Zefanya 2:3

2:3 Seek the Lord’s favor, ¹  all you humble people ²  of the land who have obeyed his commands! ³ 

Strive to do what is right! ⁴  Strive to be humble! ⁵ 

Maybe you will be protected ⁶  on the day of the Lord’s angry judgment.

Zefanya 3:6

The Lord’s Judgment will Purify

3:6 “I destroyed ⁷  nations;

their walled cities ⁸  are in ruins.

I turned their streets into ruins;

no one passes through them.

Their cities are desolate; ⁹ 

no one lives there. ¹⁰ 

Zefanya 3:19

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

I will rescue the lame sheep ¹¹ 

and gather together the scattered sheep.

I will take away their humiliation

and make the whole earth admire and respect them. ¹² 

[2:3]  ¹ tn Heb “seek the Lord,” but “favor” seems to be implied from the final line of the verse.

[2:3]  ² 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]  ³ 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]  ⁴ tn Heb “Seek what is right.”

[2:3]  ⁵ tn Heb “Seek humility.”

[2:3]  ⁶ tn Heb “hidden.” Cf. NEB “it may be that you will find shelter”; NRSV “perhaps you may be hidden.”

[3:6]  ⁷ tn Heb “cut off.”

[3:6]  ⁸ tn Heb “corner towers”; NEB, NRSV “battlements.”

[3:6]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “so that there is no man, without inhabitant.”

[3:19]  ¹¹ 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]  ¹² 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.