Zephaniah 3:16-17

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 

3:17 The Lord your God is in your midst;

he is a warrior who can deliver.

He takes great delight in you; ³ 

he renews you by his love; ⁴ 

he shouts for joy over you.” ⁵ 

[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.”

[3:17]  ³ tn Heb “he rejoices over you with joy.”

[3:17]  ⁴ tc The MT reads, “he is silent in his love,” but this makes no sense in light of the immediately preceding and following lines. Some take the Hiphil verb form as causative (see Job 11:3) rather than intransitive and translate, “he causes [you] to be silent by his love,” that is, “he soothes [you] by his love.” The present translation follows the LXX and assumes an original reading יְחַדֵּשׁ (yÿkhaddesh, “he renews”) with ellipsis of the object (“you”).

[3:17]  ⁵ tn Heb “he rejoices over you with a shout of joy.”