Zephaniah 3:8-13
New English Translation
8 Therefore you must wait patiently[a] for me,” says the Lord,
“for the day when I attack and take plunder.[b]
I have decided[c] to gather nations together
and assemble kingdoms,
so I can pour out my fury on them—
all my raging anger.
For[d] the whole earth will be consumed
by my fiery anger.
9 Know for sure that I will then enable
the nations to give me acceptable praise.[e]
All of them will invoke the Lord’s name when they pray,[f]
and will worship him in unison.[g]
10 From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia,[h]
those who pray to me, my dispersed people,[i]
will bring me tribute.
11 In that day you[j] will not be ashamed of all your rebelliousness against me,[k]
for then I will remove from your midst those who proudly boast,[l]
and you will never again be arrogant on my holy hill.
12 I will leave in your midst a humble and meek group of people,[m]
and they will find safety in the Lord’s presence.[n]
13 The Israelites who remain[o] will not act deceitfully.
They will not lie,
and a deceitful tongue will not be found in their mouths.
Indeed, they will graze peacefully like sheep[p] and lie down;
no one will terrify them.”
Footnotes
- Zephaniah 3:8 tn The second person verb form (“you must wait patiently”) is masculine plural, indicating that a group is being addressed. Perhaps the humble individuals addressed earlier (see 2:3) are in view. Because of Jerusalem’s sin, they must patiently wait for judgment to pass before their vindication arrives.
- Zephaniah 3:8 tn Heb “when I arise for plunder.” The present translation takes עַד (ʿad) as “plunder.” Some, following the LXX, repoint the term עֵד (ʿed) and translate, “as a witness” (cf. NASB, NIV, NRSV). In this case the Lord uses a legal metaphor to picture himself as testifying against his enemies. Adele Berlin takes לְעַד (leʿad) in a temporal sense (“forever”) and translates “once and for all” (Zephaniah [AB 25A], 133).
- Zephaniah 3:8 tn Heb “for my decision is.”
- Zephaniah 3:8 tn Or “certainly.”
- Zephaniah 3:9 tn Heb “Certainly [or perhaps, “For”] then I will restore to the nations a pure lip.” sn I will then enable the nations to give me acceptable praise. This apparently refers to a time when the nations will reject their false idol-gods and offer genuine praise to the one true God.
- Zephaniah 3:9 tn Heb “so that all of them will call on the name of the Lord.”
- Zephaniah 3:9 tn Heb “so that [they] will serve him [with] one shoulder.”
- Zephaniah 3:10 tn Or “Nubia”; Heb “Cush.” “Cush” is traditionally assumed to refer to the region south of Egypt, i.e., Nubia or northern Sudan, referred to as “Ethiopia” by classical authors (not the more recent Abyssinia).
- Zephaniah 3:10 tn Heb “those who pray to me, the daughter of my dispersed ones.” The meaning of the phrase is unclear. For a discussion of various options see Adele Berlin, Zephaniah (AB 25A), 134-35.sn It is not certain if those who pray to me refers to the converted nations or to God’s exiled covenant people.
- Zephaniah 3:11 sn The second person verbs and pronouns are feminine singular, indicating that personified Jerusalem is addressed here.
- Zephaniah 3:11 tn Heb “In that day you will not be ashamed because of all your actions, [in] which you rebelled against me.”
- Zephaniah 3:11 tn Heb “the arrogant ones of your pride.”
- Zephaniah 3:12 tn Heb “needy and poor people.” The terms often refer to a socioeconomic group, but here they may refer to those who are humble in a spiritual sense.
- Zephaniah 3:12 tn Heb “and they will take refuge in the name of the Lord.” sn Safety in the Lord’s presence. From the time the Lord introduced his special covenant name (Yahweh) to Moses, it served as a reminder of his protective presence as Israel’s faithful deliverer.
- Zephaniah 3:13 tn Or “the remnant of Israel.”
- Zephaniah 3:13 tn The words “peacefully like sheep” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
Zephaniah 3:8-13
World English Bible
8 “Therefore wait for me”, says Yahweh, “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 on them my indignation, even all my fierce anger, for all the earth will be devoured with the fire of my jealousy. 9 For then I will purify the lips of the peoples, that they may all call on Yahweh’s name, to serve him shoulder to shoulder. 10 From beyond the rivers of Cush, my worshipers, even the daughter of my dispersed people, will bring my offering. 11 In that day you will not be disappointed for all your doings, in which you have transgressed against me; for then I will take away out from among you your proudly exulting ones, and you will no more be arrogant in my holy mountain. 12 But I will leave among you an afflicted and poor people, and they will take refuge in Yahweh’s name. 13 The remnant of Israel will not do iniquity, nor speak lies, neither will a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth, for they will feed and lie down, and no one will make them afraid.”
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