Zephaniah 2:7

2:7 Those who are left from the kingdom of Judah ¹  will take possession of it. ² 

By the sea ³  they ⁴  will graze,

in the houses of Ashkelon they will lie down in the evening,

for the Lord their God will intervene for them ⁵  and restore their prosperity. ⁶ 

Zephaniah 1:1

Introduction

1:1 This is the prophetic message that the Lord gave to ⁷  Zephaniah son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah. Zephaniah delivered this message during the reign of ⁸  King Josiah son of Amon of Judah:

Zephaniah 1:4

1:4 “I will attack ⁹  Judah

and all who live in Jerusalem. ¹⁰ 

I will remove ¹¹  from this place every trace of Baal worship, ¹² 

as well as the very memory ¹³  of the pagan priests. ¹⁴ 

[2:7]  ¹ tn Heb “the remnant of the house of Judah.”

[2:7]  ² tn Or “the coast will belong to the remnant of the house of Judah.”

[2:7]  ³ tc Heb “on them,” but the antecedent of the masculine pronoun is unclear. It may refer back to the “pasture lands,” though that noun is feminine. It is preferable to emend the text from עֲלֵיהֶם (’alehem) to עַל־הַיָּם (’al-hayyam, “by the sea”) an emendation that assumes a misdivision and transposition of letters in the MT (cf. NEB “They shall pasture their flocks by the sea”). See J. J. M. Roberts, Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah (OTL), 192.

[2:7]  ⁴ tn The referent of the pronominal subject (“they”) is unclear. It may refer (1) to the shepherds (in which case the first verb should be translated, “pasture their sheep,” cf. NEB), or (2) to the Judahites occupying the area, who are being compared to sheep (cf. NIV, “there they will find pasture”).

[2:7]  ⁵ tn Or “will care for them.”

[2:7]  ⁶ tn Traditionally, “restore their captivity,” i.e., bring back their captives, but it is more likely the expression means “restore their fortunes” in a more general sense (cf. NEB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[1:1]  ⁷ tn Heb “The word of the Lord which came to.”

[1:1]  ⁸ tn Heb “in the days of.” The words “Zephaniah delivered this message” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[1:4]  ¹³ tn Heb “I will stretch out my hand against,” is an idiom for hostile action.

[1:4]  ¹⁴ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[1:4]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “cut off.”

[1:4]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “the remnant of Baal.”

[1:4]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “name.” Here the “name” is figurative for the memory of those who bear it.

[1:4]  ¹⁸ 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).