Jeremiah 50:5

50:5 They will ask the way to Zion;

they will turn their faces toward it.

They will come ¹  and bind themselves to the Lord

in a lasting covenant that will never be forgotten. ² 

Zephaniah 2:11

2:11 The Lord will terrify them, ³ 

for ⁴  he will weaken ⁵  all the gods of the earth.

All the distant nations will worship the Lord in their own lands. ⁶ 

Zephaniah 2:1

The Prophet Warns the People

2:1 Bunch yourselves together like straw, ⁷  you undesirable ⁸  nation,

Colossians 1:17

1:17 He himself is before all things and all things are held together ⁹  in him.

[50:5]  ¹ tc The translation here assumes that the Hebrew בֹּאוּ (bo’u; a Qal imperative masculine plural) should be read בָּאוּ (ba’u; a Qal perfect third plural). This reading is presupposed by the Greek version of Aquila, the Latin version, and the Targum (see BHS note a, which mistakenly assumes that the form must be imperfect).

[50:5]  ² sn See Jer 32:40 and the study note there for the nature of this lasting agreement.

[2:11]  ³ tn Heb “will be awesome over [or, “against”] them.”

[2:11]  ⁴ tn Or “certainly.”

[2:11]  ⁵ tn The meaning of this rare Hebrew word is unclear. If the meaning is indeed “weaken,” then this line may be referring to the reduction of these gods’ territory through conquest (see Adele Berlin, Zephaniah [AB 25A], 110-11). Cf. NEB “reduce to beggary”; NASB “starve”; NIV “when he destroys”; NRSV “shrivel.”

[2:11]  ⁶ tn Heb “and all the coastlands of the nations will worship [or, “bow down”] to him, each from his own place.”

[2:1]  ⁷ tn The Hebrew text combines a Hitpolel imperative of קָשַׁשׁ (qashash) with a Qal imperative of the same root. Elsewhere this root appears in the polel stem with the meaning “gather stubble.” Zephaniah’s command is ironic, implying the people are like stubble or straw. As such, they are vulnerable to the Lord’s fiery judgment that will quickly consume them (see 1:18). See Adele Berlin, Zephaniah (AB 25A), 96.

[2:1]  ⁸ tn Some relate this word to an Aramaic cognate meaning “to be ashamed.” With the negative particle it would then mean “unashamed” (cf. NIV “shameful”; NRSV “shameless”). However, elsewhere in biblical Hebrew the verb means “to desire,” or with the negative particle “undesirable.” Cf. also NEB “unruly.”

[1:17]  ⁹ tn BDAG 973 s.v. συνίστημι B.3 suggests “continue, endure, exist, hold together” here.