Zephaniah 1:10
Context1:10 On that day,” says the Lord,
“a loud cry will go up 1 from the Fish Gate, 2
wailing from the city’s newer district, 3
and a loud crash 4 from the hills.
Zephaniah 1:14
Context1:14 The Lord’s great day of judgment 5 is almost here;
it is approaching very rapidly!
There will be a bitter sound on the Lord’s day of judgment;
at that time warriors will cry out in battle. 6
Zephaniah 2:14
Context2:14 Flocks and herds 7 will lie down in the middle of it,
as well as every kind of wild animal. 8
Owls 9 will sleep in the tops of its support pillars;
they will hoot through the windows. 10
Rubble will cover the thresholds; 11


[1:10] 1 tn The words “will go up” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[1:10] 2 sn The Fish Gate was located on Jerusalem’s north side (cf. 2 Chr 33:14; Neh 3:3; 12:39).
[1:10] 3 tn Heb “from the second area.” This may refer to an area northwest of the temple where the rich lived (see Adele Berlin, Zephaniah [AB 25A], 86; cf. NASB, NRSV “the Second Quarter”; NIV “the New Quarter”).
[1:10] 4 tn Heb “great breaking.”
[1:14] 5 tn Heb “The great day of the
[1:14] 6 tn Heb “the sound of the day of the
[2:14] 9 tn Heb “flocks.” The Hebrew word can refer to both flocks of sheep and herds of cattle.
[2:14] 10 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] 11 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] 12 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] 13 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] 14 tn The meaning of the Hebrew word translated “cedar work” (so NASB, NRSV) is unclear; NIV has “the beams of cedar.”
[2:14] 15 tn Heb “one will expose.” The subject is probably indefinite, though one could translate, “for he [i.e., God] will lay bare.”