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Zephaniah 3
Expanded Bible
Zephaniah 3
Expanded Bible
Jerusalem Will Be Punished
3 ·How terrible for [L Woe to] the ·wicked, stubborn [rebellious and polluted/defiled] ·city of Jerusalem [L city],
which ·hurts its own people [oppresses].
2 It obeys no voice;
it ·can’t be taught to do right [receives/accepts no correction].
It doesn’t trust the Lord;
it doesn’t ·worship [L draw near to] its God.
3 Its ·officers [princes] are like roaring lions.
Its ·rulers [or judges] are ·like hungry wolves that attack in the evening [L evening wolves],
and in the morning ·nothing is left of those they attacked [L there is no gnawing].
4 Its prophets are proud;
they are ·people who cannot be trusted [treacherous people].
Its priests ·don’t respect [profane] ·holy things [or the sanctuary];
they ·break [L do violence to] God’s ·teachings [law; L Torah].
5 But the Lord is ·good [righteous; just], and he is there in that city.
He does no ·wrong [iniquity; injustice].
Every morning he ·governs the people fairly [provides justice];
·every day [L at the light/dawn] he ·can be trusted [never fails].
But evil people ·are not ashamed of what they do [know no shame].
6 “I have ·destroyed [L cut off] nations;
their ·towers [fortresses; strongholds] were ruined.
I made their streets ·empty [deserted]
so no one ·goes there [passes through] anymore.
Their cities are ·ruined [desolate];
no one lives there at all.
7 I said, ‘Surely now ·Jerusalem [L you] will ·respect [fear] me [Prov. 1:7]
and will accept my ·teaching [correction].’
Then the place where they lived would not be destroyed,
and I would not have to punish them.
But they were still eager
to ·do evil [act corruptly] in everything they did.
8 Just ·wait [be patient],” says the Lord.
“Someday I will stand up ·as a witness [to testify; or to plunder].
I have decided that I will gather nations
and assemble kingdoms.
I will pour out my ·anger [wrath; indignation] on them,
all my ·strong [fierce; burning] anger.
My anger will be like fire
that will ·burn up [consume; devour] the whole world.
A New Day for God’s People
9 “Then I will ·give [restore to] the ·people of all nations [L nations] pure ·speech [L lips; C pure because they worship God instead of idols]
so that all of them will ·speak [call on] the name of the Lord
and worship me ·together [as one; side-by-side].
10 People will come from ·where the Nile River begins [L the rivers of Cush/Ethiopia];
my worshipers, ·my scattered people [L the daughter of my dispersed ones] will come with ·gifts [offerings] for me.
11 ·Then [L On that day] Jerusalem will not be ashamed
of the ·wrongs [rebellious deeds] done against me,
because I will remove from this city
those who ·like to brag [arrogantly boast];
there will never be any more ·proud people [haughty]
on my holy ·mountain in Jerusalem [L mountain; hill; C Zion, the location of the Temple].
12 But I will leave in ·the city [L your midst]
the humble and ·those who are not proud [meek; lowly],
and they will ·trust [or find refuge] in the [L name of the] Lord.
13 ·Those who are left alive in [L The remnant of] Israel won’t do wrong or tell lies;
·they won’t trick people with their words [No deceitful tongue will be found in their mouth].
They will ·eat [or graze; feed their flocks] and lie down
with no one to make them afraid.”
A Happy Song
14 ·Sing [or Shout joyfully], Jerusalem.
Israel, shout ·for joy [out]!
·Jerusalem [L Daughter Jerusalem], be happy
and rejoice with all your heart.
15 The Lord has ·stopped punishing you [taken away your judgments];
he has ·sent [swept; cleared; turned] your enemies away.
The King of Israel, the Lord, is with you;
you will never again be afraid of ·being harmed [disaster; evil].
16 On that day Jerusalem will be told,
“Don’t be afraid, ·city of Jerusalem [L Zion; C the location of the Temple].
Don’t ·give up [L let your hands grow weak/hang limp].
17 The Lord your God is ·with you [in your midst];
the mighty One will save you.
He will ·rejoice over you [take delight in you].
·You will rest [or He will quiet you; or He won’t rebuke you] in his love;
he will sing and be joyful about you.”
18 “I will take away the sadness ·planned for you [or over the loss of your appointed festivals],
which would have made you very ashamed.
19 At that time I will ·punish [L deal with]
all those who ·harmed [oppressed] you.
I will ·save my people who cannot walk [rescue the lame]
and gather ·my people who have been thrown out [the scattered; C perhaps shepherd imagery].
I will give them praise and ·honor [fame; renown]
in every place where they were shamed.
20 At that time I will gather you;
at that time I will ·bring you back home [gather you].
I will give you ·honor [fame; renown] and praise
·from people everywhere [L among all the peoples/nations of the earth]
when I ·make things go well again for you [restore your fortunes; or return your exiles],
·as you will see with your own [L before your] eyes,” says the Lord.
Zephaniah 3
New International Version
Zephaniah 3
New International Version
Jerusalem
3 Woe to the city of oppressors,(A)
rebellious(B) and defiled!(C)
2 She obeys(D) no one,
she accepts no correction.(E)
She does not trust(F) in the Lord,
she does not draw near(G) to her God.
3 Her officials within her
are roaring lions;(H)
her rulers are evening wolves,(I)
who leave nothing for the morning.(J)
4 Her prophets are unprincipled;
they are treacherous people.(K)
Her priests profane the sanctuary
and do violence to the law.(L)
5 The Lord within her is righteous;(M)
he does no wrong.(N)
Morning by morning(O) he dispenses his justice,
and every new day he does not fail,(P)
yet the unrighteous know no shame.(Q)
Jerusalem Remains Unrepentant
6 “I have destroyed nations;
their strongholds are demolished.
I have left their streets deserted,
with no one passing through.
Their cities are laid waste;(R)
they are deserted and empty.
7 Of Jerusalem I thought,
‘Surely you will fear me
and accept correction!’(S)
Then her place of refuge[a] would not be destroyed,
nor all my punishments come upon[b] her.
But they were still eager
to act corruptly(T) in all they did.
8 Therefore wait(U) for me,”
declares the Lord,
“for the day I will stand up to testify.[c]
I have decided to assemble(V) the nations,(W)
to gather the kingdoms
and to pour out my wrath(X) on them—
all my fierce anger.(Y)
The whole world will be consumed(Z)
by the fire of my jealous anger.
Restoration of Israel’s Remnant
9 “Then I will purify the lips of the peoples,
that all of them may call(AA) on the name of the Lord(AB)
and serve(AC) him shoulder to shoulder.
10 From beyond the rivers of Cush[d](AD)
my worshipers, my scattered people,
will bring me offerings.(AE)
11 On that day you, Jerusalem, will not be put to shame(AF)
for all the wrongs you have done to me,(AG)
because I will remove from you
your arrogant boasters.(AH)
Never again will you be haughty
on my holy hill.(AI)
12 But I will leave within you
the meek(AJ) and humble.
The remnant of Israel
will trust(AK) in the name of the Lord.
13 They(AL) will do no wrong;(AM)
they will tell no lies.(AN)
A deceitful tongue
will not be found in their mouths.(AO)
They will eat and lie down(AP)
and no one will make them afraid.(AQ)”
14 Sing, Daughter Zion;(AR)
shout aloud,(AS) Israel!
Be glad and rejoice(AT) with all your heart,
Daughter Jerusalem!
15 The Lord has taken away your punishment,
he has turned back your enemy.
The Lord, the King of Israel, is with you;(AU)
never again will you fear(AV) any harm.(AW)
16 On that day
they will say to Jerusalem,
“Do not fear, Zion;
do not let your hands hang limp.(AX)
17 The Lord your God is with you,
the Mighty Warrior who saves.(AY)
He will take great delight(AZ) in you;
in his love he will no longer rebuke you,(BA)
but will rejoice over you with singing.”(BB)
18 “I will remove from you
all who mourn over the loss of your appointed festivals,
which is a burden and reproach for you.
19 At that time I will deal
with all who oppressed(BC) you.
I will rescue the lame;
I will gather the exiles.(BD)
I will give them praise(BE) and honor
in every land where they have suffered shame.
20 At that time I will gather you;
at that time I will bring(BF) you home.
I will give you honor(BG) and praise(BH)
among all the peoples of the earth
when I restore your fortunes[e](BI)
before your very eyes,”
says the Lord.
Footnotes
- Zephaniah 3:7 Or her sanctuary
- Zephaniah 3:7 Or all those I appointed over
- Zephaniah 3:8 Septuagint and Syriac; Hebrew will rise up to plunder
- Zephaniah 3:10 That is, the upper Nile region
- Zephaniah 3:20 Or I bring back your captives
Expanded Bible (EXB)
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New International Version (NIV) 
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.