Zephaniah 1:1

Introduction

1:1 This is the prophetic message that the Lord gave to ¹  Zephaniah son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah. Zephaniah delivered this message during the reign of ²  King Josiah son of Amon of Judah:

Zephaniah 1:12

1:12 At that time I will search through Jerusalem with lamps.

I will punish the people who are entrenched in their sin, ³ 

those who think to themselves, ⁴ 

‘The Lord neither rewards nor punishes.’ ⁵ 

Zephaniah 2:9

2:9 Therefore, as surely as I live,” says the Lord who commands armies, the God of Israel,

“be certain that Moab will become like Sodom

and the Ammonites like Gomorrah.

They will be overrun by weeds, ⁶ 

filled with salt pits, ⁷ 

and permanently desolate.

Those of my people who are left ⁸  will plunder their belongings; ⁹ 

those who are left in Judah ¹⁰  will take possession of their land.”

Zephaniah 2:15

2:15 This is how the once-proud city will end up ¹¹  –

the city that was so secure. ¹² 

She thought to herself, ¹³  “I am unique! No one can compare to me!” ¹⁴ 

What a heap of ruins she has become, a place where wild animals live!

Everyone who passes by her taunts her ¹⁵  and shakes his fist. ¹⁶ 

[1:1]  ¹ tn Heb “The word of the Lord which came to.”

[1:1]  ² tn Heb “in the days of.” The words “Zephaniah delivered this message” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[1:12]  ³ tn Heb “who thicken on their sediment.” The imagery comes from wine making, where the wine, if allowed to remain on the sediment too long, will thicken into syrup. The image suggests that the people described here were complacent in their sinful behavior and interpreted the delay in judgment as divine apathy.

[1:12]  ⁴ tn Heb “who say in their hearts.”

[1:12]  ⁵ tn Heb “The Lord does not do good nor does he do evil.”

[2:9]  ⁵ tn The Hebrew text reads מִמְשַׁק חָרוּל (mimshaq kharul, “[?] of weeds”). The meaning of the first word is unknown. The present translation (“They will be overrun by weeds”) is speculative, based on the general sense of the context. For a defense of “overrun” on linguistic grounds, see R. D. Patterson, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah (WEC), 347. Cf. NEB “a pile of weeds”; NIV “a place of weeds”; NRSV “a land possessed by nettles.”

[2:9]  ⁶ tn The Hebrew text reads וּמִכְרֵה־מֶלַח (umikhreh-melakh, “and a [?] of salt”). The meaning of the first word is unclear, though “pit” (NASB, NIV, NRSV; NKJV “saltpit”), “mine,” and “heap” (cf. NEB “a rotting heap of saltwort”) are all options. The words “filled with” are supplied for clarification.

[2:9]  ⁷ tn Or “The remnant of my people.”

[2:9]  ⁸ tn Heb “them.” The actual object of the plundering, “their belongings,” has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:9]  ⁹ tn Heb “[the] nation.” For clarity the “nation” has been specified as “Judah” in the translation.

[2:15]  ⁷ tn Heb “this is the proud city.”

[2:15]  ⁸ tn Heb “the one that lived securely.”

[2:15]  ⁹ tn Heb “the one who says in her heart.”

[2:15]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “I [am], and besides me there is no other.”

[2:15]  ¹¹ tn Heb “hisses”; or “whistles.”

[2:15]  ¹² sn Hissing (or whistling) and shaking the fist were apparently ways of taunting a defeated foe or an object of derision in the culture of the time.