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 3:5

3:5 The just Lord resides ³  within her;

he commits no unjust acts. ⁴ 

Every morning he reveals ⁵  his justice.

At dawn he appears without fail. ⁶ 

Yet the unjust know no shame.

Zephaniah 2:2

2:2 before God’s decree becomes reality ⁷  and the day of opportunity disappears like windblown chaff, ⁸ 

before the Lord’s raging anger ⁹  overtakes ¹⁰  you –

before the day of the Lord’s angry judgment overtakes you!

Zephaniah 3:7

3:7 I thought, ¹¹  ‘Certainly you will respect ¹²  me!

Now you will accept correction!’

If she had done so, her home ¹³  would not be destroyed ¹⁴ 

by all the punishments I have threatened. ¹⁵ 

But they eagerly sinned

in everything they did. ¹⁶ 

[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.”

[3:5]  ³ tn The word “resides” is supplied for clarification.

[3:5]  ⁴ tn Or “he does no injustice.”

[3:5]  ⁵ tn Heb “gives”; or “dispenses.”

[3:5]  ⁶ tn Heb “at the light he is not missing.” Note that NASB (which capitalizes pronouns referring to Deity) has divided the lines differently: “Every morning He brings His justice to light; // He does not fail.”

[2:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “before the giving birth of a decree.” For various alternative readings, see J. J. M. Roberts, Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah (OTL), 187-88.

[2:2]  ⁶ tn The second half of the line reads literally, “like chaff it passes by a day.” The translation above assumes the “day” is the brief time God is giving the nation to repent. The comparison of this quickly passing opportunity to chaff is consistent with the straw imagery of v. 1.

[2:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “the fury of the anger of the Lord.” The synonyms are combined to emphasize the extreme degree of the Lord’s anger.

[2:2]  ⁸ tn Heb “comes upon.” This phrase occurs twice in this verse.

[3:7]  ⁷ tn Heb “said.”

[3:7]  ⁸ tn Or “fear.” The second person verb form (“you will respect”) is feminine singular, indicating that personified Jerusalem is addressed.

[3:7]  ⁹ tn Or “dwelling place.”

[3:7]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “cut off.”

[3:7]  ¹¹ tn Heb “all which I have punished her.” The precise meaning of this statement and its relationship to what precedes are unclear.

[3:7]  ¹² tn Heb “But they got up early, they made corrupt all their actions.” The phrase “they got up early” probably refers to their eagerness to engage in sinful activities.