Zephaniah 1:7-9

1:7 Be silent before the Lord God, ¹ 

for the Lord’s day of judgment ²  is almost here. ³ 

The Lord has prepared a sacrificial meal; ⁴ 

he has ritually purified ⁵  his guests.

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

I will punish the princes ⁶  and the king’s sons,

and all who wear foreign styles of clothing. ⁷ 

1:9 On that day I will punish all who leap over the threshold, ⁸ 

who fill the house of their master ⁹  with wealth taken by violence and deceit. ¹⁰ 

[1:7]  ¹ tn Heb “Lord Lord.” The phrase אֲדֹנָי יְהוִה (adonai yÿhvih) is customarily rendered by Jewish tradition as “Lord God.”

[1:7]  ² tn Heb “the day of the Lord.”

[1:7]  ³ tn Or “near.”

[1:7]  ⁴ tn Heb “a sacrifice.” This same word also occurs in the following verse.

[1:7]  ⁵ tn Or “consecrated” (ASV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[1:8]  ⁶ tn Or “officials” (NRSV, TEV); NLT “leaders.”

[1:8]  ⁷ sn The very dress of the royal court, foreign styles of clothing, revealed the degree to which Judah had assimilated foreign customs.

[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.