Zephaniah 3

Judgment on Jerusalem

¹Woe to the city of oppressors,

rebellious and defiled!

• ZEPH 3:1[NOTE]WOE TO THE CITY. The listeners would expect another foreign city. It is Jerusalem.

²She heeded no voice;

she accepted no correction.

She does not trust in Yahweh;

she has not drawn near to her God.

³Her princes are roaring lions;

her judges are evening wolves,

leaving nothing for the morning.

⁴Her prophets are reckless,

faithless men.

Her priests profane the sanctuary;

they do violence to the law.

⁵Yahweh within her is righteous;

He does no wrong.

He applies His justice morning by morning;

He does not fail at dawn,

yet the unjust know no shame.

• ZEPH 3:5[NOTE]MORNING BY MORNING. God's justice shows up every day, like the sunrise.

Purification of the Nations

⁶“I have cut off the nations;

their corner towers are destroyed.

I have made their streets deserted

with no one to pass through.

Their cities are laid waste,

with no man, no inhabitant.

⁷I said, ‘Surely you will fear Me

and accept correction.’

Then her dwelling place would not be cut off

despite all for which I punished her.

But they rose early

to corrupt all their deeds.

⁸Therefore wait for Me,”

declares Yahweh,

“until the day

I rise to testify.

For My decision is to gather nations,

to assemble kingdoms,

to pour out upon them My indignation—

all My burning anger.

For all the earth will be consumed

by the fire of My jealousy.

A Faithful Remnant

⁹For then I will restore

pure lips to the peoples,

that all may call upon the name of Yahweh

and serve Him shoulder to shoulder.

• ZEPH 3:9[PROPHECY]I will turn to the peoples a pure language so they may all call upon the name of Yahweh → HISTORY: Some Christians see this in the rebirth of spoken Hebrew led by Eliezer Ben Yehuda, starting in 1881. Most scholars read it as pure worship from all nations.LOW
• ZEPH 3:9[PROPHECY]I will restore to the peoples a pure language, that they all may call on the name of Yahweh → STILL TO COMEMEDIUM
• ZEPH 3:9[NOTE]PURE LIPS. At Babel God mixed up the nations' language, Genesis 11:9. Here He gives the nations pure lips to call on His name together. Many Christians see a first step at Pentecost, Acts 2. See Pentecost, Acts.

¹⁰From beyond the rivers of Cush

My worshipers, My scattered people,

will bring Me an offering.

¹¹On that day you will not be put to shame

for any of the deeds

by which you have transgressed against Me.

For then I will remove from among you

those who rejoice in their pride,

and you will never again be haughty

on My holy mountain.

¹²But I will leave within you a meek and humble people,

and they will trust in the name of Yahweh.

¹³The remnant of Israel

will no longer do wrong or speak lies,

nor will a deceitful tongue

be found in their mouths.

But they will feed and lie down,

with no one to make them tremble.”

• ZEPH 3:13[ALLUDED TO]The New Testament refers to this → REV 14:5
• ZEPH 3:13[NOTE]NO DECEIT. Revelation 14:5 echoes this line: no lie was found in their mouths.

Israel’s Restoration

¹⁴Sing for joy, O Daughter of Zion;

shout aloud, O Israel!

Be glad and rejoice with all your heart,

O Daughter of Jerusalem!

• ZEPH 3:14[NOTE]SING FOR JOY. Zephaniah's song to Jerusalem, about God in the third person, so it prints black.

¹⁵Yahweh has taken away your punishment;

He has turned back your enemy.

Israel’s King, Yahweh, is among you;

no longer will you fear any harm.

• ZEPH 3:15[PROPHECY]Yahweh, the King of Israel, would live among His people and they would fear no more → STILL TO COMEMEDIUM
• ZEPH 3:15[NOTE]THE KING OF ISRAEL. Nathanael called Jesus the King of Israel, John 1:49, and the crowds did on Palm Sunday, John 12:13.

¹⁶On that day they will say to Jerusalem:

“Do not fear, O Zion;

do not let your hands fall limp.

¹⁷Yahweh your God is among you;

He is mighty to save.

He will rejoice over you with gladness;

He will quiet you with His love;

He will rejoice over you with singing.”

• ZEPH 3:17[NOTABLE]One of the very few places in the Bible where God Himself sings. The book that began with the Day of wrath ends with God's joy over His people.
• ZEPH 3:17[NOTE]HE WILL REJOICE OVER YOU. The Hebrew says He will be silent in His love, quiet in delight like a parent over a sleeping child, then He sings. See Does God Really Sing Over Us?

¹⁸“I will gather those among you who grieve

over the appointed feasts,

so that you will no longer suffer reproach.

• ZEPH 3:18[NOTE]RED AGAIN. The last three verses are God's own promise, so they print red.

¹⁹Behold, at that time,

I will deal with all who afflict you.

I will save the lame

and gather the scattered;

and I will appoint praise and fame

for the disgraced throughout the earth.

²⁰At that time I will bring you in;

yes, at that time I will gather you.

For I will give you fame and praise

among all the peoples of the earth

when I restore your captives

before your very eyes,”

says Yahweh.