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, 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 2:14-15

2:14 Flocks and herds ⁶  will lie down in the middle of it,

as well as every kind of wild animal. ⁷ 

Owls ⁸  will sleep in the tops of its support pillars;

they will hoot through the windows. ⁹ 

Rubble will cover the thresholds; ¹⁰ 

even the cedar work ¹¹  will be exposed to the elements. ¹² 

2:15 This is how the once-proud city will end up ¹³  –

the city that was so secure. ¹⁴ 

She thought to herself, ¹⁵  “I am unique! No one can compare to me!” ¹⁶ 

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

Everyone who passes by her taunts her ¹⁷  and shakes his fist. ¹⁸ 

[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.

[2:14]  ⁶ tn Heb “flocks.” The Hebrew word can refer to both flocks of sheep and herds of cattle.

[2:14]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ tn The meaning of the Hebrew word translated “cedar work” (so NASB, NRSV) is unclear; NIV has “the beams of cedar.”

[2:14]  ¹² tn Heb “one will expose.” The subject is probably indefinite, though one could translate, “for he [i.e., God] will lay bare.”

[2:15]  ¹¹ tn Heb “this is the proud city.”

[2:15]  ¹² tn Heb “the one that lived securely.”

[2:15]  ¹³ tn Heb “the one who says in her heart.”

[2:15]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “I [am], and besides me there is no other.”

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

[2:15]  ¹⁶ 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.