Zephaniah 1
1
1This is the message that the Lord gave to Zephaniah. He was the son of Cushti, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah.#1:1. Probably king Hezekiah, one of the previous kings of Judah. This happened when Josiah, son of Amon, was king of Judah.
2I will completely sweep away everything from the face of the earth, declares the Lord. 3I will sweep away people and animals, I will sweep away the birds of the air and the fish of the sea. I will overthrow#1:3. Literally, “stumbling-blocks,” which makes the meaning unclear. the wicked; I will destroy human beings from the face of the earth. 4I will strike#1:4. Literally, “stretch out my hand against.” Judah and everyone who lives in Jerusalem. I will destroy all that remains of their Baal worship along with their pagan priests so that even their names will be forgotten.#1:4. Implied. 5I will destroy those who go up to the rooftops to bow down before the sun, moon, and stars. They also bow down and swear allegiance to the Lord, but then they do the same to Milcom.#1:5. Or “Molech,” a pagan god. 6I will destroy those who once worshiped the Lord but don't anymore. They don't seek the Lord or ask for my help.
7Be silent before the Lord God! For the day of the Lord is near: the Lord has prepared a sacrifice and consecrated his guests.#1:7. In the context, Israel is the sacrifice, and the Babylonians are the “guests.” 8Then on the day of the Lord's sacrifice I will punish the officials and the king's sons, and those who follow pagan ways#1:8. Literally, “those who dress in foreign clothes.”. 9I will also punish those who jump over the threshold.#1:9. The meaning of this is debated. Some think it was a pagan custom (see for example 1 Samuel 5:4-5). Others tie it to the following verse and see it as eagerness to rob the poor. On that day I will punish those who fill up their masters' houses using violence and deception. 10On that day, declares the Lord, a cry of grief will come from the Fish Gate, a wailing from the Second Quarter, and a loud crash from the hills. 11Those who live in the Market District#1:11. Literally, “the Mortar.” will wail in sorrow, for all the merchants#1:11. Literally, “people of Canaan.” are destroyed, along with those who trade in silver. 12At that time I will search through Jerusalem with lamps and I will punish those self-satisfied people, who are like wine left on its dregs, who say to themselves, “The Lord will not do good, nor will he do evil.”#1:12. In other words, they dismiss the Lord because they don't think he cares about them. 13Their possessions will be looted; their houses will be demolished. They will build houses, but not live in them; they will plant vineyards, but not drink the wine.
14The great day of the Lord is near and approaching rapidly. It will be a bitter day—even warriors will cry out loud. 15It will be a day of anger,#1:15. The expression of God being angry or full of wrath is a frequent image in the prophetic writings, but should not be understood in the same way as human anger. God's anger is not emotional like some kind of unthinking “red mist,” but a principled opposition to all that is evil. God uses this anger to try to convince those who are wrong to do what is right for their own sake, not because he “gets mad” and lashes out. Human anger is self-centered; divine anger is other-centered. a day of trouble and distress, a day of disaster and ruin, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness, 16a day of trumpet calls and battle cries against fortified cities and watchtowers. 17I will bring trouble on humanity, making them walk like blind people because they have sinned against the Lord. Their blood will be spilled like so much dust; their intestines like dung. 18Their silver and their gold won't help to save them on the day of the Lord's anger. The whole earth will be burned up by the fire of his jealous#1:18. “Jealous” when applied to God is not the same as human jealousy. It means God's strong desire that people follow only him, for he alone can save. He wants an exclusive relationship for he knows that anything else leads to disaster. anger. He will make sure the end of the people of the world is sudden and complete.
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com
Zephaniah 1
1
Judah’s Impending Judgment
1The word of Yahweh that came to Zephaniah the son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah son of Amon, king of Judah.
2“I will surely destroy everything
from the face of the earth”—a declaration of Yahweh.
3“I will destroy humanity and beast;
I will destroy the birds of the sky
and the fish of the sea,
and the stumbling blocks#A reference to idols with the wicked.
And I will cut off humankind
from the face of the earth”—a declaration of Yahweh.
4“And I will stretch out my hand against Judah
and against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
And I will cut off from this place
the remnant of Baal,
and the name of idolatrous priests with the priests,#The last phrase, “with the priests,” may be a later explanatory gloss
5and those who bow down on the rooftops
to the host of heaven,
and those who bow down, swearing to Yahweh
but also swearing by Milkom,#Or “their king”
6and those who turned back from following#Literally “after” Yahweh,
and who did not seek Yahweh,
and did not inquire of him.”
7Be silent before the Lord Yahweh,
for the day of Yahweh draws near,
for Yahweh has provided a sacrifice
and has consecrated his guests.
8And it shall be that on the day of the sacrifice of Yahweh,
I will punish the officials
and the sons of the king
and those who dress in foreign clothing.
9And on that day I will punish
all who leap over the threshold,
who fill up the house of their master
with violence and deceit.
10“And there shall be on that day”—a declaration of Yahweh—
“a loud outcry#Literally “voice of a cry of distress” from the Fish Gate,
and a wailing from the Second District,
and a loud#Or “great” crashing from the hills.
11The inhabitants of the Mortar shall wail,
for all the traders have perished;
all who trade with silver have been cut off.
12And it shall be that at that time
I will search Jerusalem with lamps,
and I will punish the men
whose senses are dulled from drinking,#Literally “who are thickened with their dregs”
who say in their hearts,
‘Yahweh will not do good, nor will he do evil.’
13Then their wealth shall be as plunder,
and their homes as desolation.
And they shall build their houses and not inhabit them,
and they shall plant vineyards and not drink their wine.”
14The great day of Yahweh draws near;
it is near and coming very swiftly.
The sound of the day of Yahweh is bitterness;
there, a warrior cries out!
15That day will be a day of wrath,
a day of trouble and distress,
a day of disaster and ruination,
a day of darkness and deep gloom,
a day of clouds#Hebrew “cloud” and thick clouds,#Hebrew “cloud”
16a day of trumpet and trumpet blast
against the fortified cities
and against the high corner towers.
17And I will bring distress to all humankind,
and they shall walk about like the blind,
for they sinned against Yahweh;
their blood shall be poured out like dust
and their entrails like dung.
18Moreover, their silver and their gold
will not be able to save them
on the day of the wrath of Yahweh.
And in the fire of his zeal,
the whole land shall be consumed,
for a terrifying end he shall make
for all the inhabitants of the land.
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