Zephaniah 3
3
Woe to Oppressive Jerusalem
1Woe to the city that is rebellious#3:1 Or filthy#Ex 23:21; Dt 9:24; Ps 106:43 and defiled,#Is 59:3
the oppressive city!
2She has not obeyed;#1Sm 15:22
she has not accepted discipline.#Jb 5:17
She has not trusted#Pr 3:5 in the Lord;
she has not drawn near to her God.
3The#3:3 Lit Her princes within her are roaring lions;#Ezk 22:25
her judges are wolves of the night,#Hab 1:8; Mt 7:15; Ac 20:29
which leave nothing for#3:3 Or that had nothing to gnaw in the morning.
4Her prophets are reckless#Jdg 9:4 —
treacherous men.
Her priests profane the sanctuary;
they do violence to instruction.#Ezk 22:26
5The righteous Lord is in her;#Ps 129:4
he does no wrong.#Ps 92:15
He applies his justice morning by morning;
he does not fail at dawn,
yet the one who does wrong knows no shame.#Jr 8:12
6I have cut off nations;
their corner towers#Zph 1:16 are destroyed.
I have laid waste their streets,
with no one to pass through.
Their cities lie devastated,
without a person, without an inhabitant.#Jr 44:2; Zph 2:5
7I said: You will certainly fear me
and accept correction.
Then her dwelling place#3:7 LXX, Syr read her eyes
would not be cut off
based on all that I had allocated to her.
However, they became more corrupt
in all their actions.
8Therefore, wait for me#Jb 3:21; Ps 33:20; Is 8:17; 30:18; 64:4 —
this is the Lord’s declaration —
until the day I rise up for plunder.#3:8 LXX, Syr read for a witness; Vg reads up forever
For my decision is to gather nations,
to assemble kingdoms,
in order to pour out my indignation#Ps 69:24; Ezk 21:31; 22:31; Nah 1:6 on them,
all my burning anger;
for the whole earth will be consumed
by the fire of my jealousy.#Dt 29:20; Ps 79:5; Zch 1:14; 8:2
Final Restoration Promised
9For I will then restore
pure#Dn 12:10 speech to the peoples
so that all of them may call
on the name of the Lord
and serve him with a single purpose.#3:9 Lit with one shoulder
10From beyond the rivers of Cush#Is 18:1–3
my supplicants, my dispersed people,
will bring an offering to me.
11On that day you#3:11 = Israel will not be put to shame#Gn 2:25; 2Sm 19:5; Ps 25:3
because of everything you have done
in rebelling#Is 1:2 against me.
For then I will remove
from among you your jubilant,#Jr 48:29 arrogant people,
and you will never again be haughty
on my holy mountain.#Is 11:9
12I will leave
a meek and humble people#Is 66:2 among you,
and they will take refuge in the name of the Lord.
13The remnant#Gn 45:7; 2Kg 19:31; Jr 23:3 of Israel will no longer
do wrong or tell lies;
a deceitful tongue will not be found
in their mouths.
They will pasture and lie down,
with nothing to make them afraid.#Gn 42:28; Jr 50:19; Ezk 34:14; Mc 4:4; 7:14
14Sing for joy, Daughter Zion;
shout loudly, Israel!
Be glad and celebrate with all your heart,
Daughter Jerusalem!
15The Lord has removed your punishment;
he has turned back your enemy.
The King of Israel, the Lord, is among you;
you need no longer fear harm.
16On that day it will be said to Jerusalem:
“Do not fear;
Zion, do not let your hands grow weak.#Jr 6:24; 50:43
17The Lord your God is among you,
a warrior#Jos 1:14; Jb 16:14; Ps 78:65 who saves.
He will rejoice over you#Dt 28:63; 30:9 with gladness.
He will be quiet#3:17 LXX, Syr read He will renew you in his love.
He will delight in you with singing.”#Ps 30:5
18I will gather those who have been driven#Lm 1:4–5; 3:33
from the appointed festivals;
they will be a tribute from you#3:18 = Jerusalem
and a reproach on her.#3:18 Hb obscure
19Yes, at that time
I will deal with all who oppress you.
I will save the lame#Ex 14:30 and gather the outcasts;#Mc 4:6
I will make those who were disgraced
throughout the earth
receive praise and fame.
20At that time I will bring you#3:20 = people of Israel back,
yes, at the time I will gather you.
I will give you fame and praise
among all the peoples of the earth,
when I restore your fortunes#Jb 42:10; Jr 29:14; Ezk 39:25; Hs 6:11; Jl 3:1 before your eyes.
The Lord has spoken.
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Zephaniah 3: CSB
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© 2017 Holman Bible Publishers
Zephaniah 3
3
The Future of Jerusalem
1Jerusalem, your people fought against God. They hurt other people, and you have been stained with sin. 2They didn’t listen to me or accept my teachings. Jerusalem didn’t trust the Lord. Jerusalem didn’t go to her God. 3Jerusalem’s leaders are like roaring lions. Her judges are like hungry wolves that come in the evening to attack the sheep—and in the morning nothing is left. 4Her prophets are always making secret plans to get more and more. Her priests have treated holy things as if they were not holy. They have done bad things to God’s teachings. 5But the Lord is still in that city, and he continues to be good. He does not do anything wrong. He continues to help his people. Morning after morning he makes good decisions for them. Not a day passes without his justice. He never gives a decision that is crooked or is something to be ashamed of.
6The Lord says, “I have destroyed whole nations and their defense towers. I destroyed their streets and now no one goes there anymore. Their cities are empty—no one lives there anymore. 7I tell you this so that you will learn a lesson. I want you to fear and respect me. If you do this, your home will not be destroyed, and I will not have to punish you the way I planned.” But those evil people only wanted to do more of the same evil things they had already done!
8The Lord said, “So just wait! Wait for me to stand and judge you. I have the right to bring people from many nations and use them to punish you. I will use them to show my anger against you. I will use them to show how upset I am—and the whole country will be destroyed. 9Then I will change people from other nations so that they can speak the language clearly and call out the name of the Lord. They will all worship me together, shoulder to shoulder, as one people. 10People will come all the way from the other side of the river in Ethiopia. My scattered people will come to me. My worshipers will come and bring their gifts to me.
11“Then, Jerusalem, you will no longer be ashamed of the wrong things your people do against me. That is because I will remove all the bad people from Jerusalem. I will take away all the proud people. There will not be any of them on my holy mountain.#3:11 holy mountain Mount Zion, one of the mountains Jerusalem was built on. 12I will let only meek and humble people stay in my city, and they will trust the Lord’s name. 13The survivors of Israel will not do bad things or tell lies. They will not try to trick people with lies. They will be like sheep that eat and lie down in peace—and no one will bother them.”
A Happy Song
14Jerusalem, sing and be happy!
Israel, shout for joy!
Jerusalem, be happy and have fun!
15The Lord stopped your punishment.
He destroyed your enemies’ strong towers.
King of Israel, the Lord is with you.
You don’t need to worry about anything bad happening.
16At that time Jerusalem will be told,
“Be strong, don’t be afraid!
17The Lord your God is with you.
He is like a powerful soldier.
He will save you.
He will show how much he loves you
and how happy he is with you.
He will laugh and be happy about you,
18like people at a party.
I will take away your shame.
I will make them stop hurting you.#3:18 The Hebrew text here is hard to understand.
19At that time I will punish those who hurt you.
I will save my hurt people
and bring back those who were forced to leave.
I will give them praise and honor everywhere,
even in places where they suffered shame.
20At that time I will lead you back home.
I will bring your people back together.
I will cause people everywhere to honor and praise you.
You will see me bring back all the blessings you once had.”
This is what the Lord said.
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