Discovery BoxZephaniah 3:7
Context3:7 I thought, 1 ‘Certainly you will respect 2 me!
Now you will accept correction!’
If she had done so, her home 3 would not be destroyed 4
by all the punishments I have threatened. 5
But they eagerly sinned
in everything they did. 6
Zephaniah 1:6
Context1:6 and those who turn their backs on 7 the Lord
and do not want the Lord’s help or guidance.” 8
Zephaniah 1:5
Context1:5 I will remove 9 those who worship the stars in the sky from their rooftops, 10
those who swear allegiance to the Lord 11 while taking oaths in the name of 12 their ‘king,’ 13
Zephaniah 2:2
Context2:2 before God’s decree becomes reality 14 and the day of opportunity disappears like windblown chaff, 15
before the Lord’s raging anger 16 overtakes 17 you –
before the day of the Lord’s angry judgment overtakes you!
Zephaniah 3:6
Contexttheir walled cities 19 are in ruins.
I turned their streets into ruins;
no one passes through them.
Their cities are desolate; 20
no one lives there. 21
Zephaniah 2:9
Context2:9 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, 22
filled with salt pits, 23
and permanently desolate.
Those of my people who are left 24 will plunder their belongings; 25
those who are left in Judah 26 will take possession of their land.”
Zephaniah 2:15
Context2:15 This is how the once-proud city will end up 27 –
the city that was so secure. 28
She thought to herself, 29 “I am unique! No one can compare to me!” 30
What a heap of ruins she has become, a place where wild animals live!
Everyone who passes by her taunts her 31 and shakes his fist. 32
Zephaniah 3:8
Context3:8 Therefore you must wait patiently 33 for me,” says the Lord,
“for the day when I attack and take plunder. 34
I have decided 35 to gather nations together
and assemble kingdoms,
so I can pour out my fury on them –
all my raging anger.
For 36 the whole earth will be consumed
by my fiery anger.
[3:7] 2 tn Or “fear.” The second person verb form (“you will respect”) is feminine singular, indicating that personified Jerusalem is addressed.
[3:7] 3 tn Or “dwelling place.”
[3:7] 5 tn Heb “all which I have punished her.” The precise meaning of this statement and its relationship to what precedes are unclear.
[3:7] 6 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.
[1:6] 7 tn Heb “turn back from [following] after.”
[1:6] 8 tn Heb “who do not seek the
[1:5] 13 tn The words “I will remove” are repeated from v. 4b for stylistic reasons. In the Hebrew text vv. 4b-6 contain a long list of objects for the verb “I will remove” in v. 4b. In the present translation a new sentence was begun at the beginning of v. 5 in keeping with the tendency of contemporary English to use shorter sentences.
[1:5] 14 tn Heb “those who worship on their roofs the host of heaven.” The “host of heaven” included the sun, moon, planets, and stars, all of which were deified in the ancient Near East.
[1:5] 15 tc The MT reads, “those who worship, those who swear allegiance to the
[1:5] 16 tn Heb “those who swear by.”
[1:5] 17 tn The referent of “their king” is unclear. It may refer sarcastically to a pagan god (perhaps Baal) worshiped by the people. Some English versions (cf. NEB, NASB, NRSV) prefer to emend the text to “Milcom,” the name of an Ammonite god (following some LXX
[2:2] 19 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] 20 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] 21 tn Heb “the fury of the anger of the
[2:2] 22 tn Heb “comes upon.” This phrase occurs twice in this verse.
[3:6] 26 tn Heb “corner towers”; NEB, NRSV “battlements.”
[3:6] 27 tn This Hebrew verb (צָדָה, tsadah) occurs only here in the OT, but its meaning is established from the context and from an Aramaic cognate.
[3:6] 28 tn Heb “so that there is no man, without inhabitant.”
[2:9] 31 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] 32 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] 33 tn Or “The remnant of my people.”
[2:9] 34 tn Heb “them.” The actual object of the plundering, “their belongings,” has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[2:9] 35 tn Heb “[the] nation.” For clarity the “nation” has been specified as “Judah” in the translation.
[2:15] 37 tn Heb “this is the proud city.”
[2:15] 38 tn Heb “the one that lived securely.”
[2:15] 39 tn Heb “the one who says in her heart.”
[2:15] 40 tn Heb “I [am], and besides me there is no other.”
[2:15] 41 tn Heb “hisses”; or “whistles.”
[2:15] 42 sn Hissing (or whistling) and shaking the fist were apparently ways of taunting a defeated foe or an object of derision in the culture of the time.
[3:8] 43 tn The second person verb form (“you must wait patiently”) is masculine plural, indicating that a group is being addressed. Perhaps the humble individuals addressed earlier (see 2:3) are in view. Because of Jerusalem’s sin, they must patiently wait for judgment to pass before their vindication arrives.
[3:8] 44 tn Heb “when I arise for plunder.” The present translation takes עַד (’ad) as “plunder.” Some, following the LXX, repoint the term עֵד (’ed) and translate, “as a witness” (cf. NASB, NIV, NRSV). In this case the Lord uses a legal metaphor to picture himself as testifying against his enemies. Adele Berlin takes לְעַד (lÿ’ad) in a temporal sense (“forever”) and translates “once and for all” (Zephaniah [AB 25A], 133).
