Isaiah 5:25

5:25 So the Lord is furious ¹  with his people;

he lifts ²  his hand and strikes them.

The mountains shake,

and corpses lie like manure ³  in the middle of the streets.

Despite all this, his anger does not subside,

and his hand is ready to strike again. ⁴ 

Zephaniah 3:6-8

The Lord’s Judgment will Purify

3:6 “I destroyed ⁵  nations;

their walled cities ⁶  are in ruins.

I turned their streets into ruins;

no one passes through them.

Their cities are desolate; ⁷ 

no one lives there. ⁸ 

3:7 I thought, ⁹  ‘Certainly you will respect ¹⁰  me!

Now you will accept correction!’

If she had done so, her home ¹¹  would not be destroyed ¹² 

by all the punishments I have threatened. ¹³ 

But they eagerly sinned

in everything they did. ¹⁴ 

3:8 Therefore you must wait patiently ¹⁵  for me,” says the Lord,

“for the day when I attack and take plunder. ¹⁶ 

I have decided ¹⁷  to gather nations together

and assemble kingdoms,

so I can pour out my fury on them –

all my raging anger.

For ¹⁸  the whole earth will be consumed

by my fiery anger.

[5:25]  ¹ tn Heb “the anger of the Lord rages.”

[5:25]  ² tn Or “extends”; KJV, ASV “he hath stretched forth.”

[5:25]  ³ tn Or “garbage” (NCV, CEV, NLT); NAB, NASB, NIV “refuse.”

[5:25]  ⁴ tn Heb “in all this his anger is not turned, and still his hand is outstretched.”

[3:6]  ⁵ tn Heb “cut off.”

[3:6]  ⁶ tn Heb “corner towers”; NEB, NRSV “battlements.”

[3:6]  ⁷ tn This Hebrew verb (צָדָה, tsadah) occurs only here in the OT, but its meaning is established from the context and from an Aramaic cognate.

[3:6]  ⁸ tn Heb “so that there is no man, without inhabitant.”

[3:7]  ⁹ tn Heb “said.”

[3:7]  ¹⁰ tn Or “fear.” The second person verb form (“you will respect”) is feminine singular, indicating that personified Jerusalem is addressed.

[3:7]  ¹¹ tn Or “dwelling place.”

[3:7]  ¹² tn Heb “cut off.”

[3:7]  ¹³ tn Heb “all which I have punished her.” The precise meaning of this statement and its relationship to what precedes are unclear.

[3:7]  ¹⁴ 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.

[3:8]  ¹⁵ 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.

[3:8]  ¹⁶ 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).

[3:8]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “for my decision is.”

[3:8]  ¹⁸ tn Or “certainly.”