Zephaniah 3:1-8. Renewed threat against Jerusalem in particular Ch. 3 returns to Jerusalem. The city is reproached as rebellious, polluted, and full of oppression (Zephaniah 3:1); disobedient to God and neglectful of His word and of the lessons of His operations in the world of the nations (Zephani... [ Continue Reading ]
_filthy and polluted_ As R.V., REBELLIOUS and polluted. Her "pollution" comes from bloodshed (Isaiah 1:15, "your hands are full of blood;" Ezekiel 24:9, "Woe to the bloody city"), but possibly also partly from other sins, cf. Isaiah 4:4, "the filth of the daughters of Zion." The term "polluted" is s... [ Continue Reading ]
_She obeyed not the voice_ i.e. the voice of God by the prophets. Jeremiah 7:23; Jeremiah 22:21. _she received not correction_ Or, _instruction_, Jeremiah 5:3. Comp. Jeremiah 7:28, "This is the nation that obeyeth not the voice of the Lord, nor receiveth correction." Ch. Jeremiah 32:33. _trusted no... [ Continue Reading ]
Every class does evil, each in its own way. A very full parallel is Ezekiel 22:25-28 (in Ezekiel 22:25 read _princes_). The "princes" may be the royal house, or the magnates in whose hands lay the judicial and governing power. Ezek. describing the princes says, they are "like a roaring lion ravening... [ Continue Reading ]
_Her prophets_are _light_ Both the idea and the expression find a parallel in Jeremiah 23:32, "I am against them that prophesy false dreams, and cause my people to err by their lies, and by their lightness" (R.V. _vain boasting_); cf. Lamentations 2:14; Ezekiel 22:28. The figure expressed by "light... [ Continue Reading ]
All these wrongs they practise undeterred and uninstructed by the presence and operations of the righteous Lord in the midst of them. _The just Lord is_ Rather: THE LORD IS RIGHTEOUS IN THE MIDST OF HER. Jehovah dwells in the midst of Jerusalem and is seen to be righteous both by His word and works... [ Continue Reading ]
Zephaniah 3:6 continues the preceding: Jehovah's righteous rule is exercised not only in the midst of Israel itself but also among the nations without. His judgments among the nations were also meant for Israel's instruction, and should have been laid to heart (Zephaniah 3:7). _I have cut off the n... [ Continue Reading ]
God's purpose in these judgments on the nations was that Israel should take warning from them and receive instruction. _I said_ Or, _I thought;_Jeremiah 3:19. For _their dwelling_read HER dwelling. _howsoever I punished them_ Perhaps: _according to all that I have appointed concerning her_. The wor... [ Continue Reading ]
_Therefore wait ye upon me_ As R.V. FOR me, the words being further explained in the clause: _for the day that I rise up_, &c. The expression _wait for me_is not ironical (Hitz.), though it might be used in a threatening sense, like Amos 4:12, "prepare to meet thy God, O Israel." Most probably, howe... [ Continue Reading ]
_For then … people a pure language_ THE PEOPLES A PURE LIP. The term _lip_often means "language" (Genesis 11:1), but here it seems rather to denote the organ of speech. Comp. Isaiah 6:5; Isaiah 6:7, "I am a man of unclean lips … lo, this hath touched thy lips, and thine iniquity shall depart." The c... [ Continue Reading ]
The conversion of the nations and of Israel Though Zephaniah 3:8 describes the universal judgment, it is closely connected with Zephaniah 3:9. The judgment is not an end in itself; the conversion of the nations follows upon the revelation of Jehovah in judgment (ch. Zephaniah 2:11; cf. Isaiah 66:18... [ Continue Reading ]
The verse is obscure on account of the uncertain meaning of several expressions in it. Its general sense is that the heathen nations, even those most distant, shall do homage to Jehovah and present offerings to Him. Jeremiah already predicts the conversion of the nations (Jeremiah 3:17; Jeremiah 16:... [ Continue Reading ]
_In that day shalt thou not be ashamed_ The common expression "in that day" refers to the general period spoken of in the context, here the period after the judgment, when the people of God is saved and restored. To _be ashamed_might mean either to _feel_shame for, or to _bear_the shame of, former d... [ Continue Reading ]
_I will also leave_ As R.V., BUT I WILL LEAVE. _an afflicted and poor people_ Comp. Isaiah 14:32, "The Lord hath founded Zion, and in her shall the afflicted of his people take refuge." The rendering "afflicted," in its modern sense, is too strong; compare the last words of Zephaniah 3:13. The term... [ Continue Reading ]
_The remnant of Israel_ After the great judgment of the day of the Lord, only a remnant shall be left (Joel 2:28-32). The idea that only a remnant shall be saved is common to all the prophets; Isaiah called his son Shear-jashub, "a remnant shall turn," making him a living sign to king (Isaiah 7:3) a... [ Continue Reading ]
_Sing, O daughter of Zion_ Isaiah 54:1.... [ Continue Reading ]
The Joy of the Redeemed People in the Lord's Presence among them The prophet looks forward to the time when all Zion's afflictions shall be over, when she shall be redeemed and all her captive children restored, when the end contemplated by the Covenant, and towards which her history has been movin... [ Continue Reading ]
_taken away thy judgments_ The prophet transports himself and his people forward into the time of their final restoration and blessedness. The "judgments" of Zion are all those that have fallen on her during her chequered history; her warfare is accomplished, her iniquity pardoned (Isaiah 40:2). _T... [ Continue Reading ]
_Let not thine hands be slack_ that is, _hang down_, in terror or paralysis. Jeremiah 6:24; Hebrews 12:12.... [ Continue Reading ]
Render with R.V., THE LORD THY GOD IS IN THE MIDST OF THEE, A MIGHTY ONE WHO WILL SAVE. _he will rejoice over thee_ Comp. Isaiah 62:5; Isaiah 65:19. _He will rest in his love_ Or, _he will be silent_. The words seem to mean that God's love will be so strong and deep as to hush motion or speech; it... [ Continue Reading ]
The language is very obscure. Perhaps: _I will gather_(lit. have gathered) _those sorrowing far away from the solemn assembly, who are of thee_(belong to thee), _thou on whom reproach lay heavy_. The term "sorrowing" is found Lamentations 1:4. The sense, _those removed away_from the solemn assembly,... [ Continue Reading ]
_I will undo all that afflict thee_ As R.V., I WILL DEAL WITH ALL. _I will save her that halteth_ The people are spoken of under the metaphor of a flock, in which are some that are lame, and to which belong some that have been driven away. Hence the use of the _fem._gender. Comp. Ezekiel 34:16, "I... [ Continue Reading ]
_even in the time that I gather you_ The sense is probably as R.V., AND AT THAT TIME WILL I GATHER YOU, though the language of the original is very anomalous. _among all people of the earth_ ALL THE PEOPLES of the earth. _turn back your captivity_ See on Zephaniah 2:7. _before your eyes_ The deli... [ Continue Reading ]