Zephaniah 3:10-11

3:10 From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia, ¹ 

those who pray to me ²  will bring me tribute.

3:11 In that day you ³  will not be ashamed of all your rebelliousness against me, ⁴ 

for then I will remove from your midst those who proudly boast, ⁵ 

and you will never again be arrogant on my holy hill.

Zephaniah 3:19

3:19 Look, at that time I will deal with those who mistreated you.

I will rescue the lame sheep ⁶ 

and gather together the scattered sheep.

I will take away their humiliation

and make the whole earth admire and respect them. ⁷ 

Zephaniah 1:13

1:13 Their wealth will be stolen

and their houses ruined!

They will not live in the houses they have built,

nor will they drink the wine from the vineyards they have planted.

Zephaniah 2:3

2:3 Seek the Lord’s favor, ⁸  all you humble people ⁹  of the land who have obeyed his commands! ¹⁰ 

Strive to do what is right! ¹¹  Strive to be humble! ¹² 

Maybe you will be protected ¹³  on the day of the Lord’s angry judgment.

[3:10]  ¹ tn Or “Nubia”; Heb “Cush.” “Cush” is traditionally assumed to refer to the region south of Egypt, i.e. Nubia or northern Sudan, referred to as “Ethiopia” by classical authors (not the more recent Abyssinia).

[3:10]  ² tn Heb “those who pray to me, the daughter of my dispersed ones.” The meaning of the phrase is unclear. Perhaps the text is corrupt at this point or a proper name should be understood. For a discussion of various options see Adele Berlin, Zephaniah (AB 25A), 134-35.

[3:11]  ³ sn The second person verbs and pronouns are feminine singular, indicating that personified Jerusalem is addressed here.

[3:11]  ⁴ tn Heb “In that day you not be ashamed because of all your actions, [in] which you rebelled against me.”

[3:11]  ⁵ tn Heb “the arrogant ones of your pride.”

[3:19]  ⁵ tn The word “sheep” is supplied for clarification. As in Mic 4:6-7, the exiles are here pictured as injured and scattered sheep whom the divine shepherd rescues from danger.

[3:19]  ⁶ tn Heb “I will make them into praise and a name, in all the earth, their shame.” The present translation assumes that “their shame” specifies “them” and that “name” stands here for a good reputation.

[2:3]  ⁷ tn Heb “seek the Lord,” but “favor” seems to be implied from the final line of the verse.

[2:3]  ⁸ tn Or “poor.” The precise referent of this Hebrew term is unclear. The word may refer to the economically poor or to the spiritually humble.

[2:3]  ⁹ tn The present translation assumes the Hebrew term מִשְׁפָּט (mishpat) here refers to God’s covenantal requirements and is a synonym for the Law. The word can mean “justice” and could refer more specifically to the principles of justice contained in the Law. In this case the phrase could be translated, “who have promoted the justice God demands.”

[2:3]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “Seek what is right.”

[2:3]  ¹¹ tn Heb “Seek humility.”

[2:3]  ¹² tn Heb “hidden.” Cf. NEB “it may be that you will find shelter”; NRSV “perhaps you may be hidden.”