Zephaniah 1:7-8

1:7 Be silent before the Lord God, ¹ 

for the Lord’s day of judgment ²  is almost here. ³ 

The Lord has prepared a sacrificial meal; ⁴ 

he has ritually purified ⁵  his guests.

1:8 “On the day of the Lord’s sacrificial meal,

I will punish the princes ⁶  and the king’s sons,

and all who wear foreign styles of clothing. ⁷ 

Zephaniah 1:10

1:10 On that day,” says the Lord,

“a loud cry will go up ⁸  from the Fish Gate, ⁹ 

wailing from the city’s newer district, ¹⁰ 

and a loud crash ¹¹  from the hills.

Zephaniah 1:14-15

1:14 The Lord’s great day of judgment ¹²  is almost here;

it is approaching very rapidly!

There will be a bitter sound on the Lord’s day of judgment;

at that time warriors will cry out in battle. ¹³ 

1:15 That day will be a day of God’s anger, ¹⁴ 

a day of distress and hardship,

a day of devastation and ruin,

a day of darkness and gloom,

a day of clouds and dark skies,

¹ tn Heb “Lord Lord.” The phrase אֲדֹנָי יְהוִה (adonai yÿhvih) is customarily rendered by Jewish tradition as “Lord God.”

² tn Heb “the day of the Lord.”

³ tn Or “near.”

⁴ tn Heb “a sacrifice.” This same word also occurs in the following verse.

⁵ tn Or “consecrated” (ASV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).

⁶ tn Or “officials” (NRSV, TEV); NLT “leaders.”

⁷ sn The very dress of the royal court, foreign styles of clothing, revealed the degree to which Judah had assimilated foreign customs.

¹¹ tn The words “will go up” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

¹² sn The Fish Gate was located on Jerusalem’s north side (cf. 2 Chr 33:14; Neh 3:3; 12:39).

¹³ tn Heb “from the second area.” This may refer to an area northwest of the temple where the rich lived (see Adele Berlin, Zephaniah [AB 25A], 86; cf. NASB, NRSV “the Second Quarter”; NIV “the New Quarter”).

¹⁴ tn Heb “great breaking.”

¹⁶ tn Heb “The great day of the Lord.” The words “of judgment” are supplied in the translation here and later in this verse for clarity. See the note on the expression “day of judgment” in v. 7.

¹⁷ tn Heb “the sound of the day of the Lord, bitter [is] one crying out there, a warrior.” The present translation does four things: (1) It takes מַר (mar, “bitter”) with what precedes (contrary to the accentuation of the MT). (2) It understands the participle צָרַח (tsarakh, “cry out in battle”) as verbal with “warrior” as its subject. (3) It takes שָׁם (sham, “there”) in a temporal sense, meaning “then, at that time.” (4) It understands “warrior” as collective.

²¹ tn Heb “a day of wrath.” The word “God’s” is supplied in the translation for clarification.