Zephaniah 1:2

The Lord’s Day of Judgment is Approaching

1:2 “I will destroy ¹  everything from the face of the earth,” says the Lord.

Zephaniah 3:20

3:20 At that time I will lead you –

at the time I gather you together. ² 

Be sure of this! ³  I will make all the nations of the earth respect and admire you ⁴ 

when you see me restore you,” ⁵  says the Lord.

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, ⁶ 

those who think to themselves, ⁷ 

‘The Lord neither rewards nor punishes.’ ⁸ 

Zephaniah 1:10

1:10 On that day,” says the Lord,

“a loud cry will go up ⁹  from the Fish Gate, ¹⁰ 

wailing from the city’s newer district, ¹¹ 

and a loud crash ¹²  from the hills.

Zephaniah 1:3

1:3 “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.) ¹³ 

I will remove ¹⁴  humanity from the face of the earth,” says the Lord.

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, ¹⁵ 

filled with salt pits, ¹⁶ 

and permanently desolate.

Those of my people who are left ¹⁷  will plunder their belongings; ¹⁸ 

those who are left in Judah ¹⁹  will take possession of their land.”

Zephaniah 3:8

3:8 Therefore you must wait patiently ²⁰  for me,” says the Lord,

“for the day when I attack and take plunder. ²¹ 

I have decided ²²  to gather nations together

and assemble kingdoms,

so I can pour out my fury on them –

all my raging anger.

For ²³  the whole earth will be consumed

by my fiery anger.

Zephaniah 2:12

2:12 “You ²⁴  Ethiopians ²⁵  will also die by my sword!” ²⁶ 

Zephaniah 3:16

3:16 On that day they will say ²⁷  to Jerusalem,

“Don’t be afraid, Zion!

Your hands must not be paralyzed from panic! ²⁸ 

Zephaniah 2:15

2:15 This is how the once-proud city will end up ²⁹  –

the city that was so secure. ³⁰ 

She thought to herself, ³¹  “I am unique! No one can compare to me!” ³² 

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

Everyone who passes by her taunts her ³³  and shakes his fist. ³⁴ 

Zephaniah 1:8

1:8 “On the day of the Lord’s sacrificial meal,

I will punish the princes ³⁵  and the king’s sons,

and all who wear foreign styles of clothing. ³⁶ 

Zephaniah 3:13

3:13 The Israelites who remain ³⁷  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 ³⁸  and lie down;

no one will terrify them.”

[1:2]  ¹ tn The Hebrew text combines the infinitive absolute of אָסַף (’asaf, “gather up, sweep away”) with a Hiphil prefixed first person form of סוּף (suf, “come to an end”; see Jer 8:13 for the same combination). This can be translated literally, “Sweeping away, I will bring to an end.” Some prefer to emend the text so that the infinitive and finite form of the verb are from the same root (“I will certainly sweep away,” if from אָסַף [cf. NEB, NIV, NRSV]; “I will certainly bring to an end,” if from סוּף). For a discussion of proposals see J. J. M. Roberts, Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah (OTL), 167, 169.

[3:20]  ² tn In this line the second person pronoun is masculine plural, indicating that the exiles are addressed.

[3:20]  ³ tn Or “for.”

[3:20]  ⁴ tn Heb “I will make you into a name and praise among all the peoples of the earth.” Here the word “name” carries the nuance of “good reputation.”

[3:20]  ⁵ tn Heb “when I restore your fortunes to your eyes.” See the note on the phrase “restore them” in 2:7.

[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.”

[1:10]  ⁴ tn The words “will go up” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[1:10]  ⁵ sn The Fish Gate was located on Jerusalem’s north side (cf. 2 Chr 33:14; Neh 3:3; 12:39).

[1:10]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ tn Heb “great breaking.”

[1:3]  ⁵ 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.

[1:3]  ⁶ tn Heb “cut off.”

[2:9]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ tn Or “The remnant of my people.”

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

[2:9]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “[the] nation.” For clarity the “nation” has been specified as “Judah” in the translation.

[3:8]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ tn Heb “for my decision is.”

[3:8]  ¹⁰ tn Or “certainly.”

[2:12]  ⁸ sn Though there is no formal introduction, these words are apparently spoken by the Lord (note my sword).

[2:12]  ⁹ tn Heb “Cushites.” This is traditionally assumed to refer to people from the region south of Egypt, i.e., Nubia or northern Sudan, referred to as “Ethiopia” by classical authors (not the more recent Abyssinia).

[2:12]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “Also you Cushites, who lie dead by my sword.”

[3:16]  ⁹ tn Heb “it will be said.” The passive construction has been translated as active for stylistic reasons.

[3:16]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “your hands must not go limp.”

[2:15]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “this is the proud city.”

[2:15]  ¹¹ tn Heb “the one that lived securely.”

[2:15]  ¹² tn Heb “the one who says in her heart.”

[2:15]  ¹³ tn Heb “I [am], and besides me there is no other.”

[2:15]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “hisses”; or “whistles.”

[2:15]  ¹⁵ 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.

[1:8]  ¹¹ tn Or “officials” (NRSV, TEV); NLT “leaders.”

[1:8]  ¹² sn The very dress of the royal court, foreign styles of clothing, revealed the degree to which Judah had assimilated foreign customs.

[3:13]  ¹² tn Or “the remnant of Israel.”

[3:13]  ¹³ tn The words “peacefully like sheep” are supplied in the translation for clarification.