Zephaniah 1:16

1:16 a day of trumpet blasts ¹  and battle cries. ² 

Judgment will fall on ³  the fortified cities and the high corner towers.

Zephaniah 2:2

2:2 before God’s decree becomes reality ⁴  and the day of opportunity disappears like windblown chaff, ⁵ 

before the Lord’s raging anger ⁶  overtakes ⁷  you –

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

¹ tn Heb “a ram’s horn.” By metonymy the Hebrew text mentions the trumpet (“ram’s horn”) in place of the sound it produces (“trumpet blasts”).

² sn This description of the day of the Lord consists of an initial reference to anger, followed by four pairs of synonyms. The joining of synonyms in this way emphasizes the degree of the characteristic being described. The first two pairs focus on the distress and ruin that judgment will bring; the second two pairs picture this day of judgment as being very dark (darkness) and exceedingly overcast (gloom). The description concludes with the pairing of two familiar battle sounds, the blast on the ram’s horn (trumpet blasts) and the war cries of the warriors (battle cries).

³ tn Heb “against.” The words “judgment will fall” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

⁴ 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.

⁵ 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.

⁶ tn Heb “the fury of the anger of the Lord.” The synonyms are combined to emphasize the extreme degree of the Lord’s anger.

⁷ tn Heb “comes upon.” This phrase occurs twice in this verse.