Zephaniah 3:7-9 New English Translation
7 I thought,[a] ‘Certainly you will respect[b] me!
Now you will accept correction!’
If she had done so, her home[c] would not be destroyed[d]
by all the punishments I have threatened.[e]
But they eagerly sinned
in everything they did.[f]
8 Therefore you must wait patiently[g] for me,” says the Lord,
“for the day when I attack and take plunder.[h]
I have decided[i] to gather nations together
and assemble kingdoms,
so I can pour out my fury on them—
all my raging anger.
For[j] 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.[k]
All of them will invoke the Lord’s name when they pray,[l]
and will worship him in unison.[m]
Footnotes
- Zephaniah 3:7 tn Heb “said.”
- Zephaniah 3:7 tn Or “fear.” The second person verb form (“you will respect”) is feminine singular, indicating that personified Jerusalem is addressed. sn God’s judgment of the nations (v. 6) was an object lesson for Israel’s benefit.
- Zephaniah 3:7 tn Or “dwelling place.”
- Zephaniah 3:7 tn Heb “cut off.”
- Zephaniah 3:7 tn Heb “all which I have punished her.” The precise meaning of this statement and its relationship to what precedes are unclear.
- Zephaniah 3:7 tn Heb “But they got up early, they made corrupt all their actions.” The phrase “they got up early” probably refers to their eagerness to engage in sinful activities.
- 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.”
NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.