Discovery BoxZephaniah 2:9
Context2:9 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, 1
filled with salt pits, 2
and permanently desolate.
Those of my people who are left 3 will plunder their belongings; 4
those who are left in Judah 5 will take possession of their land.”
Zephaniah 2:13-15
Context2:13 The Lord 6 will attack the north 7
and destroy Assyria.
He will make Nineveh a heap of ruins;
it will be as barren 8 as the desert.
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
2:15 This is how the once-proud city will end up 16 –
the city that was so secure. 17
She thought to herself, 18 “I am unique! No one can compare to me!” 19
What a heap of ruins she has become, a place where wild animals live!
Everyone who passes by her taunts her 20 and shakes his fist. 21
[2:9] 1 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] 2 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] 3 tn Or “The remnant of my people.”
[2:9] 4 tn Heb “them.” The actual object of the plundering, “their belongings,” has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[2:9] 5 tn Heb “[the] nation.” For clarity the “nation” has been specified as “Judah” in the translation.
[2:13] 6 tn Heb “He”; the referent (the
[2:13] 7 tn Heb “he will stretch out his hand against the north.”
[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.”
[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.
