Matthew 3:12

3:12 His winnowing fork ¹  is in his hand, and he will clean out his threshing floor and will gather his wheat into the storehouse, ²  but the chaff he will burn up with inextinguishable fire.” ³ 

Matthew 13:30

13:30 Let both grow together until the harvest. At ⁴  harvest time I will tell the reapers, “First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned, but then ⁵  gather ⁶  the wheat into my barn.”’”

Matthew 25:31-32

The Judgment

25:31 “When ⁷  the Son of Man comes in his glory and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 25:32 All ⁸  the nations will be assembled before him, and he will separate people one from another like a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.

Zephaniah 1:12

1:12 At that time I will search through Jerusalem with lamps.

I will punish the people who are entrenched in their sin, ⁹ 

those who think to themselves, ¹⁰ 

‘The Lord neither rewards nor punishes.’ ¹¹ 

Zephaniah 1:1

Introduction

1:1 This is the prophetic message that the Lord gave to ¹²  Zephaniah son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah. Zephaniah delivered this message during the reign of ¹³  King Josiah son of Amon of Judah:

Colossians 4:5

4:5 Conduct yourselves ¹⁴  with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunities.

Hebrews 4:12-13

4:12 For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any double-edged sword, piercing even to the point of dividing soul from spirit, and joints from marrow; it is able to judge the desires and thoughts of the heart. 4:13 And no creature is hidden from God, ¹⁵  but everything is naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must render an account.

Revelation 2:23

2:23 Furthermore, I will strike her followers ¹⁶  with a deadly disease, ¹⁷  and then all the churches will know that I am the one who searches minds and hearts. I will repay ¹⁸  each one of you ¹⁹  what your deeds deserve. ²⁰ 

¹ sn A winnowing fork was a pitchfork-like tool used to toss threshed grain in the air so that the wind blew away the chaff, leaving the grain to fall to the ground. The note of purging is highlighted by the use of imagery involving sifting though threshed grain for the useful kernels.

² tn Or “granary,” “barn” (referring to a building used to store a farm’s produce rather than a building to house livestock).

³ sn The image of fire that cannot be extinguished is from the OT: Job 20:26; Isa 34:8-10; 66:24.

⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

⁵ tn Grk “but.”

⁶ tn Grk “burned, but gather.”

⁷ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

⁹ tn Heb “who thicken on their sediment.” The imagery comes from wine making, where the wine, if allowed to remain on the sediment too long, will thicken into syrup. The image suggests that the people described here were complacent in their sinful behavior and interpreted the delay in judgment as divine apathy.

¹⁰ tn Heb “who say in their hearts.”

¹¹ tn Heb “The Lord does not do good nor does he do evil.”

¹² tn Heb “The word of the Lord which came to.”

¹³ tn Heb “in the days of.” The words “Zephaniah delivered this message” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

¹⁴ tn Grk “walk.” The verb περιπατέω (peripatew) is a common NT idiom for one’s lifestyle, behavior, or manner of conduct (L&N 41.11).

¹⁵ tn Grk “him”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁶ tn Grk “her children,” but in this context a reference to this woman’s followers or disciples is more likely meant.

¹⁷ tn Grk “I will kill with death.” θάνατος (qanatos) can in particular contexts refer to a manner of death, specifically a contagious disease (see BDAG 443 s.v. 3; L&N 23.158).

¹⁸ tn Grk “I will give.” The sense of δίδωμι (didwmi) in this context is more “repay” than “give.”

¹⁹ sn This pronoun and the following one are plural in the Greek text.

²⁰ tn Grk “each one of you according to your works.”