Zefanya 3:19

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

I will rescue the lame sheep ¹ 

and gather together the scattered sheep.

I will take away their humiliation

and make the whole earth admire and respect them. ² 

Zefanya 2:3

2:3 Seek the Lord’s favor, ³  all you humble people ⁴  of the land who have obeyed his commands! ⁵ 

Strive to do what is right! ⁶  Strive to be humble! ⁷ 

Maybe you will be protected ⁸  on the day of the Lord’s angry judgment.

Zefanya 2:2

2:2 before God’s decree becomes reality ⁹  and the day of opportunity disappears like windblown chaff, ¹⁰ 

before the Lord’s raging anger ¹¹  overtakes ¹²  you –

before the day of the Lord’s angry judgment overtakes you!

Zefanya 2:11

2:11 The Lord will terrify them, ¹³ 

for ¹⁴  he will weaken ¹⁵  all the gods of the earth.

All the distant nations will worship the Lord in their own lands. ¹⁶ 

Zefanya 3:5

3:5 The just Lord resides ¹⁷  within her;

he commits no unjust acts. ¹⁸ 

Every morning he reveals ¹⁹  his justice.

At dawn he appears without fail. ²⁰ 

Yet the unjust know no shame.

Zefanya 3:7

3:7 I thought, ²¹  ‘Certainly you will respect ²²  me!

Now you will accept correction!’

If she had done so, her home ²³  would not be destroyed ²⁴ 

by all the punishments I have threatened. ²⁵ 

But they eagerly sinned

in everything they did. ²⁶ 

Zefanya 3:11

3:11 In that day you ²⁷  will not be ashamed of all your rebelliousness against me, ²⁸ 

for then I will remove from your midst those who proudly boast, ²⁹ 

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

Zefanya 3:13

3:13 The Israelites who remain ³⁰  will not act deceitfully.

They will not lie,

and a deceitful tongue will not be found in their mouth.

Indeed, they will graze peacefully like sheep ³¹  and lie down;

no one will terrify them.”

[3:19]  ¹ 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]  ² 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.

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

[2:3]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ tn Heb “Seek what is right.”

[2:3]  ⁷ tn Heb “Seek humility.”

[2:3]  ⁸ tn Heb “hidden.” Cf. NEB “it may be that you will find shelter”; NRSV “perhaps you may be hidden.”

[2:2]  ⁹ tn Heb “before the giving birth of a decree.” For various alternative readings, see J. J. M. Roberts, Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah (OTL), 187-88.

[2:2]  ¹⁰ tn The second half of the line reads literally, “like chaff it passes by a day.” The translation above assumes the “day” is the brief time God is giving the nation to repent. The comparison of this quickly passing opportunity to chaff is consistent with the straw imagery of v. 1.

[2:2]  ¹¹ tn Heb “the fury of the anger of the Lord.” The synonyms are combined to emphasize the extreme degree of the Lord’s anger.

[2:2]  ¹² tn Heb “comes upon.” This phrase occurs twice in this verse.

[2:11]  ¹³ tn Heb “will be awesome over [or, “against”] them.”

[2:11]  ¹⁴ tn Or “certainly.”

[2:11]  ¹⁵ 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]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and all the coastlands of the nations will worship [or, “bow down”] to him, each from his own place.”

[3:5]  ¹⁷ tn The word “resides” is supplied for clarification.

[3:5]  ¹⁸ tn Or “he does no injustice.”

[3:5]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “gives”; or “dispenses.”

[3:5]  ²⁰ 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.”

[3:7]  ²¹ tn Heb “said.”

[3:7]  ²² 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]  ²³ tn Or “dwelling place.”

[3:7]  ²⁴ tn Heb “cut off.”

[3:7]  ²⁵ tn Heb “all which I have punished her.” The precise meaning of this statement and its relationship to what precedes are unclear.

[3:7]  ²⁶ 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.

[3:11]  ²⁷ sn The second person verbs and pronouns are feminine singular, indicating that personified Jerusalem is addressed here.

[3:11]  ²⁸ tn Heb “In that day you not be ashamed because of all your actions, [in] which you rebelled against me.”

[3:11]  ²⁹ tn Heb “the arrogant ones of your pride.”

[3:13]  ³⁰ tn Or “the remnant of Israel.”

[3:13]  ³¹ tn The words “peacefully like sheep” are supplied in the translation for clarification.