Zephaniah 3
Legacy Standard Bible
The Unjust Knows No Shame
3 Woe to her who is (A)rebellious and (B)defiled,
The oppressive (C)city!
2 She (D)did not listen to any voice;
She (E)did not receive discipline.
She did not (F)trust in Yahweh;
She did not (G)draw near to her God.
3 Her (H)princes in her midst are roaring lions;
Her judges are (I)wolves at evening;
They leave nothing to gnaw for the morning.
4 Her prophets are (J)reckless, treacherous men;
Her (K)priests have profaned the sanctuary.
They have done violence to the law.
5 Yahweh is (L)righteous (M)in her midst;
He will (N)do no injustice.
(O)Every morning He brings His justice to light;
[a]He does not fail.
But the unjust (P)knows no shame.
6 “I have cut off nations;
Their corner towers are desolate.
I have made their streets (Q)a waste,
With no one passing by;
Their (R)cities are laid waste,
Without a man, (S)without an inhabitant.
7 I said, ‘Surely you will fear Me,
(T)Receive discipline.’
So her abode will (U)not be cut off
According to all that I have appointed concerning her.
But they were eager to (V)corrupt all their deeds.
Yahweh Will Pour Out His Anger
8 “Therefore (W)wait for Me,” declares Yahweh,
“For the day when I rise up as a witness.
Indeed, My judgment is to (X)assemble nations,
To gather kingdoms,
To pour out on them My indignation,
All My burning anger;
For (Y)all the earth will be devoured
By the fire of My zeal.
9 For then I will change them to peoples with (Z)purified lips,
That all of them may (AA)call on the name of Yahweh,
To serve Him [b]shoulder to shoulder.
10 From beyond the rivers of [c](AB)Ethiopia
My [d]worshipers, [e]My scattered ones,
Will (AC)bring My offerings.
11 In that day you will (AD)feel no shame
Because of all your deeds
By which you have transgressed against Me;
For then I will remove from your midst
Your (AE)proud, exulting ones,
And you will never again be haughty
On My (AF)holy mountain.
12 But I will cause to remain in your midst
A [f](AG)lowly and poor people,
And they will (AH)take refuge in the name of Yahweh.
13 The (AI)remnant of Israel will (AJ)do no injustice
And (AK)not speak falsehood,
Nor will a deceitful tongue
Be found in their mouths;
For they will (AL)feed and lie down
With no one to make them tremble.”
Yahweh’s Joy in Restoring Israel
14 Sing for joy, O daughter of Zion!
(AM)Make a loud shout, O Israel!
Be glad and exult with all your heart,
O daughter of Jerusalem!
15 Yahweh has taken away (AN)His judgments against you;
He has cleared away your enemies.
The King of Israel, Yahweh, is (AO)in your midst;
You will (AP)fear evil no more.
16 (AQ)In that day it will be said to Jerusalem:
“(AR)Do not fear, O Zion;
(AS)Do not let your hands fall limp.
17 Yahweh your God is (AT)in your midst,
A (AU)mighty one who will save.
He will (AV)be joyful over you with gladness;
He will [g]be quiet in His love;
He will rejoice over you with joyful singing.
18 I will assemble those who (AW)grieve about the appointed feasts—
They were from you, O Zion;
The reproach of exile is a burden on [h]them.
19 Behold, I am going to deal at that time
With all those who (AX)afflict you,
And I will save the (AY)lame
And gather the banished,
And I will turn them—in their (AZ)shame—into (BA)praise and a name
In all the earth.
20 At that time I will (BB)bring you in,
Even at the time when I gather you together;
Indeed, I will give you to be a (BC)name and praise
Among all the peoples of the earth,
When I (BD)restore your fortunes before your eyes,”
Says Yahweh.
Footnotes
- Zephaniah 3:5 Lit It is never missing
- Zephaniah 3:9 Lit with one shoulder
- Zephaniah 3:10 Or Cush, cf. Gen 10:6
- Zephaniah 3:10 Or suppliants
- Zephaniah 3:10 Lit the daughter of My scattered ones
- Zephaniah 3:12 Or humble, afflicted
- Zephaniah 3:17 Some ancient versions renew you in
- Zephaniah 3:18 Lit her
Zephaniah 3
International Standard Version
The Lord’s Rebuke to Jerusalem
3 Woe to this filthy, polluted, and oppressive city!
2 It won’t obey anyone.[a]
It won’t accept discipline.
It does not trust in the Lord.
It does not approach God.
3 Its national officials[b] are roaring lions;
its judges are like wolves of the night
that don’t leave the bones for the morning.
4 Its prophets are arrogant and treacherous.
Its priests have contaminated the sanctuary.
They give perverse interpretations of the Law.[c]
5 The righteous Lord who lives[d] within her will do no wrong;
he will bring justice to light morning by morning.
He never fails,
but the unjust are shameless.
The Integrity of God’s Justice
6 “I have destroyed[e] nations—
their fortifications are deserted.
I have turned their main thoroughfares into wastelands
where no one will travel.
Their cities are desolate;
as a result, not one man remains—
no, not even a single resident.
7 I have said, ‘If only you would fear me,
if only you would take my instructions to heart.’
Then their houses would not have been torn down.
I have chastened them,
but they were eager to corrupt everything they were doing.”
The Future Deliverance of Israel
8 “Just you wait!” declares the Lord.
“The day will come when I stand up as a prosecutor,[f]
for I am determined to assemble the nations
and to gather the kingdoms,
in order to pour out my indignation upon them—
all of my fierce anger.
All the earth will be consumed by the fire of my jealousy.
9 Indeed, then I will return my people to a pure language[g]
so that they all may call upon the name of the Lord,
serving him with a united will.[h]
10 “From beyond the rivers of Sudan[i] my worshipers[j]—
including my dispersed people—
will present offerings to me.
11 When this happens,[k] you will not be ashamed of your actions
by which you sinned against me,
because I will remove from among you those who revel in pride.
Arrogance will have no place in my holy mountain.
12 I will keep a humble and gentle people among you,
and they will trust in the name of the Lord.
13 The survivors of Israel will not practice lawlessness
nor tell lies,
nor will a deceitful message be found in their mouths,
because they will eat and rest,
with no one to cause fear.”
Israel’s Future Joys
14 “Sing aloud, daughter of Zion!
Shout out, Israel!
Rejoice with all of your heart, daughter of Jerusalem!
15 The Lord has acquitted you;[l]
turning back your adversaries.
Israel’s king, the Lord, is among you;
you will not fear disaster anymore.
16 “When all of this happens,[m] it will be told Jerusalem,
‘Don’t be afraid!”
and to Zion,
‘Don’t lose courage!”[n]
17 The Lord your God among you is powerful—
he will save
and he will take joyful delight in you.
In his love he will renew you[o] with his love;
he will celebrate with singing because of you.
18 I will gather the afflicted from the solemn assembly;
those who were with you,
who were bearing a burden of disgrace.
19 “Watch how I deal with everyone who oppresses you!
At that time I will rescue the one who is lame,
and I will draw to me[p] the one who has been driven away.
I will honor[q] them with praise
and with a good reputation in every land
where they have been put to shame.
20 At that time I will gather you;
at that time I will bring you home.[r]
Indeed, I will give you a good reputation,
making you praiseworthy among all of the people of the world,
when I restore your prosperity before your eyes,” says the Lord.
Footnotes
- Zephaniah 3:2 Lit. obey the voice
- Zephaniah 3:3 Lit. Her princes
- Zephaniah 3:4 Lit. They do violence to the Law
- Zephaniah 3:5 The Heb. lacks within her
- Zephaniah 3:6 Lit. have cut off
- Zephaniah 3:8 Or witness
- Zephaniah 3:9 Or to pure lips
- Zephaniah 3:9 Lit. shoulder
- Zephaniah 3:10 Or Ethiopia; Lit. Cush
- Zephaniah 3:10 Lit. incense burners
- Zephaniah 3:11 Lit. On that day
- Zephaniah 3:15 Lit. has withdrawn your judgments
- Zephaniah 3:16 Lit. In that day
- Zephaniah 3:16 Lit. Don’t let your hands drop
- Zephaniah 3:17 The Heb. lacks you
- Zephaniah 3:19 The Heb. lacks to me
- Zephaniah 3:19 Lit. give
- Zephaniah 3:20 The Heb. lacks home
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