Zephaniah 3

How terrible it will be for the city that is filthy and stained, the city that crushes others!

1Woe to her that is filthy and polluted, to the oppressing city!

NoteThe city is never named in these opening verses, but the details that follow (its prophets, its priests, its temple) identify it as Jerusalem. The prophet withholds the name until verse 14. "Woe" translates a cry that was used at funerals and in laments; it announces disaster rather than scolding.

2She did not listen when she was spoken to. She would not take correction. She did not trust the LORD. She did not come near to her God.

2She obeyed not the voice; she received not correction; she trusted not in the LORD; she drew not near to her God.

3The officials inside her are lions that roar. Her judges are wolves that hunt at evening and leave nothing on the bones for morning.

3Her princes within her are roaring lions; her judges are evening wolves; they gnaw not the bones till the morrow.

Note"Princes" here means the leading men of the city, royal officials, nobles, administrators. "Judges" were the officials who settled disputes and were expected above all to protect widows, orphans and the poor. Wolves that hunt at evening are at their hungriest, and the picture is of animals that strip a carcass completely rather than leaving anything behind.

4Her prophets are reckless men who cannot be trusted. Her priests treat holy things as if they were common, and they twist and break the law.

4Her prophets are light and treacherous persons: her priests have polluted the sanctuary, they have done violence to the law.

NoteA prophet was someone who claimed to speak messages from God; a priest served at the temple, handling sacrifices and teaching people what was clean, unclean, holy or ordinary. To "pollute the sanctuary" is to treat the set-apart space of the temple as if it were ordinary ground. "The law" is the Torah, the body of instruction given through Moses, which priests were responsible for teaching correctly.

5The LORD is inside that city, and he is just. He does no wrong. Morning after morning he brings his justice to light, and he never fails. But those who do wrong feel no shame.

5The just LORD is in the midst thereof; he will not do iniquity: every morning doth he bring his judgment to light, he faileth not; but the unjust knoweth no shame.

6God says: I have wiped out nations. Their corner towers are ruins. I emptied their streets, so no one walks through them. Their cities are destroyed, with no people, no one living there at all.

6I have cut off the nations: their towers are desolate; I made their streets waste, that none passeth by: their cities are destroyed, so that there is no man, that there is none inhabitant.

NoteCorner towers were the fortified turrets built at the angles of a city wall, the strongest points of its defenses. Naming them as ruins means the strongest part of the city has fallen.

7I said, "Surely you will fear me now and accept correction." Then her home would not have been cut off, in spite of everything I punished her for. But they got up early and went on ruining everything they did.

7I said, Surely thou wilt fear me, thou wilt receive instruction; so their dwelling should not be cut off, howsoever I punished them: but they rose early, and corrupted all their doings.

Note"They rose early" is a Hebrew way of saying they did something eagerly and persistently, the way you get up at dawn for work that matters to you. Here it is applied, bitterly, to their wrongdoing.

8So wait for me, says the LORD, until the day I stand up to make my case. I have decided to gather the nations and bring the kingdoms together, and pour out my anger on them, all my burning rage. The whole earth will be eaten up by the fire of my jealousy.

8Therefore wait ye upon me, saith the LORD, until the day that I rise up to the prey: for my determination is to gather the nations, that I may assemble the kingdoms, to pour upon them mine indignation, even all my fierce anger: for all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of my jealousy.

NoteThe Hebrew word behind "to the prey" differs by one vowel from "as a witness," and ancient translations split between the two: God rising like a predator to seize plunder, or rising in a courtroom to give evidence. The rendering follows the courtroom sense, but the other reading is equally old. "Jealousy" here does not mean envy; it is the fierce protectiveness of someone whose exclusive claim on another has been violated, the word used of a wronged husband.

9After that I will give the peoples clean speech, so that all of them may call on the name of the LORD and serve him side by side.

9For then will I turn to the people a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the LORD, to serve him with one consent.

NoteThe Hebrew says "a purified lip." Lip and language stand for the way people speak, especially the names they call on in worship; cleansing their speech means they will no longer invoke other gods. "With one consent" translates a phrase meaning literally "with one shoulder," an image of laborers carrying a heavy load side by side in step.

10From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia my worshipers, my scattered people, will bring me an offering.

10From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia my suppliants, even the daughter of my dispersed, shall bring mine offering.

Note"Ethiopia" renders Cush, the region up the Nile south of Egypt, roughly modern Sudan. For an ancient Judean it marked the far southern edge of the known world, the point is distance, not a particular nation. "The daughter of my dispersed" means the people scattered abroad, those living far from home.

11On that day you will not have to feel ashamed for all the things you did against me. For then I will take away from among you those who are proud and pleased with themselves, and you will never again act proud on my holy mountain.

11In that day shalt thou not be ashamed for all thy doings, wherein thou hast transgressed against me: for then I will take away out of the midst of thee them that rejoice in thy pride, and thou shalt no more be haughty because of my holy mountain.

Note"My holy mountain" is Mount Zion, the hill in Jerusalem where the temple stood. Pride in the temple's presence, the assumption that having it made the city untouchable, is what is being cut away.

12But I will leave among you a people who are humble and poor, and they will trust in the name of the LORD.

12I will also leave in the midst of thee an afflicted and poor people, and they shall trust in the name of the LORD.

NoteThe two Hebrew words behind "afflicted and poor" carry both senses at once: materially poor and low in status, and bowed down or humble in bearing. Ancient readers would not have separated the two.

13The people of Israel who are left will not do wrong or tell lies. No lying tongue will be found in their mouths. They will eat and lie down, and no one will frighten them.

13The remnant of Israel shall not do iniquity, nor speak lies; neither shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth: for they shall feed and lie down, and none shall make them afraid.

Note"Remnant" is a standing term in the prophets for the fragment of a people left alive after a catastrophe, the survivors out of whom anything future has to be built. "Feed and lie down" is language for a flock of sheep grazing and then settling on the ground undisturbed, which they will only do when no predator is near.

14Sing, city of Zion! Shout out loud, Israel! Be glad and celebrate with your whole heart, people of Jerusalem!

14Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel; be glad and rejoice with all the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem.

Note"Daughter of Zion" and "daughter of Jerusalem" are ways of addressing a city as though it were a woman; they mean the city and its population, not a person within it. Zion was originally the fortified hill David captured, and came to stand for Jerusalem as a whole.

15The LORD has taken away the sentence against you. He has driven your enemy away. The LORD, the king of Israel, is among you. You will never again be afraid of harm.

15The LORD hath taken away thy judgments, he hath cast out thine enemy: the king of Israel, even the LORD, is in the midst of thee: thou shalt not see evil any more.

NoteIn older English "judgments" could mean the sentences passed against someone, not the act of judging. What is removed is the punishment she was under.

16On that day people will say to Jerusalem, "Do not be afraid." They will say to Zion, "Do not let your hands hang down."

16In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem, Fear thou not: and to Zion, Let not thine hands be slack.

NoteHands hanging limp at the sides was a standard picture of losing nerve, the body of someone who has given up. Telling someone their hands should not drop is telling them not to lose heart.

17The LORD your God is among you, a warrior who saves. He will be glad about you and full of joy. He will be silent in his love. He will sing out loud because of you.

17The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.

Note"Mighty" translates a word for a warrior or champion, a fighting man of proven strength. "He will rest in his love" renders a verb meaning to be silent or grow quiet; some ancient readers understood it as God falling silent in love, others as God quieting the people the way one soothes a child, and a variant tradition read a similar-looking word meaning "he will renew you." The Hebrew supports more than one of these.

18I will gather those among you who grieve because they cannot keep the appointed festivals. The shame of it has been a heavy load on them.

18I will gather them that are sorrowful for the solemn assembly, who are of thee, to whom the reproach of it was a burden.

NoteThis is one of the most obscure sentences in the Hebrew Bible; the words are clear individually but do not fit together cleanly, and translations differ sharply. The reading followed here takes it of people who grieve because exile has cut them off from the appointed festivals, the pilgrimage feasts held at the temple in Jerusalem, and who bear the humiliation of being unable to keep them.

19Look, at that time I will deal with everyone who hurts you. I will rescue those who cannot walk well and bring back those who were scattered. I will turn their disgrace into praise and fame in every land where they were shamed.

19Behold, at that time I will undo all that afflict thee: and I will save her that halteth, and gather her that was driven out; and I will get them praise and fame in every land where they have been put to shame.

Note"Halteth" in older English means limping or lame, not stopping. The word belongs to shepherding: the injured animal that cannot keep up with the flock and is normally left behind.

20At that time I will bring you home; at that time I will gather you in. I will make you known and praised among all the peoples of the earth, when I restore your fortunes right in front of your eyes, says the LORD.

20At that time will I bring you again, even in the time that I gather you: for I will make you a name and a praise among all people of the earth, when I turn back your captivity before your eyes, saith the LORD.

Note"Turn back your captivity" is a fixed Hebrew idiom that means both bringing captives home and reversing someone's fortunes generally; the two senses run together and ancient hearers would have caught both.