Zephaniah 3:12

3:12 I will leave in your midst a humble and meek group of people, ¹ 

and they will find safety in the Lord’s presence. ² 

Zephaniah 1:11

1:11 Wail, you who live in the market district, ³ 

for all the merchants ⁴  will disappear ⁵ 

and those who count money ⁶  will be removed. ⁷ 

Zephaniah 2:10

2:10 This is how they will be repaid for their arrogance, ⁸ 

for they taunted and verbally harassed ⁹  the people of the Lord who commands armies.

Zephaniah 2:8

2:8 “I have heard Moab’s taunts

and the Ammonites’ insults.

They ¹⁰  taunted my people

and verbally harassed those living in Judah. ¹¹ 

Zephaniah 3:9

3:9 Know for sure that I will then enable

the nations to give me acceptable praise. ¹² 

All of them will invoke the Lord’s name when they pray, ¹³ 

and will worship him in unison. ¹⁴ 

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, ¹⁵ 

filled with salt pits, ¹⁶ 

and permanently desolate.

Those of my people who are left ¹⁷  will plunder their belongings; ¹⁸ 

those who are left in Judah ¹⁹  will take possession of their land.”

Zephaniah 3:20

3:20 At that time I will lead you –

at the time I gather you together. ²⁰ 

Be sure of this! ²¹  I will make all the nations of the earth respect and admire you ²² 

when you see me restore you,” ²³  says the Lord.

[3:12]  ¹ tn Heb “needy and poor people.” The terms often refer to a socioeconomic group, but here they may refer to those who are humble in a spiritual sense.

[3:12]  ² tn Heb “and they will take refuge in the name of the Lord.”

[1:11]  ³ tn Heb “in the Mortar.” The Hebrew term מַכְתֵּשׁ (makhtesh, “mortar”) is apparently here the name of a low-lying area where economic activity took place.

[1:11]  ⁴ tn Or perhaps “Canaanites.” Cf. BDB 489 s.v. I and II כְּנַעֲנִי. Translators have rendered the term either as “the merchant people” (KJV, NKJV), “the traders” (NRSV), “merchants” (NEB, NIV), or, alternatively, “the people of Canaan” (NASB).

[1:11]  ⁵ tn Or “be destroyed.”

[1:11]  ⁶ tn Heb “weigh out silver.”

[1:11]  ⁷ tn Heb “be cut off.” In the Hebrew text of v. 11b the perfect verbal forms emphasize the certainty of the judgment, speaking of it as if it were already accomplished.

[2:10]  ⁵ tn Heb “this is for them in place of their arrogance.”

[2:10]  ⁶ tn Heb “made great [their mouth?] against” (cf. the last phrase of v. 8).

[2:8]  ⁷ tn Heb “who.” A new sentence was begun here in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[2:8]  ⁸ tn Heb “and they made great [their mouth?] against their territory.” Other possible translation options include (1) “they enlarged their own territory” (cf. NEB) and (2) “they bragged about [the size] of their own territory.”

[3:9]  ⁹ tn Heb “Certainly [or perhaps, “For”] then I will restore to the nations a pure lip.”

[3:9]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “so that all of them will call on the name of the Lord.”

[3:9]  ¹¹ tn Heb “so that [they] will serve him [with] one shoulder.”

[2:9]  ¹¹ 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]  ¹² 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]  ¹³ tn Or “The remnant of my people.”

[2:9]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “them.” The actual object of the plundering, “their belongings,” has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:9]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “[the] nation.” For clarity the “nation” has been specified as “Judah” in the translation.

[3:20]  ¹³ tn In this line the second person pronoun is masculine plural, indicating that the exiles are addressed.

[3:20]  ¹⁴ tn Or “for.”

[3:20]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “I will make you into a name and praise among all the peoples of the earth.” Here the word “name” carries the nuance of “good reputation.”

[3:20]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “when I restore your fortunes to your eyes.” See the note on the phrase “restore them” in 2:7.