Zephaniah 2:4

Judgment on Surrounding Nations

2:4 Indeed, ¹  Gaza will be deserted ² 

and Ashkelon will become a heap of ruins. ³ 

Invaders will drive away the people of Ashdod by noon, ⁴ 

and Ekron will be overthrown. ⁵ 

Zephaniah 1:9

1:9 On that day I will punish all who leap over the threshold, ⁶ 

who fill the house of their master ⁷  with wealth taken by violence and deceit. ⁸ 

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 ⁹  will be consumed by his fiery wrath. ¹⁰ 

Indeed, ¹¹  he will bring terrifying destruction ¹²  on all who live on the earth.” ¹³ 

Zephaniah 2:15

2:15 This is how the once-proud city will end up ¹⁴  –

the city that was so secure. ¹⁵ 

She thought to herself, ¹⁶  “I am unique! No one can compare to me!” ¹⁷ 

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

Everyone who passes by her taunts her ¹⁸  and shakes his fist. ¹⁹ 

Zephaniah 3:13

3:13 The Israelites who remain ²⁰  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 ²¹  and lie down;

no one will terrify them.”

[2:4]  ¹ tn Or “for” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV).

[2:4]  ² tn There is a sound play here in the Hebrew text: the name Gaza (עַזָּה, ’azzah) sounds like the word translated “deserted” (עֲזוּבָה, ’azuvah).

[2:4]  ³ tn Or “a desolate place.”

[2:4]  ⁴ tn Heb “[As for] Ashdod, at noon they will drive her away.”

[2:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “uprooted.” There is a sound play here in the Hebrew text: the name “Ekron” (עֶקְרוֹן, ’eqron) sounds like the word translated “uprooted” (תֵּעָקֵר, te’aqer).

[1:9]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ tn The referent of “their master” is unclear. The king or a pagan god may be in view.

[1:9]  ⁸ tn Heb “who fill…with violence and deceit.” The expression “violence and deceit” refers metonymically to the wealth taken by oppressive measures.

[1:18]  ¹¹ tn Or “land” (cf. NEB). This same word also occurs at the end of the present verse.

[1:18]  ¹² tn Or “passion”; traditionally, “jealousy.”

[1:18]  ¹³ tn Or “for.”

[1:18]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “complete destruction, even terror, he will make.”

[1:18]  ¹⁵ 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).

[2:15]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “this is the proud city.”

[2:15]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “the one that lived securely.”

[2:15]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “the one who says in her heart.”

[2:15]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “I [am], and besides me there is no other.”

[2:15]  ²⁰ tn Heb “hisses”; or “whistles.”

[2:15]  ²¹ 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.

[3:13]  ²¹ tn Or “the remnant of Israel.”

[3:13]  ²² tn The words “peacefully like sheep” are supplied in the translation for clarification.