Zefanya 1:6

1:6 and those who turn their backs on ¹  the Lord

and do not want the Lord’s help or guidance.” ² 

Zefanya 3:4

3:4 Her prophets are proud; ³ 

they are deceitful men.

Her priests defile what is holy; ⁴ 

they break God’s laws. ⁵ 

Zefanya 3:12

3:12 I will leave in your midst a humble and meek group of people, ⁶ 

and they will find safety in the Lord’s presence. ⁷ 

[1:6]  ¹ tn Heb “turn back from [following] after.”

[1:6]  ² tn Heb “who do not seek the Lord and do not inquire of him.” The present translation assumes the first verb refers to praying for divine help and the second to seeking his revealed will through an oracle. Note the usage of the two verbs in 2 Chr 20:3-4.

[3:4]  ³ sn Applied to prophets, the word פֹּחֲזִים (pokhazim, “proud”) probably refers to their audacity in passing off their own words as genuine prophecies from the Lord (see Jer 23:32).

[3:4]  ⁴ tn Or “defile the temple.”

[3:4]  sn These priests defile what is holy by not observing the proper distinctions between what is ritually clean and unclean (see Ezek 22:26).

[3:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “they treat violently [the] law.”

[3:12]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ 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.