Passage

Zephaniah 3

Book: Zephaniah · NASB95

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"1. Woe to her that is rebellious and polluted! to the oppressing city! 2. She obeyed not the voice; she received not correction; she trusted not in Jehovah; she drew not near to her God. 3. Her princes in the midst of her are roaring lions; her judges are evening wolves; they leave nothing till the morrow. 4. Her prophets are light and treacherous persons; her priests have profaned the sanctuary, they have done violence to the law. 5. Jehovah in the midst of her is righteous; he will not do iniquity; every morning doth he bring his justice to light, he faileth not; but the unjust knoweth no shame. 6. I have cut off nations; their battlements are desolate; I have made their streets waste, so that none passeth by; their cities are destroyed, so that there is no man, so that there is no inhabitant. 7. I said, Only fear thou me; receive correction; so her dwelling shall not be cut off, according to all that I have appointed concerning her: but they rose early and corrupted all their doings. 8. Therefore wait ye for me, saith Jehovah, 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 upon them mine indignation, even all my fierce anger; for all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of my jealousy. 9. For then will I turn to the peoples of a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of Jehovah, to serve him with one consent. 10. From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia my suppliants, even the daughter of my dispersed, shall bring mine offering. 11. In that day shalt thou not be put to shame for all thy doings, wherein thou hast transgressed against me; for then I will take away out of the midst of thee thy proudly exulting ones, and thou shalt no more be haughty in my holy mountain. 12. But I will leave in the midst of thee an afflicted and poor people, and they shall take refuge in the name of Jehovah. 13. The remnant of Israel shall not do iniquity, nor speak lies; neither shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth; for they shall feed and lie down, and none shall make them afraid. 14. Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel; be glad and rejoice with all the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem. 15. Jehovah hath taken away thy judgments, he hath cast out thine enemy: the King of Israel, even Jehovah, is in the midst of thee; thou shalt not fear evil any more. 16. In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem, Fear thou not; O Zion, let not thy hands be slack. 17. Jehovah thy God is in the midst of thee, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love; he will joy over thee with singing. 18. I will gather them that sorrow for the solemn assembly, who were of thee; to whom the burden upon her was a reproach. 19. Behold, at that time I will deal with all them that afflict thee; and I will save that which is lame, and gather that which was driven away; and I will make them a praise and a name, whose shame hath been in all the earth. 20. At that time will I bring you in, and at that time will I gather you; for I will make you a name and a praise among all the peoples of the earth, when I bring back your captivity before your eyes, saith Jehovah." (Zephaniah 3:1-20, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"1. Woe to her who is rebellious and polluted, the oppressing city! 2. She didn’t obey the voice. She didn’t receive correction. She didn’t trust in Yahweh. She didn’t draw near to her God. 3. Her princes within her are roaring lions. Her judges are evening wolves. They leave nothing until the next day. 4. Her prophets are arrogant and treacherous people. Her priests have profaned the sanctuary. They have done violence to the law. 5. Yahweh, within her, is righteous. He will do no wrong. Every morning he brings his justice to light. He doesn’t fail, but the unjust know no shame. 6. I have cut off nations. Their battlements are desolate. I have made their streets waste, so that no one passes by. Their cities are destroyed, so that there is no man, so that there is no inhabitant. 7. I said, “Just fear me. Receive correction, so that her dwelling won’t be cut off, according to all that I have appointed concerning her.” But they rose early and corrupted all their doings. 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 haughty 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.” 14. Sing, daughter of Zion! Shout, Israel! Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, daughter of Jerusalem. 15. Yahweh has taken away your judgments. He has thrown out your enemy. The King of Israel, Yahweh, is among you. You will not be afraid of evil any more. 16. In that day, it will be said to Jerusalem, “Don’t be afraid, Zion. Don’t let your hands be weak.” 17. Yahweh, your God, is among you, a mighty one who will save. He will rejoice over you with joy. He will calm you in his love. He will rejoice over you with singing. 18. I will remove those who grieve about the appointed feasts from you. They are a burden and a reproach to you. 19. Behold, at that time I will deal with all those who afflict you, and I will save those who are lame, and gather those who were driven away. I will give them praise and honor, whose shame has been in all the earth. 20. At that time will I bring you in, and at that time will I gather you; for I will give you honor and praise among all the peoples of the earth, when I restore your fortunes before your eyes, says Yahweh." (Zephaniah 3:1-20, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"1. Woe to her that is filthy and polluted, to the oppressing city! ^{her: or, gluttonous: Heb. craw} 2. She obeyed not the voice; she received not correction; she trusted not in the LORD; she drew not near to her God. ^{correction: or, instruction} 3. Her princes within her are roaring lions; her judges are evening wolves; they gnaw not the bones till the morrow. 4. Her prophets are light and treacherous persons: her priests have polluted the sanctuary, they have done violence to the law. 5. The just LORD is in the midst thereof; he will not do iniquity: every morning doth he bring his judgment to light, he faileth not; but the unjust knoweth no shame. ^{every: Heb. morning by morning} 6. I have cut off the nations: their towers are desolate; I made their streets waste, that none passeth by: their cities are destroyed, so that there is no man, that there is none inhabitant. ^{towers: or, corners} 7. I said, Surely thou wilt fear me, thou wilt receive instruction; so their dwelling should not be cut off, howsoever I punished them: but they rose early, and corrupted all their doings. 8. Therefore wait ye upon me, saith the LORD, 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 upon them mine indignation, even all my fierce anger: for all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of my jealousy. 9. For then will I turn to the people a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the LORD, to serve him with one consent. ^{language: Heb. lip} ^{consent: Heb. shoulder} 10. From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia my suppliants, even the daughter of my dispersed, shall bring mine offering. 11. In that day shalt thou not be ashamed for all thy doings, wherein thou hast transgressed against me: for then I will take away out of the midst of thee them that rejoice in thy pride, and thou shalt no more be haughty because of my holy mountain. ^{because: Heb. in my holy} 12. I will also leave in the midst of thee an afflicted and poor people, and they shall trust in the name of the LORD. 13. The remnant of Israel shall not do iniquity, nor speak lies; neither shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth: for they shall feed and lie down, and none shall make them afraid. 14. Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel; be glad and rejoice with all the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem. 15. The LORD hath taken away thy judgments, he hath cast out thine enemy: the king of Israel, even the LORD, is in the midst of thee: thou shalt not see evil any more. 16. In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem, Fear thou not: and to Zion, Let not thine hands be slack. ^{slack: or, faint} 17. The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing. ^{rest: Heb. be silent} 18. I will gather them that are sorrowful for the solemn assembly, who are of thee, to whom the reproach of it was a burden. ^{reproach: Heb. the burden upon it was reproach} 19. Behold, at that time I will undo all that afflict thee: and I will save her that halteth, and gather her that was driven out; and I will get them praise and fame in every land where they have been put to shame. ^{get: Heb. set them for a praise} ^{where: Heb. of their shame} 20. At that time will I bring you again, even in the time that I gather you: for I will make you a name and a praise among all people of the earth, when I turn back your captivity before your eyes, saith the LORD." (Zephaniah 3:1-20, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"1. Woe [to] the rebellious and polluted, The oppressing city! 2. She hath not hearkened to the voice, She hath not accepted instruction, In Jehovah she hath not trusted, Unto her God she hath not drawn near. 3. Her heads in her midst [are] roaring lions, Her judges [are] evening wolves, They have not gnawn the bone in the morning. 4. Her prophets unstable, men of treachery, Her priests have polluted the sanctuary, They have violated the law. 5. Jehovah [is] righteous in her midst, He doth not do perverseness, Morning by morning His judgment he giveth to the light, It hath not been lacking, And the perverse doth not know shame. 6. I have cut off nations, Desolated have been their chief ones, I have laid waste their out-places without any passing by, Destroyed have been their cities, Without man, without inhabitant. 7. I have said: Only, ye do fear Me, Ye do accept instruction, And her habitation is not cut off, All that I have appointed for her, But they have risen early, They have corrupted all their doings. 8. Therefore, wait for Me, an affirmation of Jehovah, For the day of My rising for prey, For My judgment [is] to gather nations, To assemble kingdoms, To pour out on them Mine indignation, All the heat of Mine anger, For by the fire of My jealousy consumed is all the earth. 9. For then do I turn unto peoples a pure lip, To call all of them by the name of Jehovah, To serve Him [with] one shoulder. 10. From beyond the rivers of Cush, my supplicants, The daughter of My scattered ones, Do bring My present. 11. In that day thou art not ashamed because of any of thine actions, Wherewith thou hast transgressed against Me, For then do I turn aside from thy midst The exulting ones of thine excellency, And thou dost add no more to be haughty, In My holy mountain. 12. And I have left in thy midst a people humble and poor, And they have trusted in the name of Jehovah. 13. The remnant of Israel do no perversity, nor speak lies, Nor found in their mouth is a deceitful tongue, For they have delight, and have lain down, And there is none troubling. 14. Cry aloud, O daughter of Zion, shout, O Israel, Rejoice and exult with the whole heart, O daughter of Jerusalem. 15. Jehovah hath turned aside thy judgments, He hath faced thine enemy, The king of Israel, Jehovah, [is] in thy midst, Thou seest evil no more. 16. In that day it is said to Jerusalem, 'Fear not, O Zion, let not thy hands be feeble. 17. Jehovah thy God [is] in thy midst, A mighty one doth save, He rejoiceth over thee with joy, He doth work in His love, He joyeth over thee with singing.' 18. Mine afflicted from the appointed place I have gathered, from thee they have been, Bearing for her sake reproach. 19. Lo, I am dealing with all afflicting thee at that time, And I have saved the halting one, And the driven out ones I do gather, And have set them for a praise and for a name, In all the land of their shame. 20. At that time I bring you in, Even at the time of My assembling you, For I give you for a name, and for a praise, Among all peoples of the land, In My turning back [to] your captivity before your eyes, said Jehovah!" (Zephaniah 3:1-20, YLT)

Setting

Speaker: TBD
Audience: TBD
Location: TBD
Time period: TBD

Theological reading

Patristic / early-church-father exegesis, to be added.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word.

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Quoted in

Africans in Scripture Argument

Notes

Your annotations.

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.