Zefanya 2:7

2:7 Those who are left from the kingdom of Judah ¹  will take possession of it. ² 

By the sea ³  they ⁴  will graze,

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

for the Lord their God will intervene for them ⁵  and restore their prosperity. ⁶ 

Zefanya 3:6-7

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 

3:7 I thought, ¹¹  ‘Certainly you will respect ¹²  me!

Now you will accept correction!’

If she had done so, her home ¹³  would not be destroyed ¹⁴ 

by all the punishments I have threatened. ¹⁵ 

But they eagerly sinned

in everything they did. ¹⁶ 

[2:7]  ¹ tn Heb “the remnant of the house of Judah.”

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

[2:7]  ³ 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]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ tn Or “will care for them.”

[2:7]  ⁶ 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).

[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.”

[3:7]  ¹¹ tn Heb “said.”

[3:7]  ¹² tn Or “fear.” The second person verb form (“you will respect”) is feminine singular, indicating that personified Jerusalem is addressed.

[3:7]  sn God’s judgment of the nations (v. 6) was an object lesson for Israel’s benefit.

[3:7]  ¹³ tn Or “dwelling place.”

[3:7]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “cut off.”

[3:7]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “all which I have punished her.” The precise meaning of this statement and its relationship to what precedes are unclear.

[3:7]  ¹⁶ 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.