Zefanya 1:17-18

1:17 I will bring distress on the people ¹ 

and they will stumble ²  like blind men,

for they have sinned against the Lord.

Their blood will be poured out like dirt;

their flesh ³  will be scattered ⁴  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 ⁵  will be consumed by his fiery wrath. ⁶ 

Indeed, ⁷  he will bring terrifying destruction ⁸  on all who live on the earth.” ⁹ 

Zefanya 2:12

2:12 “You ¹⁰  Ethiopians ¹¹  will also die by my sword!” ¹² 

Zefanya 3:1

Jerusalem is Corrupt

3:1 The filthy, ¹³  stained city is as good as dead;

the city filled with oppressors is finished! ¹⁴ 

Zefanya 3:5

3:5 The just Lord resides ¹⁵  within her;

he commits no unjust acts. ¹⁶ 

Every morning he reveals ¹⁷  his justice.

At dawn he appears without fail. ¹⁸ 

Yet the unjust know no shame.

Zefanya 3:20

3:20 At that time I will lead you –

at the time I gather you together. ¹⁹ 

Be sure of this! ²⁰  I will make all the nations of the earth respect and admire you ²¹ 

when you see me restore you,” ²²  says the Lord.

[1:17]  ¹ 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]  ² tn Heb “walk.”

[1:17]  ³ tn Some take the referent of “flesh” to be more specific here; cf. NEB (“bowels”), NAB (“brains”), NIV (“entrails”).

[1:17]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ tn Or “land” (cf. NEB). This same word also occurs at the end of the present verse.

[1:18]  ⁶ tn Or “passion”; traditionally, “jealousy.”

[1:18]  ⁷ tn Or “for.”

[1:18]  ⁸ tn Heb “complete destruction, even terror, he will make.”

[1:18]  ⁹ 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).

[2:12]  ¹⁰ sn Though there is no formal introduction, these words are apparently spoken by the Lord (note my sword).

[2:12]  ¹¹ tn Heb “Cushites.” This is traditionally assumed to refer to people from the region south of Egypt, i.e., Nubia or northern Sudan, referred to as “Ethiopia” by classical authors (not the more recent Abyssinia).

[2:12]  ¹² tn Heb “Also you Cushites, who lie dead by my sword.”

[3:1]  ¹³ tn The present translation assumes מֹרְאָה (mor’ah) is derived from רֹאִי (ro’i,“excrement”; see Jastrow 1436 s.v. רֳאִי). The following participle, “stained,” supports this interpretation (cf. NEB “filthy and foul”; NRSV “soiled, defiled”). Another option is to derive the form from מָרָה (marah, “to rebel”); in this case the term should be translated “rebellious” (cf. NASB, NIV “rebellious and defiled”). This idea is supported by v. 2. For discussion of the two options, see HALOT 630 s.v. I מרא and J. J. M. Roberts, Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah (OTL), 206.

[3:1]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “Woe, soiled and stained one, oppressive city.” The verb “is finished” is supplied in the second line. On the Hebrew word הוֹי (hoy, “ah, woe”), see the note on the word “dead” in 2:5.

[3:1]  sn The following verses show that Jerusalem, personified as a woman (“she”), is the referent.

[3:5]  ¹⁵ tn The word “resides” is supplied for clarification.

[3:5]  ¹⁶ tn Or “he does no injustice.”

[3:5]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “gives”; or “dispenses.”

[3:5]  ¹⁸ 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.”

[3:20]  ¹⁹ tn In this line the second person pronoun is masculine plural, indicating that the exiles are addressed.

[3:20]  ²⁰ tn Or “for.”

[3:20]  ²¹ 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]  ²² tn Heb “when I restore your fortunes to your eyes.” See the note on the phrase “restore them” in 2:7.