Zefanya 2:11

2:11 The Lord will terrify them, ¹ 

for ²  he will weaken ³  all the gods of the earth.

All the distant nations will worship the Lord in their own lands. ⁴ 

Zefanya 2:14

2:14 Flocks and herds ⁵  will lie down in the middle of it,

as well as every kind of wild animal. ⁶ 

Owls ⁷  will sleep in the tops of its support pillars;

they will hoot through the windows. ⁸ 

Rubble will cover the thresholds; ⁹ 

even the cedar work ¹⁰  will be exposed to the elements. ¹¹ 

Zefanya 3:20

3:20 At that time I will lead you –

at the time I gather you together. ¹² 

Be sure of this! ¹³  I will make all the nations of the earth respect and admire you ¹⁴ 

when you see me restore you,” ¹⁵  says the Lord.

Zefanya 3:12

3:12 I will leave in your midst a humble and meek group of people, ¹⁶ 

and they will find safety in the Lord’s presence. ¹⁷ 

Zefanya 1:5

1:5 I will remove ¹⁸  those who worship the stars in the sky from their rooftops, ¹⁹ 

those who swear allegiance to the Lord ²⁰  while taking oaths in the name of ²¹  their ‘king,’ ²² 

Zefanya 2:5

2:5 Those who live by the sea, the people who came from Crete, ²³  are as good as dead. ²⁴ 

The Lord has decreed your downfall, ²⁵  Canaan, land of the Philistines:

“I will destroy everyone who lives there!” ²⁶ 

Zefanya 2:7

2:7 Those who are left from the kingdom of Judah ²⁷  will take possession of it. ²⁸ 

By the sea ²⁹  they ³⁰  will graze,

in the houses of Ashkelon they will lie down in the evening,

for the Lord their God will intervene for them ³¹  and restore their prosperity. ³² 

Zefanya 1:3

1:3 “I will destroy people and animals;

I will destroy the birds in the sky

and the fish in the sea.

(The idolatrous images of these creatures will be destroyed along with evil people.) ³³ 

I will remove ³⁴  humanity from the face of the earth,” says the Lord.

Zefanya 1:7

1:7 Be silent before the Lord God, ³⁵ 

for the Lord’s day of judgment ³⁶  is almost here. ³⁷ 

The Lord has prepared a sacrificial meal; ³⁸ 

he has ritually purified ³⁹  his guests.

Zefanya 3:15

3:15 The Lord has removed the judgment against you; ⁴⁰ 

he has turned back your enemy.

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

You no longer need to fear disaster.

Zefanya 1:2

The Lord’s Day of Judgment is Approaching

1:2 “I will destroy ⁴¹  everything from the face of the earth,” says the Lord.

Zefanya 2:6

2:6 The seacoast ⁴²  will be used as pasture lands ⁴³  by the shepherds

and as pens for their flocks.

Zefanya 1:12

1:12 At that time I will search through Jerusalem with lamps.

I will punish the people who are entrenched in their sin, ⁴⁴ 

those who think to themselves, ⁴⁵ 

‘The Lord neither rewards nor punishes.’ ⁴⁶ 

Zefanya 3:5

3:5 The just Lord resides ⁴⁷  within her;

he commits no unjust acts. ⁴⁸ 

Every morning he reveals ⁴⁹  his justice.

At dawn he appears without fail. ⁵⁰ 

Yet the unjust know no shame.

Zefanya 2:15

2:15 This is how the once-proud city will end up ⁵¹  –

the city that was so secure. ⁵² 

She thought to herself, ⁵³  “I am unique! No one can compare to me!” ⁵⁴ 

What a heap of ruins she has become, a place where wild animals live!

Everyone who passes by her taunts her ⁵⁵  and shakes his fist. ⁵⁶ 

Zefanya 3:11

3:11 In that day you ⁵⁷  will not be ashamed of all your rebelliousness against me, ⁵⁸ 

for then I will remove from your midst those who proudly boast, ⁵⁹ 

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

Zefanya 3:3

3:3 Her princes ⁶⁰  are as fierce as roaring lions; ⁶¹ 

her rulers ⁶²  are as hungry as wolves in the desert, ⁶³ 

who completely devour their prey by morning. ⁶⁴ 

Zefanya 1:16

1:16 a day of trumpet blasts ⁶⁵  and battle cries. ⁶⁶ 

Judgment will fall on ⁶⁷  the fortified cities and the high corner towers.

Zefanya 2:4

Judgment on Surrounding Nations

2:4 Indeed, ⁶⁸  Gaza will be deserted ⁶⁹ 

and Ashkelon will become a heap of ruins. ⁷⁰ 

Invaders will drive away the people of Ashdod by noon, ⁷¹ 

and Ekron will be overthrown. ⁷² 

Zefanya 3:10

3:10 From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia, ⁷³ 

those who pray to me ⁷⁴  will bring me tribute.

Zefanya 2:3

2:3 Seek the Lord’s favor, ⁷⁵  all you humble people ⁷⁶  of the land who have obeyed his commands! ⁷⁷ 

Strive to do what is right! ⁷⁸  Strive to be humble! ⁷⁹ 

Maybe you will be protected ⁸⁰  on the day of the Lord’s angry judgment.

Zefanya 3:17

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

he is a warrior who can deliver.

He takes great delight in you; ⁸¹ 

he renews you by his love; ⁸² 

he shouts for joy over you.” ⁸³ 

Zefanya 1:10

1:10 On that day,” says the Lord,

“a loud cry will go up ⁸⁴  from the Fish Gate, ⁸⁵ 

wailing from the city’s newer district, ⁸⁶ 

and a loud crash ⁸⁷  from the hills.

Zefanya 3:19

3:19 Look, at that time I will deal with those who mistreated you.

I will rescue the lame sheep ⁸⁸ 

and gather together the scattered sheep.

I will take away their humiliation

and make the whole earth admire and respect them. ⁸⁹ 

Zefanya 1:11

1:11 Wail, you who live in the market district, ⁹⁰ 

for all the merchants ⁹¹  will disappear ⁹² 

and those who count money ⁹³  will be removed. ⁹⁴ 

Zefanya 1:17-18

1:17 I will bring distress on the people ⁹⁵ 

and they will stumble ⁹⁶  like blind men,

for they have sinned against the Lord.

Their blood will be poured out like dirt;

their flesh ⁹⁷  will be scattered ⁹⁸  like manure.

1:18 Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to deliver them

in the day of the Lord’s angry judgment.

The whole earth ⁹⁹  will be consumed by his fiery wrath. ¹⁰⁰ 

Indeed, ¹⁰¹  he will bring terrifying destruction ¹⁰²  on all who live on the earth.” ¹⁰³ 

Zefanya 1:14

1:14 The Lord’s great day of judgment ¹⁰⁴  is almost here;

it is approaching very rapidly!

There will be a bitter sound on the Lord’s day of judgment;

at that time warriors will cry out in battle. ¹⁰⁵ 

Zefanya 2:13

2:13 The Lord ¹⁰⁶  will attack the north ¹⁰⁷ 

and destroy Assyria.

He will make Nineveh a heap of ruins;

it will be as barren ¹⁰⁸  as the desert.

Zefanya 3:8

3:8 Therefore you must wait patiently ¹⁰⁹  for me,” says the Lord,

“for the day when I attack and take plunder. ¹¹⁰ 

I have decided ¹¹¹  to gather nations together

and assemble kingdoms,

so I can pour out my fury on them –

all my raging anger.

For ¹¹²  the whole earth will be consumed

by my fiery anger.

[2:11]  ¹ tn Heb “will be awesome over [or, “against”] them.”

[2:11]  ² tn Or “certainly.”

[2:11]  ³ 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]  ⁴ tn Heb “and all the coastlands of the nations will worship [or, “bow down”] to him, each from his own place.”

[2:14]  ⁵ tn Heb “flocks.” The Hebrew word can refer to both flocks of sheep and herds of cattle.

[2:14]  ⁶ tn Heb “[and] all the wild animals of a nation.” How גוֹי (goy, “nation”) relates to what precedes is unclear. It may be a corruption of another word. See J. J. M. Roberts, Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah (OTL), 193.

[2:14]  ⁷ tn The Hebrew text reads here גַּם־קָאַת גַּם־קִפֹּד (gam-qa’at gam-qippod). The term קָאַת refers to some type of bird (see Lev 11:18; Deut 14:17) that was typically found near ruins (Isa 34:11); one of the most common translations is “owl” (cf. NEB “horned owl”; NIV, NRSV “desert owl”; contra NASB “pelican”). The term קִפֹּד may also refer to a type of bird (cf. NEB “ruffed bustard”; NIV, NRSV “screech owl”). Some suggest a rodent may be in view (cf. NASB “hedgehog”); this is not unreasonable, for a rodent or some other small animal would be able to sleep in the tops of pillars which would be lying in the ruins of the fallen buildings.

[2:14]  ⁸ tn Heb “a sound will sing in the window.” If some type of owl is in view, “hoot” is a more appropriate translation (cf. NEB, NRSV).

[2:14]  ⁹ tn Heb “rubble [will be] on the threshold.” “Rubble” translates the Hebrew word חֹרֶב (khorev, “desolation”). Some emend to עֹרֵב (’orev, “raven”) following the LXX and Vulgate; Adele Berlin translates, “A voice shall shriek from the window – a raven at the sill” (Zephaniah [AB 25A], 104).

[2:14]  ¹⁰ tn The meaning of the Hebrew word translated “cedar work” (so NASB, NRSV) is unclear; NIV has “the beams of cedar.”

[2:14]  ¹¹ tn Heb “one will expose.” The subject is probably indefinite, though one could translate, “for he [i.e., God] will lay bare.”

[3:20]  ¹² tn In this line the second person pronoun is masculine plural, indicating that the exiles are addressed.

[3:20]  ¹³ tn Or “for.”

[3:20]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “I will make you into a name and praise among all the peoples of the earth.” Here the word “name” carries the nuance of “good reputation.”

[3:20]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “when I restore your fortunes to your eyes.” See the note on the phrase “restore them” in 2:7.

[3:12]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “needy and poor people.” The terms often refer to a socioeconomic group, but here they may refer to those who are humble in a spiritual sense.

[3:12]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and they will take refuge in the name of the Lord.”

[3:12]  sn Safety in the Lord’s presence. From the time the Lord introduced his special covenant name (Yahweh) to Moses, it served as a reminder of his protective presence as Israel’s faithful deliverer.

[1:5]  ¹⁸ 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]  ¹⁹ 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]  ²⁰ tc The MT reads, “those who worship, those who swear allegiance to the Lord.” The original form of the LXX omits the phrase “those who worship”; it may have been accidentally repeated from the preceding line. J. J. M. Roberts prefers to delete as secondary the phrase “those who swear allegiance” (J. J. M. Roberts, Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah [OTL], 168).

[1:5]  ²¹ tn Heb “those who swear by.”

[1:5]  ²² 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 mss, Syriac, and Vulgate) or “Molech,” a god to whom the Israelites offered their children (cf. NIV, NLT). For a discussion of the options, see Adele Berlin, Zephaniah (AB 25A), 75-77.

[2:5]  ²³ tn Heb “Kerethites,” a people settled alongside the Philistines in the coastal areas of southern Palestine (cf. 1 Sam 30:14; Ezek 25:16). They originally came from the island of Crete.

[2:5]  ²⁴ tn Heb “Woe, inhabitants of the coast of the sea, nation of Kerethites.” The Hebrew term הוֹי (hoy, “ah, woe”), is used to mourn the dead and express outwardly one’s sorrow (see 1 Kgs 13:30; Jer 22:18; 34:5). By using it here the prophet mourns in advance the downfall of the Philistines, thereby emphasizing the certainty of their demise (“as good as dead”). Some argue the word does not have its earlier connotation here and is simply an attention-getting interjection, equivalent to “Hey!”

[2:5]  ²⁵ tn Heb “the word of the Lord is against you.”

[2:5]  ²⁶ tn Heb “I will destroy you so there is no inhabitant [remaining].”

[2:7]  ²⁷ tn Heb “the remnant of the house of Judah.”

[2:7]  ²⁸ tn Or “the coast will belong to the remnant of the house of Judah.”

[2:7]  ²⁹ tc Heb “on them,” but the antecedent of the masculine pronoun is unclear. It may refer back to the “pasture lands,” though that noun is feminine. It is preferable to emend the text from עֲלֵיהֶם (’alehem) to עַל־הַיָּם (’al-hayyam, “by the sea”) an emendation that assumes a misdivision and transposition of letters in the MT (cf. NEB “They shall pasture their flocks by the sea”). See J. J. M. Roberts, Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah (OTL), 192.

[2:7]  ³⁰ tn The referent of the pronominal subject (“they”) is unclear. It may refer (1) to the shepherds (in which case the first verb should be translated, “pasture their sheep,” cf. NEB), or (2) to the Judahites occupying the area, who are being compared to sheep (cf. NIV, “there they will find pasture”).

[2:7]  ³¹ tn Or “will care for them.”

[2:7]  ³² tn Traditionally, “restore their captivity,” i.e., bring back their captives, but it is more likely the expression means “restore their fortunes” in a more general sense (cf. NEB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[1:3]  ³³ tn Heb “And the stumbling blocks [or, “ruins”] with the evil”; or “the things that make the evil stumble.” The line does not appear in the original form of the LXX; it may be a later scribal addition. The present translation assumes the “stumbling blocks” are idolatrous images of animals, birds, and fish. See J. J. M. Roberts, Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah (OTL), 167, and Adele Berlin, Zephaniah (AB), 73-74.

[1:3]  ³⁴ tn Heb “cut off.”

[1:7]  ³⁵ tn Heb “Lord Lord.” The phrase אֲדֹנָי יְהוִה (adonai yÿhvih) is customarily rendered by Jewish tradition as “Lord God.”

[1:7]  ³⁶ tn Heb “the day of the Lord.”

[1:7]  sn The origin of the concept of “the day of the Lord” is uncertain. It may have originated in the ancient Near Eastern idea of the sovereign’s day of conquest, where a king would boast that he had concluded an entire military campaign in a single day (see D. Stuart, “The Sovereign’s Day of Conquest,” BASOR 221 [1976]: 159-64). In the OT the expression is applied to several acts of divine judgment, some historical and others still future (see A. J. Everson, “The Days of Yahweh,” JBL 93 [1974]: 329-37). In the OT the phrase first appears in Amos (assuming that Amos predates Joel and Obadiah), where it seems to refer to a belief on the part of the northern kingdom that God would intervene on Israel’s behalf and judge the nation’s enemies. Amos affirms that the Lord’s day of judgment is indeed approaching, but he declares that it will be a day of disaster, not deliverance, for Israel. Here in Zephaniah, the “day of the Lord” includes God’s coming judgment of Judah, as well as a more universal outpouring of divine anger.

[1:7]  ³⁷ tn Or “near.”

[1:7]  ³⁸ tn Heb “a sacrifice.” This same word also occurs in the following verse.

[1:7]  sn Because a sacrificial meal presupposes the slaughter of animals, it is used here as a metaphor of the bloody judgment to come.

[1:7]  ³⁹ tn Or “consecrated” (ASV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[3:15]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “your judgments,” that is, “the judgments directed against you.” The translation reflects the implications of the parallelism.

[1:2]  ⁴¹ tn The Hebrew text combines the infinitive absolute of אָסַף (’asaf, “gather up, sweep away”) with a Hiphil prefixed first person form of סוּף (suf, “come to an end”; see Jer 8:13 for the same combination). This can be translated literally, “Sweeping away, I will bring to an end.” Some prefer to emend the text so that the infinitive and finite form of the verb are from the same root (“I will certainly sweep away,” if from אָסַף [cf. NEB, NIV, NRSV]; “I will certainly bring to an end,” if from סוּף). For a discussion of proposals see J. J. M. Roberts, Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah (OTL), 167, 169.

[2:6]  ⁴² tn The NIV here supplies the phrase “where the Kerethites dwell” (“Kerethites” is translated in v. 5 as “the people who came from Crete”) as an interpretive gloss, but this phrase is not in the MT. The NAB likewise reads “the coastland of the Cretans,” supplying “Cretans” here.

[2:6]  ⁴³ tn The Hebrew phrase here is נְוֹת כְּרֹת (nÿvot kÿrot). The first word is probably a plural form of נָוָה (navah, “pasture”). The meaning of the second word is unclear. It may be a synonym of the preceding word (cf. NRSV “pastures, meadows for shepherds”); there is a word כַּר (kar, “pasture”) in biblical Hebrew, but elsewhere it forms its plural with a masculine ending. Some have suggested the meaning “wells” or “caves” used as shelters (cf. NEB “shepherds’ huts”); in this case, one might translate, “The seacoast will be used for pasturelands; for shepherds’ wells/caves.”

[1:12]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “who thicken on their sediment.” The imagery comes from wine making, where the wine, if allowed to remain on the sediment too long, will thicken into syrup. The image suggests that the people described here were complacent in their sinful behavior and interpreted the delay in judgment as divine apathy.

[1:12]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “who say in their hearts.”

[1:12]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “The Lord does not do good nor does he do evil.”

[3:5]  ⁴⁷ tn The word “resides” is supplied for clarification.

[3:5]  ⁴⁸ tn Or “he does no injustice.”

[3:5]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “gives”; or “dispenses.”

[3:5]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “at the light he is not missing.” Note that NASB (which capitalizes pronouns referring to Deity) has divided the lines differently: “Every morning He brings His justice to light; // He does not fail.”

[2:15]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “this is the proud city.”

[2:15]  ⁵² tn Heb “the one that lived securely.”

[2:15]  ⁵³ tn Heb “the one who says in her heart.”

[2:15]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “I [am], and besides me there is no other.”

[2:15]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “hisses”; or “whistles.”

[2:15]  ⁵⁶ 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.

[3:11]  ⁵⁷ sn The second person verbs and pronouns are feminine singular, indicating that personified Jerusalem is addressed here.

[3:11]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “In that day you not be ashamed because of all your actions, [in] which you rebelled against me.”

[3:11]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “the arrogant ones of your pride.”

[3:3]  ⁶⁰ tn Or “officials.”

[3:3]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “her princes in her midst are roaring lions.” The metaphor has been translated as a simile (“as fierce as”) for clarity.

[3:3]  ⁶² tn Traditionally “judges.”

[3:3]  ⁶³ tn Heb “her judges [are] wolves of the evening,” that is, wolves that prowl at night. The translation assumes an emendation to עֲרָבָה (’aravah, “desert”). For a discussion of this and other options, see Adele Berlin, Zephaniah (AB 25A), 128. The metaphor has been translated as a simile (“as hungry as”) for clarity.

[3:3]  ⁶⁴ tn Heb “they do not gnaw [a bone] at morning.” The precise meaning of the line is unclear. The statement may mean these wolves devour their prey so completely that not even a bone is left to gnaw by the time morning arrives. For a discussion of this and other options, see Adele Berlin, Zephaniah (AB 25A), 129.

[1:16]  ⁶⁵ tn Heb “a ram’s horn.” By metonymy the Hebrew text mentions the trumpet (“ram’s horn”) in place of the sound it produces (“trumpet blasts”).

[1:16]  ⁶⁶ sn This description of the day of the Lord consists of an initial reference to anger, followed by four pairs of synonyms. The joining of synonyms in this way emphasizes the degree of the characteristic being described. The first two pairs focus on the distress and ruin that judgment will bring; the second two pairs picture this day of judgment as being very dark (darkness) and exceedingly overcast (gloom). The description concludes with the pairing of two familiar battle sounds, the blast on the ram’s horn (trumpet blasts) and the war cries of the warriors (battle cries).

[1:16]  ⁶⁷ tn Heb “against.” The words “judgment will fall” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[2:4]  ⁶⁸ tn Or “for” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV).

[2:4]  ⁶⁹ 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]  ⁷⁰ tn Or “a desolate place.”

[2:4]  ⁷¹ 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]  ⁷² 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).

[3:10]  ⁷³ 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]  ⁷⁴ 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.

[2:3]  ⁷⁵ tn Heb “seek the Lord,” but “favor” seems to be implied from the final line of the verse.

[2:3]  ⁷⁶ tn Or “poor.” The precise referent of this Hebrew term is unclear. The word may refer to the economically poor or to the spiritually humble.

[2:3]  ⁷⁷ tn The present translation assumes the Hebrew term מִשְׁפָּט (mishpat) here refers to God’s covenantal requirements and is a synonym for the Law. The word can mean “justice” and could refer more specifically to the principles of justice contained in the Law. In this case the phrase could be translated, “who have promoted the justice God demands.”

[2:3]  ⁷⁸ tn Heb “Seek what is right.”

[2:3]  ⁷⁹ tn Heb “Seek humility.”

[2:3]  ⁸⁰ tn Heb “hidden.” Cf. NEB “it may be that you will find shelter”; NRSV “perhaps you may be hidden.”

[3:17]  ⁸¹ tn Heb “he rejoices over you with joy.”

[3:17]  ⁸² 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]  ⁸³ tn Heb “he rejoices over you with a shout of joy.”

[1:10]  ⁸⁴ tn The words “will go up” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[1:10]  ⁸⁵ sn The Fish Gate was located on Jerusalem’s north side (cf. 2 Chr 33:14; Neh 3:3; 12:39).

[1:10]  ⁸⁶ tn Heb “from the second area.” This may refer to an area northwest of the temple where the rich lived (see Adele Berlin, Zephaniah [AB 25A], 86; cf. NASB, NRSV “the Second Quarter”; NIV “the New Quarter”).

[1:10]  ⁸⁷ tn Heb “great breaking.”

[3:19]  ⁸⁸ tn The word “sheep” is supplied for clarification. As in Mic 4:6-7, the exiles are here pictured as injured and scattered sheep whom the divine shepherd rescues from danger.

[3:19]  ⁸⁹ tn Heb “I will make them into praise and a name, in all the earth, their shame.” The present translation assumes that “their shame” specifies “them” and that “name” stands here for a good reputation.

[1:11]  ⁹⁰ tn Heb “in the Mortar.” The Hebrew term מַכְתֵּשׁ (makhtesh, “mortar”) is apparently here the name of a low-lying area where economic activity took place.

[1:11]  ⁹¹ tn Or perhaps “Canaanites.” Cf. BDB 489 s.v. I and II כְּנַעֲנִי. Translators have rendered the term either as “the merchant people” (KJV, NKJV), “the traders” (NRSV), “merchants” (NEB, NIV), or, alternatively, “the people of Canaan” (NASB).

[1:11]  ⁹² tn Or “be destroyed.”

[1:11]  ⁹³ tn Heb “weigh out silver.”

[1:11]  ⁹⁴ tn Heb “be cut off.” In the Hebrew text of v. 11b the perfect verbal forms emphasize the certainty of the judgment, speaking of it as if it were already accomplished.

[1:17]  ⁹⁵ tn “The people” refers to mankind in general (see vv. 2-3) or more specifically to the residents of Judah (see vv. 4-13).

[1:17]  ⁹⁶ tn Heb “walk.”

[1:17]  ⁹⁷ tn Some take the referent of “flesh” to be more specific here; cf. NEB (“bowels”), NAB (“brains”), NIV (“entrails”).

[1:17]  ⁹⁸ tn The words “will be scattered” are supplied in the translation for clarity based on the parallelism with “will be poured out” in the previous line.

[1:18]  ⁹⁹ tn Or “land” (cf. NEB). This same word also occurs at the end of the present verse.

[1:18]  ¹⁰⁰ tn Or “passion”; traditionally, “jealousy.”

[1:18]  ¹⁰¹ tn Or “for.”

[1:18]  ¹⁰² tn Heb “complete destruction, even terror, he will make.”

[1:18]  ¹⁰³ tn It is not certain where the Lord’s words end and the prophet’s words begin. It is possible that Zephaniah begins speaking in the middle of v. 17 or at the beginning of v. 18 (note the third person pronouns referring to the Lord).

[1:14]  ¹⁰⁴ tn Heb “The great day of the Lord.” The words “of judgment” are supplied in the translation here and later in this verse for clarity. See the note on the expression “day of judgment” in v. 7.

[1:14]  ¹⁰⁵ tn Heb “the sound of the day of the Lord, bitter [is] one crying out there, a warrior.” The present translation does four things: (1) It takes מַר (mar, “bitter”) with what precedes (contrary to the accentuation of the MT). (2) It understands the participle צָרַח (tsarakh, “cry out in battle”) as verbal with “warrior” as its subject. (3) It takes שָׁם (sham, “there”) in a temporal sense, meaning “then, at that time.” (4) It understands “warrior” as collective.

[2:13]  ¹⁰⁶ tn Heb “He”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:13]  ¹⁰⁷ tn Heb “he will stretch out his hand against the north.”

[2:13]  ¹⁰⁸ tn Or “dry.”

[3:8]  ¹⁰⁹ 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]  ¹¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹¹ tn Heb “for my decision is.”

[3:8]  ¹¹² tn Or “certainly.”