1:2 “I will destroy 1 everything from the face of the earth,” says the Lord.
1:3 “I will destroy people and animals;
I will destroy the birds in the sky
and the fish in the sea.
(The idolatrous images of these creatures will be destroyed along with evil people.) 2
I will remove 3 humanity from the face of the earth,” says the Lord.
1:24 Therefore, the sovereign Lord who commands armies, 4
the powerful ruler of Israel, 5 says this:
“Ah, I will seek vengeance 6 against my adversaries,
I will take revenge against my enemies. 7
1 tn The Hebrew text combines the infinitive absolute of אָסַף (’asaf, “gather up, sweep away”) with a Hiphil prefixed first person form of סוּף (suf, “come to an end”; see Jer 8:13 for the same combination). This can be translated literally, “Sweeping away, I will bring to an end.” Some prefer to emend the text so that the infinitive and finite form of the verb are from the same root (“I will certainly sweep away,” if from אָסַף [cf. NEB, NIV, NRSV]; “I will certainly bring to an end,” if from סוּף). For a discussion of proposals see J. J. M. Roberts, Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah (OTL), 167, 169.
2 tn Heb “And the stumbling blocks [or, “ruins”] with the evil”; or “the things that make the evil stumble.” The line does not appear in the original form of the LXX; it may be a later scribal addition. The present translation assumes the “stumbling blocks” are idolatrous images of animals, birds, and fish. See J. J. M. Roberts, Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah (OTL), 167, and Adele Berlin, Zephaniah (AB), 73-74.
3 tn Heb “cut off.”
4 tn Heb “the master, the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts].” On the title “the Lord who commands armies,” see the note at v. 9.
5 tn Heb “the powerful [one] of Israel.”
6 tn Heb “console myself” (i.e., by getting revenge); NRSV “pour out my wrath on.”
7 sn The Lord here identifies with the oppressed and comes as their defender and vindicator.