Zephaniah 1:10

1:10 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 2:3

2:3 Seek the Lord’s favor, ⁵  all you humble people ⁶  of the land who have obeyed his commands! ⁷ 

Strive to do what is right! ⁸  Strive to be humble! ⁹ 

Maybe you will be protected ¹⁰  on the day of the Lord’s angry judgment.

Zephaniah 2:5

2:5 Those who live by the sea, the people who came from Crete, ¹¹  are as good as dead. ¹² 

The Lord has decreed your downfall, ¹³  Canaan, land of the Philistines:

“I will destroy everyone who lives there!” ¹⁴ 

Zephaniah 3:6

The Lord’s Judgment will Purify

3:6 “I destroyed ¹⁵  nations;

their walled cities ¹⁶  are in ruins.

I turned their streets into ruins;

no one passes through them.

Their cities are desolate; ¹⁷ 

no one lives there. ¹⁸ 

[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.”

[2:3]  ⁵ tn Heb “seek the Lord,” but “favor” seems to be implied from the final line of the verse.

[2:3]  ⁶ tn Or “poor.” The precise referent of this Hebrew term is unclear. The word may refer to the economically poor or to the spiritually humble.

[2:3]  ⁷ tn The present translation assumes the Hebrew term מִשְׁפָּט (mishpat) here refers to God’s covenantal requirements and is a synonym for the Law. The word can mean “justice” and could refer more specifically to the principles of justice contained in the Law. In this case the phrase could be translated, “who have promoted the justice God demands.”

[2:3]  ⁸ tn Heb “Seek what is right.”

[2:3]  ⁹ tn Heb “Seek humility.”

[2:3]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “hidden.” Cf. NEB “it may be that you will find shelter”; NRSV “perhaps you may be hidden.”

[2:5]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ tn Heb “the word of the Lord is against you.”

[2:5]  ¹² tn Heb “I will destroy you so there is no inhabitant [remaining].”

[3:6]  ¹³ tn Heb “cut off.”

[3:6]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “corner towers”; NEB, NRSV “battlements.”

[3:6]  ¹⁵ tn This Hebrew verb (צָדָה, tsadah) occurs only here in the OT, but its meaning is established from the context and from an Aramaic cognate.

[3:6]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “so that there is no man, without inhabitant.”