Jeremiah 3:17-18

3:17 At that time the city of Jerusalem ¹  will be called the Lord’s throne. All nations will gather there in Jerusalem to honor the Lord’s name. ²  They will no longer follow the stubborn inclinations of their own evil hearts. ³  3:18 At that time ⁴  the nation of Judah and the nation of Israel will be reunited. ⁵  Together they will come back from a land in the north to the land that I gave to your ancestors as a permanent possession. ” ⁶ 

Jeremiah 23:8

23:8 But at that time they will affirm them with “I swear as surely as the Lord lives who delivered the descendants of the former nation of Israel ⁷  from the land of the north and from all the other lands where he had banished ⁸  them.” ⁹  At that time they will live in their own land.’”

Jeremiah 32:41

32:41 I will take delight in doing good to them. I will faithfully and wholeheartedly plant them ¹⁰  firmly in the land.’

Ezekiel 37:25

37:25 They will live in the land I gave to my servant Jacob, in which your fathers lived; they will live in it – they and their children and their grandchildren forever. David my servant will be prince over them forever.

Joel 3:20

3:20 But Judah will reside securely forever,

and Jerusalem will be secure ¹¹  from one generation to the next.

Amos 9:14-15

9:14 I will bring back my people, Israel; ¹² 

they will rebuild the cities lying in rubble ¹³  and settle down. ¹⁴ 

They will plant vineyards and drink the wine they produce; ¹⁵ 

they will grow orchards ¹⁶  and eat the fruit they produce. ¹⁷ 

9:15 I will plant them on their land

and they will never again be uprooted from the ¹⁸  land I have given them,”

says the Lord your God.

Obadiah 1:17-21

1:17 But on Mount Zion there will be a remnant of those who escape, ¹⁹ 

and it will be a holy place once again.

The descendants ²⁰  of Jacob will conquer ²¹ 

those who had conquered them. ²² 

1:18 The descendants of Jacob will be a fire,

and the descendants of Joseph a flame.

The descendants of Esau will be like stubble.

They will burn them up and devour them.

There will not be a single survivor ²³  of the descendants of Esau!”

Indeed, the Lord has spoken it.

1:19 The people of the Negev ²⁴  will take possession ²⁵  of Esau’s mountain,

and the people of the Shephelah ²⁶  will take

possession ²⁷  of the land of ²⁸  the Philistines.

They will also take possession of the territory of Ephraim and the territory of Samaria,

and the people of Benjamin will take possession ²⁹  of Gilead. ³⁰ 

1:20 The exiles of this fortress ³¹  of the people of Israel

will take possession ³²  of what belongs to

the people of Canaan, as far as Zarephath, ³³ 

and the exiles of Jerusalem ³⁴  who are in Sepharad ³⁵ 

will take possession of the towns of the Negev.

1:21 Those who have been delivered ³⁶  will go up on Mount Zion

in order to rule over ³⁷  Esau’s mountain.

Then the Lord will reign as King! ³⁸ 

Zephaniah 3:14-20

3:14 Shout for joy, Daughter Zion! ³⁹ 

Shout out, Israel!

Be happy and boast with all your heart, Daughter Jerusalem!

3:15 The Lord has removed the judgment against you; ⁴⁰ 

he has turned back your enemy.

Israel’s king, the Lord, is in your midst!

You no longer need to fear disaster.

3:16 On that day they will say ⁴¹  to Jerusalem,

“Don’t be afraid, Zion!

Your hands must not be paralyzed from panic! ⁴² 

3:17 The Lord your God is in your midst;

he is a warrior who can deliver.

He takes great delight in you; ⁴³ 

he renews you by his love; ⁴⁴ 

he shouts for joy over you.” ⁴⁵ 

3:18 “As for those who grieve because they cannot attend the festivals –

I took them away from you;

they became tribute and were a source of shame to you. ⁴⁶ 

3:19 Look, at that time I will deal with those who mistreated you.

I will rescue the lame sheep ⁴⁷ 

and gather together the scattered sheep.

I will take away their humiliation

and make the whole earth admire and respect them. ⁴⁸ 

3:20 At that time I will lead you –

at the time I gather you together. ⁴⁹ 

Be sure of this! ⁵⁰  I will make all the nations of the earth respect and admire you ⁵¹ 

when you see me restore you,” ⁵²  says the Lord.

[3:17]  ¹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[3:17]  ² tn Heb “will gather to the name of the Lord.”

[3:17]  ³ tn Heb “the stubbornness of their evil hearts.”

[3:18]  ⁴ tn Heb “In those days.”

[3:18]  ⁵ tn Heb “the house of Judah will walk together with the house of Israel.”

[3:18]  ⁶ tn Heb “the land that I gave your [fore]fathers as an inheritance.”

[23:8]  ⁷ tn Heb “descendants of the house of Israel.”

[23:8]  ⁸ tc It is probably preferable to read the third masculine singular plus suffix (הִדִּיחָם, hiddikham) here with the Greek version and the parallel passage in 16:15 rather than the first singular plus suffix in the MT (הִדַּחְתִּים, hiddakhtim). If this is not a case of mere graphic confusion, the MT could have arisen under the influence of the first person in v. 3. Though sudden shifts in person have been common in the book of Jeremiah, that is unlikely in a context reporting an oath.

[23:8]  ⁹ tn This passage is the same as 16:14-15 with a few minor variations in Hebrew wording. The notes on that passage should be consulted for the rendering here. This passage has the Niphal of the verb “to say” rather than the impersonal use of the Qal. It adds the idea of “bringing out” to the idea of “bringing up out” and (Heb “who brought up and who brought out,” probably a case of hendiadys) before “the people [here “seed” rather than “children”] of Israel [here “house of Israel”] from the land of the north.” These are minor variations and do not affect the sense in any way. So the passage is rendered in much the same way.

[32:41]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “will plant them in the land with faithfulness with all my heart and with all my soul.” The latter expressions are, of course, anthropomorphisms (see Deut 6:5).

[3:20]  ¹¹ tn The phrase “will be secure” does not appear in the Hebrew, but are supplied in the translation for the sake of smoothness.

[9:14]  ¹² tn This line can also be translated “I will restore the fortunes of my people, Israel” and is a common idiom (e.g., Deut 30:3; Jer 30:3; Hos 6:11; Zeph 3:20). This rendering is followed by several modern English versions (e.g., NEB, NRSV, NJPS).

[9:14]  ¹³ tn Or “the ruined [or “desolate”] cities.”

[9:14]  ¹⁴ tn Or “and live [in them].”

[9:14]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “drink their wine.”

[9:14]  ¹⁶ tn Or “gardens.”

[9:14]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “eat their fruit.”

[9:15]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “their.” The pronoun was replaced by the English definite article in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[1:17]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “will be a fugitive.” This is a collective singular. Cf. NCV “some will escape the judgment.”

[1:17]  ²⁰ tn Heb “house” (so most English versions); NCV, TEV “the people of Jacob.” The word “house” also occurs four times in v. 18.

[1:17]  ²¹ tn Heb “dispossess.” This root is repeated in the following line to emphasize poetic justice: The punishment will fit the crime.

[1:17]  ²² tc The present translation follows the reading מוֹרִשֵׁיהֶם (morishehem; literally, “those dispossessing them”; cf. NAB, NRSV, CEV) rather than מוֹרָשֵׁיהֶם (morashehem, “their possessions”) of the MT (cf. LXX, Syriac, and Vg, followed by KJV, ASV, NASB).

[1:18]  ²³ tn Heb “will be no survivor”; NAB “none shall survive.”

[1:19]  ²⁴ tn Heb “the Negev”; ASV “the South”; NCV, TEV “southern Judah.” The Hebrew text does not have the words “the people of,” but these words have been supplied in the translation for clarity. The place name “the Negev” functions as a synecdoche (container for contents) for the people living in the Negev.

[1:19]  ²⁵ sn The verb יָרַשׁ (yarash, “to take possession of [something]”) which is repeated three times in vv. 19-20 for emphasis, often implies a violent means of acquisition, such as through military conquest. Obadiah here pictures a dramatic reversal: Judah’s enemies, who conquered them then looted all her valuable possessions, will soon be conquered by the Judeans who will in turn take possession of their valuables. The punishment will fit the crime.

[1:19]  ²⁶ tn The Hebrew text does not have the words “the people of,” but they are supplied in the translation since “the Shephelah” functions as a synecdoche referring to residents of this region.

[1:19]  ²⁷ tn The phrase “will take possession” does not appear in this clause, but is implied from its previous use in this verse. It is supplied in the translation for the sake of smoothness.

[1:19]  ²⁸ tn The words “the land of” are not present in the Hebrew text. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[1:19]  ²⁹ tn The phrase “will take possession” does not appear in this clause, but is implied from its previous use in this verse. It is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[1:19]  ³⁰ sn Gilead is a mountainous region on the eastern side of the Jordan River in what is today the country of Jordan.

[1:20]  ³¹ tn Or “army” (TEV); KJV, NAB, NASB “host”; NIV “company.” Some text critics suggest revocalizing MT הַחֵל (hakhel, “the fortress”) to the place- name הָלָה (halah, “Halah”; so NRSV), the location to which many of the Israelite exiles were sent in the 8th century (2 Kgs 7:6; 18:11; 1 Chr 5:26). The MT form is from הַיִל (hayil, “strength”), which is used elsewhere to refer to an army (Exod 14:17; 1 Sam 17:20; 2 Sam 8:9), military fortress (2 Sam 20:15; 22:33), leaders (Exod 18:21) and even wealth or possessions (Obad 1:11, 13).

[1:20]  ³² tn The Hebrew text has no verb here. The words “will possess” have been supplied from the context.

[1:20]  ³³ sn Zarephath was a Phoenician coastal city located some ten miles south of Sidon.

[1:20]  ³⁴ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[1:20]  ³⁵ sn The exact location of Sepharad is uncertain. Suggestions include a location in Spain, or perhaps Sparta in Greece, or perhaps Sardis in Asia Minor. For inscriptional evidence that bears on this question see E. Lipinski, “Obadiah 20,” VT 23 (1973): 368-70. The reason for mentioning this location in v. 20 seems to be that even though it was far removed from Jerusalem, the Lord will nonetheless enable the Jewish exiles there to return and participate in the restoration of Israel that Obadiah describes.

[1:21]  ³⁶ tc The present translation follows the reading מוּשָׁעִים (musha’im, “those who have been delivered”; cf. NRSV, CEV) rather than מוֹשִׁעִים (moshi’im,“deliverers”; cf. NASB, NIV, NLT) of the MT (cf. LXX, Aquila, Theodotion, and Syriac).

[1:21]  ³⁷ tn Heb “to judge.” In this context the term does not mean “to render judgment on,” but “to rule over” (cf. NAB “to rule”; NIV “to govern”).

[1:21]  ³⁸ tn Heb “then the kingdom will belong to the Lord.”

[3:14]  ³⁹ sn This phrase is used as an epithet for the city and the nation. “Daughter” may seem extraneous in English but consciously joins the various epithets and metaphors of Israel and Jerusalem as a woman, a device used to evoke sympathy from the reader.

[3:15]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “your judgments,” that is, “the judgments directed against you.” The translation reflects the implications of the parallelism.

[3:16]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “it will be said.” The passive construction has been translated as active for stylistic reasons.

[3:16]  ⁴² tn Heb “your hands must not go limp.”

[3:17]  ⁴³ tn Heb “he rejoices over you with joy.”

[3:17]  ⁴⁴ tc The MT reads, “he is silent in his love,” but this makes no sense in light of the immediately preceding and following lines. Some take the Hiphil verb form as causative (see Job 11:3) rather than intransitive and translate, “he causes [you] to be silent by his love,” that is, “he soothes [you] by his love.” The present translation follows the LXX and assumes an original reading יְחַדֵּשׁ (yÿkhaddesh, “he renews”) with ellipsis of the object (“you”).

[3:17]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “he rejoices over you with a shout of joy.”

[3:18]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “The ones grieving from an assembly I gathered from you they were, tribute upon her, a reproach.” Any translation of this difficult verse must be provisional at best. The present translation assumes three things: (1) The preposition מִן (min) prefixed to “assembly” is causal (the individuals are sorrowing because of the assemblies or festivals they are no longer able to hold). (2) מַשְׂאֵת (mas’et) means “tribute” and refers to the exiled people being treated as the spoils of warfare (see R. D. Patterson, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah [WEC], 385-86). (3) The third feminine singular suffix refers to personified Jerusalem, which is addressed earlier in the verse (the pronominal suffix in “from you” is second feminine singular). For other interpretive options see Adele Berlin, Zephaniah (AB 25A), 146.

[3:19]  ⁴⁷ tn The word “sheep” is supplied for clarification. As in Mic 4:6-7, the exiles are here pictured as injured and scattered sheep whom the divine shepherd rescues from danger.

[3:19]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “I will make them into praise and a name, in all the earth, their shame.” The present translation assumes that “their shame” specifies “them” and that “name” stands here for a good reputation.

[3:20]  ⁴⁹ tn In this line the second person pronoun is masculine plural, indicating that the exiles are addressed.

[3:20]  ⁵⁰ tn Or “for.”

[3:20]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “I will make you into a name and praise among all the peoples of the earth.” Here the word “name” carries the nuance of “good reputation.”

[3:20]  ⁵² tn Heb “when I restore your fortunes to your eyes.” See the note on the phrase “restore them” in 2:7.