Zephaniah 1:8

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

I will punish the princes ¹  and the king’s sons,

and all who wear foreign styles of clothing. ² 

Zephaniah 1:16

1:16 a day of trumpet blasts ³  and battle cries. ⁴ 

Judgment will fall on ⁵  the fortified cities and the high corner towers.

Zephaniah 1:4

1:4 “I will attack ⁶  Judah

and all who live in Jerusalem. ⁷ 

I will remove ⁸  from this place every trace of Baal worship, ⁹ 

as well as the very memory ¹⁰  of the pagan priests. ¹¹ 

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

[1:8]  ² sn The very dress of the royal court, foreign styles of clothing, revealed the degree to which Judah had assimilated foreign customs.

[1:16]  ³ tn Heb “a ram’s horn.” By metonymy the Hebrew text mentions the trumpet (“ram’s horn”) in place of the sound it produces (“trumpet blasts”).

[1:16]  ⁴ sn This description of the day of the Lord consists of an initial reference to anger, followed by four pairs of synonyms. The joining of synonyms in this way emphasizes the degree of the characteristic being described. The first two pairs focus on the distress and ruin that judgment will bring; the second two pairs picture this day of judgment as being very dark (darkness) and exceedingly overcast (gloom). The description concludes with the pairing of two familiar battle sounds, the blast on the ram’s horn (trumpet blasts) and the war cries of the warriors (battle cries).

[1:16]  ⁵ tn Heb “against.” The words “judgment will fall” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[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]  ⁷ tn Heb “cut off.”

[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).