Zephaniah 3:8-11

3:8 Therefore you must wait patiently ¹  for me,” says the Lord,

“for the day when I attack and take plunder. ² 

I have decided ³  to gather nations together

and assemble kingdoms,

so I can pour out my fury on them –

all my raging anger.

For ⁴  the whole earth will be consumed

by my fiery anger.

3:9 Know for sure that I will then enable

the nations to give me acceptable praise. ⁵ 

All of them will invoke the Lord’s name when they pray, ⁶ 

and will worship him in unison. ⁷ 

3:10 From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia, ⁸ 

those who pray to me ⁹  will bring me tribute.

3:11 In that day you ¹⁰  will not be ashamed of all your rebelliousness against me, ¹¹ 

for then I will remove from your midst those who proudly boast, ¹² 

and you will never again be arrogant on my holy hill.

[3:8]  ¹ 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]  ² 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).

[3:8]  ³ tn Heb “for my decision is.”

[3:8]  ⁴ tn Or “certainly.”

[3:9]  ⁵ tn Heb “Certainly [or perhaps, “For”] then I will restore to the nations a pure lip.”

[3:9]  ⁶ tn Heb “so that all of them will call on the name of the Lord.”

[3:9]  ⁷ tn Heb “so that [they] will serve him [with] one shoulder.”

[3:10]  ⁸ tn Or “Nubia”; Heb “Cush.” “Cush” is traditionally assumed to refer to the region south of Egypt, i.e. Nubia or northern Sudan, referred to as “Ethiopia” by classical authors (not the more recent Abyssinia).

[3:10]  ⁹ tn Heb “those who pray to me, the daughter of my dispersed ones.” The meaning of the phrase is unclear. Perhaps the text is corrupt at this point or a proper name should be understood. For a discussion of various options see Adele Berlin, Zephaniah (AB 25A), 134-35.

[3:11]  ¹⁰ sn The second person verbs and pronouns are feminine singular, indicating that personified Jerusalem is addressed here.

[3:11]  ¹¹ tn Heb “In that day you not be ashamed because of all your actions, [in] which you rebelled against me.”

[3:11]  ¹² tn Heb “the arrogant ones of your pride.”