Zephaniah 2:5

2:5 Those who live by the sea, the people who came from Crete, ¹  are as good as dead. ² 

The Lord has decreed your downfall, ³  Canaan, land of the Philistines:

“I will destroy everyone who lives there!” ⁴ 

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, ⁵ 

filled with salt pits, ⁶ 

and permanently desolate.

Those of my people who are left ⁷  will plunder their belongings; ⁸ 

those who are left in Judah ⁹  will take possession of their land.”

Zephaniah 2:14

2:14 Flocks and herds ¹⁰  will lie down in the middle of it,

as well as every kind of wild animal. ¹¹ 

Owls ¹²  will sleep in the tops of its support pillars;

they will hoot through the windows. ¹³ 

Rubble will cover the thresholds; ¹⁴ 

even the cedar work ¹⁵  will be exposed to the elements. ¹⁶ 

[2:5]  ¹ tn Heb “Kerethites,” a people settled alongside the Philistines in the coastal areas of southern Palestine (cf. 1 Sam 30:14; Ezek 25:16). They originally came from the island of Crete.

[2:5]  ² tn Heb “Woe, inhabitants of the coast of the sea, nation of Kerethites.” The Hebrew term הוֹי (hoy, “ah, woe”), is used to mourn the dead and express outwardly one’s sorrow (see 1 Kgs 13:30; Jer 22:18; 34:5). By using it here the prophet mourns in advance the downfall of the Philistines, thereby emphasizing the certainty of their demise (“as good as dead”). Some argue the word does not have its earlier connotation here and is simply an attention-getting interjection, equivalent to “Hey!”

[2:5]  ³ tn Heb “the word of the Lord is against you.”

[2:5]  ⁴ tn Heb “I will destroy you so there is no inhabitant [remaining].”

[2:9]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ tn Or “The remnant of my people.”

[2:9]  ⁸ tn Heb “them.” The actual object of the plundering, “their belongings,” has been specified in the translation for clarity.

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

[2:14]  ⁹ tn Heb “flocks.” The Hebrew word can refer to both flocks of sheep and herds of cattle.

[2:14]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ 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]  ¹² 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]  ¹³ 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]  ¹⁴ tn The meaning of the Hebrew word translated “cedar work” (so NASB, NRSV) is unclear; NIV has “the beams of cedar.”

[2:14]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “one will expose.” The subject is probably indefinite, though one could translate, “for he [i.e., God] will lay bare.”