Zephaniah 3:8-13
New Living Translation
8 Therefore, be patient,” says the Lord.
“Soon I will stand and accuse these evil nations.
For I have decided to gather the kingdoms of the earth
and pour out my fiercest anger and fury on them.
All the earth will be devoured
by the fire of my jealousy.
9 “Then I will purify the speech of all people,
so that everyone can worship the Lord together.
10 My scattered people who live beyond the rivers of Ethiopia[a]
will come to present their offerings.
11 On that day you will no longer need to be ashamed,
for you will no longer be rebels against me.
I will remove all proud and arrogant people from among you.
There will be no more haughtiness on my holy mountain.
12 Those who are left will be the lowly and humble,
for it is they who trust in the name of the Lord.
13 The remnant of Israel will do no wrong;
they will never tell lies or deceive one another.
They will eat and sleep in safety,
and no one will make them afraid.”
Footnotes
- 3:10 Hebrew Cush.
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.
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