2:1 Bunch yourselves together like straw, 1 you undesirable 2 nation,
3:7 I thought, 3 ‘Certainly you will respect 4 me!
Now you will accept correction!’
If she had done so, her home 5 would not be destroyed 6
by all the punishments I have threatened. 7
But they eagerly sinned
in everything they did. 8
1 tn The Hebrew text combines a Hitpolel imperative of קָשַׁשׁ (qashash) with a Qal imperative of the same root. Elsewhere this root appears in the polel stem with the meaning “gather stubble.” Zephaniah’s command is ironic, implying the people are like stubble or straw. As such, they are vulnerable to the Lord’s fiery judgment that will quickly consume them (see 1:18). See Adele Berlin, Zephaniah (AB 25A), 96.
2 tn Some relate this word to an Aramaic cognate meaning “to be ashamed.” With the negative particle it would then mean “unashamed” (cf. NIV “shameful”; NRSV “shameless”). However, elsewhere in biblical Hebrew the verb means “to desire,” or with the negative particle “undesirable.” Cf. also NEB “unruly.”
3 tn Heb “said.”
4 tn Or “fear.” The second person verb form (“you will respect”) is feminine singular, indicating that personified Jerusalem is addressed.
5 tn Or “dwelling place.”
6 tn Heb “cut off.”
7 tn Heb “all which I have punished her.” The precise meaning of this statement and its relationship to what precedes are unclear.
8 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.