Zephaniah 2:1

Zephaniah 2:1-3. Exhortation to men to seek righteousness, if perchance they may be hid in the Day of the Lord

1. The prophet addresses himself to Judah.

Gather yourselves together The sense is obscure. The verb (ḳash) is used of gathering straw, Exodus 5:12, sticks, Numbers 15:32; 1 Kings 17:10; 1 Kings 17:12, and does not otherwise occur. It is very doubtful if the word could be used in a metaphorical or mental sense, collect yourselves, that is, reflect, that ye may understand and repent. Rothstein (in Kautzsch's Bible) suggests a root ḳûsh, and renders, Bow yourselves and be bowed, but the Arabic verb on which he bases this sense (ḳáwisa, 5 taḳáwwasa) is a denominative from ḳaus"a bow," and does not mean to bow down but to be bow-shaped, or curved in the back. With more plausibility Ewald appealed to the Aramaic word signifying to be old(ḳâsh), assuming that the primary sense of the word was to be(become) withered, grey in colour. If this primary sense could be established his rendering turn pale!i.e. be ashamed, might be accepted, as it would agree very well with the next clause. Budde proposes at once to read be ashamed(root, bôsh), but if this common word had originally stood in the text it is not easy to understand how the present difficult reading could have arisen. There is a similarly obscure word in Isaiah 46:8.

O nation not desired R.V. O nation that hath no shame, marg. longing. In usage the Heb. word means to long, to desire greatly, but this sense is supposed to be secondary, the primary meaning being to be pale, whitish (hence the word silverin Heb., = "white money"). The radical meaning of most Heb. words signifying "to be ashamed" is to be(become) white, because to be ashamed meant, to be practically confounded, and terror or dismay was an element in the feeling.