Zephaniah 3:4

3:4 Her prophets are proud;

they are deceitful men.

Her priests defile what is holy;

they break God’s laws.

Zephaniah 3:2

3:2 She is disobedient;

she refuses correction.

She does not trust the Lord;

she does not seek the advice of her God.

Colossians 1:17

1:17 He himself is before all things and all things are held together in him.


sn Applied to prophets, the word פֹּחֲזִים (pokhazim, “proud”) probably refers to their audacity in passing off their own words as genuine prophecies from the Lord (see Jer 23:32).

tn Or “defile the temple.”

tn Heb “they treat violently [the] law.”

tn Heb “she does not hear a voice” Refusing to listen is equated with disobedience.

tn Heb “she does not receive correction.” The Hebrew phrase, when negated, refers elsewhere to rejecting verbal advice (Jer 17:23; 32:33; 35:13) and refusing to learn from experience (Jer 2:30; 5:3).

tn Heb “draw near to.” The present translation assumes that the expression “draw near to” refers to seeking God’s will (see 1 Sam 14:36).

tn BDAG 973 s.v. συνίστημι B.3 suggests “continue, endure, exist, hold together” here.