Zefanya 2:4

Judgment on Surrounding Nations

2:4 Indeed, ¹  Gaza will be deserted ² 

and Ashkelon will become a heap of ruins. ³ 

Invaders will drive away the people of Ashdod by noon, ⁴ 

and Ekron will be overthrown. ⁵ 

Zefanya 2:10

2:10 This is how they will be repaid for their arrogance, ⁶ 

for they taunted and verbally harassed ⁷  the people of the Lord who commands armies.

Zefanya 3:10

3:10 From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia, ⁸ 

those who pray to me ⁹  will bring me tribute.

Zefanya 3:18

3:18 “As for those who grieve because they cannot attend the festivals –

I took them away from you;

they became tribute and were a source of shame to you. ¹⁰ 

[2:4]  ¹ tn Or “for” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV).

[2:4]  ² tn There is a sound play here in the Hebrew text: the name Gaza (עַזָּה, ’azzah) sounds like the word translated “deserted” (עֲזוּבָה, ’azuvah).

[2:4]  ³ tn Or “a desolate place.”

[2:4]  ⁴ tn Heb “[As for] Ashdod, at noon they will drive her away.”

[2:4]  sn The reference to noon may suggest a sudden, quick defeat (see Jer 6:4; 15:8).

[2:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “uprooted.” There is a sound play here in the Hebrew text: the name “Ekron” (עֶקְרוֹן, ’eqron) sounds like the word translated “uprooted” (תֵּעָקֵר, te’aqer).

[2:10]  ⁶ tn Heb “this is for them in place of their arrogance.”

[2:10]  ⁷ tn Heb “made great [their mouth?] against” (cf. the last phrase of v. 8).

[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.

[3:10]  sn It is not certain if those who pray to me refers to the converted nations or to God’s exiled covenant people.

[3:18]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “The ones grieving from an assembly I gathered from you they were, tribute upon her, a reproach.” Any translation of this difficult verse must be provisional at best. The present translation assumes three things: (1) The preposition מִן (min) prefixed to “assembly” is causal (the individuals are sorrowing because of the assemblies or festivals they are no longer able to hold). (2) מַשְׂאֵת (mas’et) means “tribute” and refers to the exiled people being treated as the spoils of warfare (see R. D. Patterson, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah [WEC], 385-86). (3) The third feminine singular suffix refers to personified Jerusalem, which is addressed earlier in the verse (the pronominal suffix in “from you” is second feminine singular). For other interpretive options see Adele Berlin, Zephaniah (AB 25A), 146.