Zephaniah 2:12

2:12 “You ¹  Ethiopians ²  will also die by my sword!” ³ 

Zephaniah 1:18

1:18 Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to deliver them

in the day of the Lord’s angry judgment.

The whole earth ⁴  will be consumed by his fiery wrath. ⁵ 

Indeed, ⁶  he will bring terrifying destruction ⁷  on all who live on the earth.” ⁸ 

Zephaniah 2:14

2:14 Flocks and herds ⁹  will lie down in the middle of it,

as well as every kind of wild animal. ¹⁰ 

Owls ¹¹  will sleep in the tops of its support pillars;

they will hoot through the windows. ¹² 

Rubble will cover the thresholds; ¹³ 

even the cedar work ¹⁴  will be exposed to the elements. ¹⁵ 

[2:12]  ¹ sn Though there is no formal introduction, these words are apparently spoken by the Lord (note my sword).

[2:12]  ² 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]  ³ tn Heb “Also you Cushites, who lie dead by my sword.”

[1:18]  ⁴ tn Or “land” (cf. NEB). This same word also occurs at the end of the present verse.

[1:18]  ⁵ tn Or “passion”; traditionally, “jealousy.”

[1:18]  ⁶ tn Or “for.”

[1:18]  ⁷ tn Heb “complete destruction, even terror, he will make.”

[1:18]  ⁸ tn It is not certain where the Lord’s words end and the prophet’s words begin. It is possible that Zephaniah begins speaking in the middle of v. 17 or at the beginning of v. 18 (note the third person pronouns referring to the Lord).

[2:14]  ⁷ tn Heb “flocks.” The Hebrew word can refer to both flocks of sheep and herds of cattle.

[2:14]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ 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]  ¹² tn The meaning of the Hebrew word translated “cedar work” (so NASB, NRSV) is unclear; NIV has “the beams of cedar.”

[2:14]  ¹³ tn Heb “one will expose.” The subject is probably indefinite, though one could translate, “for he [i.e., God] will lay bare.”