Zephaniah 3:16

3:16 On that day they will say ¹  to Jerusalem,

“Don’t be afraid, Zion!

Your hands must not be paralyzed from panic! ² 

Zephaniah 2:11

2:11 The Lord will terrify them, ³ 

for ⁴  he will weaken ⁵  all the gods of the earth.

All the distant nations will worship the Lord in their own lands. ⁶ 

Zephaniah 3:7

3:7 I thought, ⁷  ‘Certainly you will respect ⁸  me!

Now you will accept correction!’

If she had done so, her home ⁹  would not be destroyed ¹⁰ 

by all the punishments I have threatened. ¹¹ 

But they eagerly sinned

in everything they did. ¹² 

Zephaniah 3:15

3:15 The Lord has removed the judgment against you; ¹³ 

he has turned back your enemy.

Israel’s king, the Lord, is in your midst!

You no longer need to fear disaster.

[3:16]  ¹ tn Heb “it will be said.” The passive construction has been translated as active for stylistic reasons.

[3:16]  ² tn Heb “your hands must not go limp.”

[2:11]  ³ tn Heb “will be awesome over [or, “against”] them.”

[2:11]  ⁴ tn Or “certainly.”

[2:11]  ⁵ tn The meaning of this rare Hebrew word is unclear. If the meaning is indeed “weaken,” then this line may be referring to the reduction of these gods’ territory through conquest (see Adele Berlin, Zephaniah [AB 25A], 110-11). Cf. NEB “reduce to beggary”; NASB “starve”; NIV “when he destroys”; NRSV “shrivel.”

[2:11]  ⁶ tn Heb “and all the coastlands of the nations will worship [or, “bow down”] to him, each from his own place.”

[3:7]  ⁵ tn Heb “said.”

[3:7]  ⁶ tn Or “fear.” The second person verb form (“you will respect”) is feminine singular, indicating that personified Jerusalem is addressed.

[3:7]  ⁷ tn Or “dwelling place.”

[3:7]  ⁸ tn Heb “cut off.”

[3:7]  ⁹ tn Heb “all which I have punished her.” The precise meaning of this statement and its relationship to what precedes are unclear.

[3:7]  ¹⁰ 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.

[3:15]  ⁷ tn Heb “your judgments,” that is, “the judgments directed against you.” The translation reflects the implications of the parallelism.