Zephaniah 3:9

3:9 Know for sure that I will then enable

the nations to give me acceptable praise. ¹ 

All of them will invoke the Lord’s name when they pray, ² 

and will worship him in unison. ³ 

Zephaniah 1:16

1:16 a day of trumpet blasts ⁴  and battle cries. ⁵ 

Judgment will fall on ⁶  the fortified cities and the high corner towers.

Zephaniah 2:14

2:14 Flocks and herds ⁷  will lie down in the middle of it,

as well as every kind of wild animal. ⁸ 

Owls ⁹  will sleep in the tops of its support pillars;

they will hoot through the windows. ¹⁰ 

Rubble will cover the thresholds; ¹¹ 

even the cedar work ¹²  will be exposed to the elements. ¹³ 

¹ tn Heb “Certainly [or perhaps, “For”] then I will restore to the nations a pure lip.”

² tn Heb “so that all of them will call on the name of the Lord.”

³ tn Heb “so that [they] will serve him [with] one shoulder.”

⁴ 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”).

⁵ sn This description of the day of the Lord consists of an initial reference to anger, followed by four pairs of synonyms. The joining of synonyms in this way emphasizes the degree of the characteristic being described. The first two pairs focus on the distress and ruin that judgment will bring; the second two pairs picture this day of judgment as being very dark (darkness) and exceedingly overcast (gloom). The description concludes with the pairing of two familiar battle sounds, the blast on the ram’s horn (trumpet blasts) and the war cries of the warriors (battle cries).

⁶ tn Heb “against.” The words “judgment will fall” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

⁷ tn Heb “flocks.” The Hebrew word can refer to both flocks of sheep and herds of cattle.

⁸ tn Heb “[and] all the wild animals of a nation.” How גוֹי (goy, “nation”) relates to what precedes is unclear. It may be a corruption of another word. See J. J. M. Roberts, Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah (OTL), 193.

⁹ tn The Hebrew text reads here גַּם־קָאַת גַּם־קִפֹּד (gam-qa’at gam-qippod). The term קָאַת refers to some type of bird (see Lev 11:18; Deut 14:17) that was typically found near ruins (Isa 34:11); one of the most common translations is “owl” (cf. NEB “horned owl”; NIV, NRSV “desert owl”; contra NASB “pelican”). The term קִפֹּד may also refer to a type of bird (cf. NEB “ruffed bustard”; NIV, NRSV “screech owl”). Some suggest a rodent may be in view (cf. NASB “hedgehog”); this is not unreasonable, for a rodent or some other small animal would be able to sleep in the tops of pillars which would be lying in the ruins of the fallen buildings.

¹⁰ tn Heb “a sound will sing in the window.” If some type of owl is in view, “hoot” is a more appropriate translation (cf. NEB, NRSV).

¹¹ tn Heb “rubble [will be] on the threshold.” “Rubble” translates the Hebrew word חֹרֶב (khorev, “desolation”). Some emend to עֹרֵב (’orev, “raven”) following the LXX and Vulgate; Adele Berlin translates, “A voice shall shriek from the window – a raven at the sill” (Zephaniah [AB 25A], 104).

¹² tn The meaning of the Hebrew word translated “cedar work” (so NASB, NRSV) is unclear; NIV has “the beams of cedar.”

¹³ tn Heb “one will expose.” The subject is probably indefinite, though one could translate, “for he [i.e., God] will lay bare.”