Zephaniah 3
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Woe to Oppressive Jerusalem
3 Woe to the city that is rebellious[a](A) and defiled,(B)
the oppressive city!
2 She has not obeyed;(C)
she has not accepted discipline.(D)
She has not trusted(E) in Yahweh;
she has not drawn near to her God.
3 The[b] princes within her are roaring lions;(F)
her judges are wolves of the night,(G)
which leave nothing for[c] the morning.
4 Her prophets are reckless(H)—
treacherous men.
Her priests profane the sanctuary;
they do violence to instruction.(I)
5 The righteous Lord is in her;(J)
He does no wrong.(K)
He applies His justice morning by morning;
He does not fail at dawn,
yet the one who does wrong knows no shame.(L)
6 I have cut off nations;
their corner towers(M) are destroyed.
I have laid waste their streets,
with no one to pass through.
Their cities lie devastated,
without a person, without an inhabitant.(N)
7 I thought: You will certainly fear Me
and accept correction.
Then her dwelling place[d]
would not be cut off
based on all that I had allocated to her.
However, they became more corrupt
in all their actions.
8 Therefore, wait for Me(O)—
this is the Lord’s declaration—
until the day I rise up for plunder.[e]
For My decision is to gather nations,
to assemble kingdoms,
in order to pour out My indignation(P) on them,
all My burning anger;
for the whole earth will be consumed
by the fire of My jealousy.(Q)
Final Restoration Promised
9 For I will then restore
pure(R) speech to the peoples
so that all of them may call
on the name of Yahweh
and serve Him with a single purpose.[f]
10 From beyond the rivers of Cush(S)
My supplicants, My dispersed people,
will bring an offering to Me.
11 On that day you[g] will not be put to shame(T)
because of everything you have done
in rebelling(U) against Me.
For then I will remove
your proud,(V) arrogant people from among you,
and you will never again be haughty
on My holy mountain.(W)
12 I will leave
a meek and humble people(X) among you,
and they will take refuge in the name of Yahweh.
13 The remnant(Y) of Israel will no longer
do wrong or tell lies;
a deceitful tongue will not be found
in their mouths.
But they will pasture and lie down,
with nothing to make them afraid.(Z)
14 Sing for joy, Daughter Zion;
shout loudly, Israel!
Be glad and rejoice with all your heart,
Daughter Jerusalem!
15 The Lord has removed your punishment;
He has turned back your enemy.
The King of Israel, Yahweh, is among you;
you need no longer fear harm.
16 On that day it will be said to Jerusalem:
“Do not fear;
Zion, do not let your hands grow weak.(AA)
17 Yahweh your God is among you,
a warrior(AB) who saves.
He will rejoice over you(AC) with gladness.
He will bring you quietness[h] with His love.
He will delight in you with shouts of joy.”(AD)
18 I will gather those who have been driven(AE)
from the appointed festivals;
they will be a tribute from you[i]
and a reproach on her.[j]
19 Yes, at that time
I will deal with all who afflict you.
I will save the lame(AF) and gather the scattered;(AG)
I will make those who were disgraced
throughout the earth
receive praise and fame.
20 At that time I will bring you[k] 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(AH) before your eyes.
Yahweh has spoken.
Footnotes
- Zephaniah 3:1 Or filthy
- Zephaniah 3:3 Lit Her
- Zephaniah 3:3 Or that had nothing to gnaw in
- Zephaniah 3:7 LXX, Syr read her eyes
- Zephaniah 3:8 LXX, Syr read for a witness; Vg reads up forever
- Zephaniah 3:9 Lit with one shoulder
- Zephaniah 3:11 = Israel
- Zephaniah 3:17 LXX, Syr read He will renew you
- Zephaniah 3:18 = Jerusalem
- Zephaniah 3:18 Hb obscure
- Zephaniah 3:20 = people of Israel
Zephaniah 3
Lexham English Bible
Judgment of Jerusalem and the Nations
3 Woe to you, O rebellious and defiled one!
The oppressing city!
2 She listens to no voice;
she does not accept correction.
In Yahweh she does not trust;
to her God she does not draw near.
3 Her officials in her midst are roaring lions;
her judges are evening wolves;
they leave nothing until the morning.
4 Her prophets are arrogant men of treachery;
her priests have defiled that which is holy;
they do violence to the law.
5 Yahweh is righteous in her midst;
he does not do wickedness.
Morning by morning[a] he renders his judgment;
at dawn he does not fail,
but an evil one knows no shame.
6 “I have cut off nations;
their strongholds are deserted.
I have laid waste their streets,
so that none pass through.
Their cities have been destroyed
and are without a man, without an inhabitant.
7 I have said, ‘Surely she will fear me;
she will accept discipline.
Then her dwelling place will not be cut down,
nor all that I have brought upon her.’
Surely they rise early;
they make all their deeds corrupt.
8 “Therefore, wait for me”—a declaration of Yahweh—
“for the day of my rising as a witness.
For my decision is to gather nations,
to assemble[b] kingdoms,
to pour out my wrath upon them, all my burning anger.
For by the fire of my anger all the land shall be consumed.
9 Because then I will make the speech of the nations pure;[c]
that all of them might call on the name of Yahweh,
to serve him in unison.[d]
10 From beyond the rivers of Cush
my worshipers and the daughter of my scattered ones
shall bring my offering.
11 On that day you shall not be humiliated
on account of all your deeds
by which you have rebelled against me.
For then I shall remove from your midst
those exulting in your pride,
and you shall no longer be haughty
in my holy mountain.[e]
12 And I will leave in your midst
a people afflicted and poor,
and they shall take refuge
in the name of Yahweh.
13 The remnant of Israel
shall not do wickedness;
they shall not speak deception,
nor shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth.
For they shall graze and lie down,
and none shall frighten them.”
14 Shout for joy, O daughter of Zion!
Cry aloud, O Israel!
Rejoice and be jubilant with all your heart,
O daughter of Jerusalem!
15 Yahweh has annulled your judgments;
he has turned away your enemies.
The king of Israel, Yahweh, is in your midst;
you shall no longer fear misfortune.
16 On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem,
“Fear not, O Zion;
your hands shall not hang limp.
17 Yahweh your God is in your midst;
a mighty warrior who saves.
He shall rejoice over you with joy;
he renews[f] you in his love;
he will exult over you with singing.
18 I will gather those of you grieving on account of the feast;
they were raising against her a reproach.
19 Behold, at that time I will deal with all your oppressors;
I will save the lame and gather the outcast.
I will change[g] them from shame
to glory and renown[h] throughout the whole world.
20 At that time I will bring you in;
at the time of my gathering you together.
For I will make you renowned[i] and praised
among all the nations of the earth
when I restore your fortunes before your eyes,”
says Yahweh.
Footnotes
- Zephaniah 3:5 Literally “In the morning, in the morning”
- Zephaniah 3:8 The traditional Hebrew has “assemble me”; this translation follows LXX
- Zephaniah 3:9 Literally “I will turn to the nations a purged lip”
- Zephaniah 3:9 Literally “with one shoulder”
- Zephaniah 3:11 Literally “the mountain of my holiness”
- Zephaniah 3:17 The translation follows the LXX text; the traditional Hebrew text reads “he will silence you in his love”
- Zephaniah 3:19 Or “make”
- Zephaniah 3:19 Literally “a name”
- Zephaniah 3:20 Literally “a name”
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