything they did. ⁶ 

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; ⁷ 

he renews you by his love; ⁸ 

he shouts for joy over you.” ⁹ 

[3:7]  ¹ tn Heb “said.”

[3:7]  ² 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]  ³ tn Or “dwelling place.”

[3:7]  ⁴ tn Heb “cut off.”

[3:7]  ⁵ tn Heb “all which I have punished her.” The precise meaning of this statement and its relationship to what precedes are unclear.

[3:7]  ⁶ 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.

[3:17]  ⁷ tn Heb “he rejoices over you with joy.”

[3:17]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ tn Heb “he rejoices over you with a shout of joy.”