3:8 Therefore you must wait patiently 1 for me,” says the Lord,
“for the day when I attack and take plunder. 2
I have decided 3 to gather nations together
and assemble kingdoms,
so I can pour out my fury on them –
all my raging anger.
For 4 the whole earth will be consumed
by my fiery anger.
3:2 She is disobedient; 5
she refuses correction. 6
She does not trust the Lord;
she does not seek the advice of 7 her God.
1:16 a day of trumpet blasts 8 and battle cries. 9
Judgment will fall on 10 the fortified cities and the high corner towers.
1:17 I will bring distress on the people 11
and they will stumble 12 like blind men,
for they have sinned against the Lord.
Their blood will be poured out like dirt;
their flesh 13 will be scattered 14 like manure.
1:1 This is the prophetic message that the Lord gave to 15 Zephaniah son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah. Zephaniah delivered this message during the reign of 16 King Josiah son of Amon of Judah:
1:1 This is the prophetic message that the Lord gave to 17 Zephaniah son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah. Zephaniah delivered this message during the reign of 18 King Josiah son of Amon of Judah:
3:4 Now John wore clothing made from camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his diet consisted of locusts and wild honey. 24 3:5 Then people from Jerusalem, 25 as well as all Judea and all the region around the Jordan, were going out to him, 3:6 and he was baptizing them 26 in the Jordan River as they confessed their sins.
3:7 But when he saw many Pharisees 27 and Sadducees 28 coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You offspring of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 3:8 Therefore produce fruit 29 that proves your 30 repentance, 3:9 and don’t think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that God can raise up children for Abraham from these stones! 3:10 Even now the ax is laid at 31 the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.
1 tn The second person verb form (“you must wait patiently”) is masculine plural, indicating that a group is being addressed. Perhaps the humble individuals addressed earlier (see 2:3) are in view. Because of Jerusalem’s sin, they must patiently wait for judgment to pass before their vindication arrives.
2 tn Heb “when I arise for plunder.” The present translation takes עַד (’ad) as “plunder.” Some, following the LXX, repoint the term עֵד (’ed) and translate, “as a witness” (cf. NASB, NIV, NRSV). In this case the Lord uses a legal metaphor to picture himself as testifying against his enemies. Adele Berlin takes לְעַד (lÿ’ad) in a temporal sense (“forever”) and translates “once and for all” (Zephaniah [AB 25A], 133).
3 tn Heb “for my decision is.”
4 tn Or “certainly.”
5 tn Heb “she does not hear a voice” Refusing to listen is equated with disobedience.
6 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).
7 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).
8 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”).
9 sn This description of the day of the
10 tn Heb “against.” The words “judgment will fall” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
11 tn “The people” refers to mankind in general (see vv. 2-3) or more specifically to the residents of Judah (see vv. 4-13).
12 tn Heb “walk.”
13 tn Some take the referent of “flesh” to be more specific here; cf. NEB (“bowels”), NAB (“brains”), NIV (“entrails”).
14 tn The words “will be scattered” are supplied in the translation for clarity based on the parallelism with “will be poured out” in the previous line.
15 tn Heb “The word of the
16 tn Heb “in the days of.” The words “Zephaniah delivered this message” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
17 tn Heb “The word of the
18 tn Heb “in the days of.” The words “Zephaniah delivered this message” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
19 sn The words that Jesus predicts here will never pass away. They are more stable and lasting than creation itself. For this kind of image, see Isa 40:8; 55:10-11.
20 tn Grk “answering, he said to them.” The participle ἀποκριθείς (ajpokriqei") is redundant in English and has not been translated.
21 tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”
22 sn With the statement not one stone will be left on another Jesus predicted the total destruction of the temple, something that did occur in
23 tn Grk “not one stone will be left here on another which will not be thrown down.”
24 sn John’s lifestyle was in stark contrast to many of the religious leaders of Jerusalem who lived in relative ease and luxury. While his clothing and diet were indicative of someone who lived in the desert, they also depicted him in his role as God’s prophet (cf. Zech 13:4); his appearance is similar to the Prophet Elijah (2 Kgs 1:8). Locusts and wild honey were a common diet in desert regions, and locusts (dried insects) are listed in Lev 11:22 among the “clean” foods.
25 tn Grk “Then Jerusalem.”
26 tn Grk “they were being baptized by him.” The passive construction has been rendered as active in the translation for the sake of English style.
27 sn Pharisees were members of one of the most important and influential religious and political parties of Judaism in the time of Jesus. There were more Pharisees than Sadducees (according to Josephus, Ant. 17.2.4 [17.42] there were more than 6,000 Pharisees at about this time). Pharisees differed with Sadducees on certain doctrines and patterns of behavior. The Pharisees were strict and zealous adherents to the laws of the OT and to numerous additional traditions such as angels and bodily resurrection.
28 sn The Sadducees controlled the official political structures of Judaism at this time, being the majority members of the Sanhedrin. They were known as extremely strict on law and order issues (Josephus, J. W. 2.8.2 [2.119], 2.8.14 [2.164-166]; Ant. 13.5.9 [13.171-173], 13.10.6 [13.293-298], 18.1.2 [18.11], 18.1.4 [18.16-17], 20.9.1 [20.199]; Life 2 [10-11]). See also Matt 16:1-12; 22:23-34; Mark 12:18-27; Luke 20:27-38; Acts 5:17; 23:6-8.
29 sn Fruit worthy of repentance refers to the deeds that indicate a change of attitude (heart) on the part of John’s hearers.
30 tn Grk “fruit worthy of.”
31 sn Laid at the root. That is, placed and aimed, ready to begin cutting.