Discovery BoxZephaniah 1:1
Context1:1 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 1:3-6
Context1:3 “I will destroy people and animals;
I will destroy the birds in the sky
and the fish in the sea.
(The idolatrous images of these creatures will be destroyed along with evil people.) 3
I will remove 4 humanity from the face of the earth,” says the Lord.
and all who live in Jerusalem. 6
I will remove 7 from this place every trace of Baal worship, 8
as well as the very memory 9 of the pagan priests. 10
1:5 I will remove 11 those who worship the stars in the sky from their rooftops, 12
those who swear allegiance to the Lord 13 while taking oaths in the name of 14 their ‘king,’ 15
1:6 and those who turn their backs on 16 the Lord
and do not want the Lord’s help or guidance.” 17
Zephaniah 1:9
Context1:9 On that day I will punish all who leap over the threshold, 18
who fill the house of their master 19 with wealth taken by violence and deceit. 20
Zephaniah 1:18
Context1:18 Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to deliver them
in the day of the Lord’s angry judgment.
The whole earth 21 will be consumed by his fiery wrath. 22
Indeed, 23 he will bring terrifying destruction 24 on all who live on the earth.” 25
Zephaniah 2:5
Context2:5 Those who live by the sea, the people who came from Crete, 26 are as good as dead. 27
The Lord has decreed your downfall, 28 Canaan, land of the Philistines:
“I will destroy everyone who lives there!” 29
Zephaniah 2:8
Context2:8 “I have heard Moab’s taunts
and the Ammonites’ insults.
They 30 taunted my people
and verbally harassed those living in Judah. 31
Zephaniah 2:11
Context2:11 The Lord will terrify them, 32
for 33 he will weaken 34 all the gods of the earth.
All the distant nations will worship the Lord in their own lands. 35
Zephaniah 2:14-15
Context2:14 Flocks and herds 36 will lie down in the middle of it,
as well as every kind of wild animal. 37
Owls 38 will sleep in the tops of its support pillars;
they will hoot through the windows. 39
Rubble will cover the thresholds; 40
even the cedar work 41 will be exposed to the elements. 42
2:15 This is how the once-proud city will end up 43 –
the city that was so secure. 44
She thought to herself, 45 “I am unique! No one can compare to me!” 46
What a heap of ruins she has become, a place where wild animals live!
Everyone who passes by her taunts her 47 and shakes his fist. 48
Zephaniah 3:4
Context3:4 Her prophets are proud; 49
they are deceitful men.
Her priests defile what is holy; 50
they break God’s laws. 51
Zephaniah 3:7-10
Context3:7 I thought, 52 ‘Certainly you will respect 53 me!
Now you will accept correction!’
If she had done so, her home 54 would not be destroyed 55
by all the punishments I have threatened. 56
But they eagerly sinned
in everything they did. 57
3:8 Therefore you must wait patiently 58 for me,” says the Lord,
“for the day when I attack and take plunder. 59
I have decided 60 to gather nations together
and assemble kingdoms,
so I can pour out my fury on them –
all my raging anger.
For 61 the whole earth will be consumed
by my fiery anger.
3:9 Know for sure that I will then enable
the nations to give me acceptable praise. 62
All of them will invoke the Lord’s name when they pray, 63
and will worship him in unison. 64
3:10 From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia, 65
those who pray to me 66 will bring me tribute.
Zephaniah 3:13
Context3:13 The Israelites who remain 67 will not act deceitfully.
They will not lie,
and a deceitful tongue will not be found in their mouth.
Indeed, they will graze peacefully like sheep 68 and lie down;
no one will terrify them.”
[1:1] 1 tn Heb “The word of the
[1:1] 2 tn Heb “in the days of.” The words “Zephaniah delivered this message” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[1:3] 3 tn Heb “And the stumbling blocks [or, “ruins”] with the evil”; or “the things that make the evil stumble.” The line does not appear in the original form of the LXX; it may be a later scribal addition. The present translation assumes the “stumbling blocks” are idolatrous images of animals, birds, and fish. See J. J. M. Roberts, Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah (OTL), 167, and Adele Berlin, Zephaniah (AB), 73-74.
[1:4] 5 tn Heb “I will stretch out my hand against,” is an idiom for hostile action.
[1:4] 6 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[1:4] 8 tn Heb “the remnant of Baal.”
[1:4] 9 tn Heb “name.” Here the “name” is figurative for the memory of those who bear it.
[1:4] 10 tc Heb “of the pagan priests and priests.” The first word (כְּמָרִים, kÿmarim) refers to idolatrous priests in its two other appearances in the OT (2 Kgs 23:5, Hos 10:5), while the second word (כֹּהֲנִים, kohanim) is the normal term for “priest” and is used of both legitimate and illegitimate priests in the OT. It is likely that the second term, which is omitted in the LXX, is a later scribal addition to the Hebrew text, defining the extremely rare word that precedes (see J. J. M. Roberts, Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah [OTL], 167-68; cf. also NEB, NRSV). Some argue that both words are original; among the modern English versions that include both are NASB and NIV. Possibly the first word refers to outright pagan priests, while the second has in view once-legitimate priests of the Lord who had drifted into idolatrous practices. Another option is found in Adele Berlin, who translates, “the idolatrous priests among the priests,” understanding the second word as giving the general category of which the idolatrous priests are a part (Zephaniah [AB 25A], 75).
[1:5] 7 tn The words “I will remove” are repeated from v. 4b for stylistic reasons. In the Hebrew text vv. 4b-6 contain a long list of objects for the verb “I will remove” in v. 4b. In the present translation a new sentence was begun at the beginning of v. 5 in keeping with the tendency of contemporary English to use shorter sentences.
[1:5] 8 tn Heb “those who worship on their roofs the host of heaven.” The “host of heaven” included the sun, moon, planets, and stars, all of which were deified in the ancient Near East.
[1:5] 9 tc The MT reads, “those who worship, those who swear allegiance to the
[1:5] 10 tn Heb “those who swear by.”
[1:5] 11 tn The referent of “their king” is unclear. It may refer sarcastically to a pagan god (perhaps Baal) worshiped by the people. Some English versions (cf. NEB, NASB, NRSV) prefer to emend the text to “Milcom,” the name of an Ammonite god (following some LXX
[1:6] 9 tn Heb “turn back from [following] after.”
[1:6] 10 tn Heb “who do not seek the
[1:9] 11 sn The point of the statement all who hop over the threshold is unclear. A ritual or superstition associated with the Philistine god Dagon may be in view (see 1 Sam 5:5).
[1:9] 12 tn The referent of “their master” is unclear. The king or a pagan god may be in view.
[1:9] 13 tn Heb “who fill…with violence and deceit.” The expression “violence and deceit” refers metonymically to the wealth taken by oppressive measures.
[1:18] 13 tn Or “land” (cf. NEB). This same word also occurs at the end of the present verse.
[1:18] 14 tn Or “passion”; traditionally, “jealousy.”
[1:18] 16 tn Heb “complete destruction, even terror, he will make.”
[1:18] 17 tn It is not certain where the
[2:5] 15 tn Heb “Kerethites,” a people settled alongside the Philistines in the coastal areas of southern Palestine (cf. 1 Sam 30:14; Ezek 25:16). They originally came from the island of Crete.
[2:5] 16 tn Heb “Woe, inhabitants of the coast of the sea, nation of Kerethites.” The Hebrew term הוֹי (hoy, “ah, woe”), is used to mourn the dead and express outwardly one’s sorrow (see 1 Kgs 13:30; Jer 22:18; 34:5). By using it here the prophet mourns in advance the downfall of the Philistines, thereby emphasizing the certainty of their demise (“as good as dead”). Some argue the word does not have its earlier connotation here and is simply an attention-getting interjection, equivalent to “Hey!”
[2:5] 17 tn Heb “the word of the
[2:5] 18 tn Heb “I will destroy you so there is no inhabitant [remaining].”
[2:8] 17 tn Heb “who.” A new sentence was begun here in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[2:8] 18 tn Heb “and they made great [their mouth?] against their territory.” Other possible translation options include (1) “they enlarged their own territory” (cf. NEB) and (2) “they bragged about [the size] of their own territory.”
[2:11] 19 tn Heb “will be awesome over [or, “against”] them.”
[2:11] 21 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] 22 tn Heb “and all the coastlands of the nations will worship [or, “bow down”] to him, each from his own place.”
[2:14] 21 tn Heb “flocks.” The Hebrew word can refer to both flocks of sheep and herds of cattle.
[2:14] 22 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.
[2:14] 23 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.
[2:14] 24 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).
[2:14] 25 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).
[2:14] 26 tn The meaning of the Hebrew word translated “cedar work” (so NASB, NRSV) is unclear; NIV has “the beams of cedar.”
[2:14] 27 tn Heb “one will expose.” The subject is probably indefinite, though one could translate, “for he [i.e., God] will lay bare.”
[2:15] 23 tn Heb “this is the proud city.”
[2:15] 24 tn Heb “the one that lived securely.”
[2:15] 25 tn Heb “the one who says in her heart.”
[2:15] 26 tn Heb “I [am], and besides me there is no other.”
[2:15] 27 tn Heb “hisses”; or “whistles.”
[2:15] 28 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.
[3:4] 25 sn Applied to prophets, the word פֹּחֲזִים (pokhazim, “proud”) probably refers to their audacity in passing off their own words as genuine prophecies from the
[3:4] 26 tn Or “defile the temple.”
[3:4] 27 tn Heb “they treat violently [the] law.”
[3:7] 28 tn Or “fear.” The second person verb form (“you will respect”) is feminine singular, indicating that personified Jerusalem is addressed.
[3:7] 29 tn Or “dwelling place.”
[3:7] 31 tn Heb “all which I have punished her.” The precise meaning of this statement and its relationship to what precedes are unclear.
[3:7] 32 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] 29 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] 30 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] 31 tn Heb “for my decision is.”
[3:9] 31 tn Heb “Certainly [or perhaps, “For”] then I will restore to the nations a pure lip.”
[3:9] 32 tn Heb “so that all of them will call on the name of the
[3:9] 33 tn Heb “so that [they] will serve him [with] one shoulder.”
[3:10] 33 tn Or “Nubia”; Heb “Cush.” “Cush” is traditionally assumed to refer to the region south of Egypt, i.e. Nubia or northern Sudan, referred to as “Ethiopia” by classical authors (not the more recent Abyssinia).
[3:10] 34 tn Heb “those who pray to me, the daughter of my dispersed ones.” The meaning of the phrase is unclear. Perhaps the text is corrupt at this point or a proper name should be understood. For a discussion of various options see Adele Berlin, Zephaniah (AB 25A), 134-35.
[3:13] 35 tn Or “the remnant of Israel.”
[3:13] 36 tn The words “peacefully like sheep” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
