Zefanya 3:6-7

The Lord’s Judgment will Purify

3:6 “I destroyed ¹  nations;

their walled cities ²  are in ruins.

I turned their streets into ruins;

no one passes through them.

Their cities are desolate; ³ 

no one lives there. ⁴ 

3:7 I thought, ⁵  ‘Certainly you will respect ⁶  me!

Now you will accept correction!’

If she had done so, her home ⁷  would not be destroyed ⁸ 

by all the punishments I have threatened. ⁹ 

But they eagerly sinned

in everything they did. ¹⁰ 

[3:6]  ¹ tn Heb “cut off.”

[3:6]  ² tn Heb “corner towers”; NEB, NRSV “battlements.”

[3:6]  ³ 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]  ⁴ tn Heb “so that there is no man, without inhabitant.”

[3:7]  ⁵ tn Heb “said.”

[3:7]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ tn Or “dwelling place.”

[3:7]  ⁸ tn Heb “cut off.”

[3:7]  ⁹ tn Heb “all which I have punished her.” The precise meaning of this statement and its relationship to what precedes are unclear.

[3:7]  ¹⁰ 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.