/5 2 / ZEPHANIAH 1:17

II in foreign style.
On th at day I mean to punish
all those who are near the throne, g
II those who fill the pa lace of the ir lord
with violence and deceit.
Against the merchants of Jerusalem
III 10 On that day-it is Yahweh who spea ks-
a shout will be raised from the Fis h Ga te, Ne 3:3

from the new town, howls,

III from the hills, a great uproar.

I~
11 Men of the Morta r," howl!
Fo r the whole brood of Canaa n! has been destroyed,

In
ZEPHA -N IA H the weighers of silver a re all wiped out.

Against unbelievers

Jr 1:2 1 T he word of Yahweh that was addressed to Zephaniah son of Cus hi, son of
Gedaliah, son of Amariah, so n of Hezekiah, in the reign of Josiah son of
Amon, king of Judah .
I 12 When that time comes
I will search Jeru salem by to rchlight,
and punish the men
Jr 48:11
who are stagnating on their lees,
tho se who say in thei r hearts,
1. THE DAY OF YAHWEH FOR JUDA H 'Yahweh has no power Ps 10:4 ; 14:1
Jr 5:12+
for good or for evil' .
Prelude: judgement on all creation 0-
W
13 Then their wealth will be given up to looting, N
I mean to sweep away everything their households to plund ering .
off the face of the earth They built hou ses, did they? T hey will no t live in them. Df 28:30-
33 +
- it is Yahweh who speaks . They planted vineyard s, did they? Th ey will not drin k thei r wine. o
M113 :41
«
:I:
I mean to sweep away men and beasts,
Ho 4:3 + The day of Yahweh) Am5:18+
the birds of the air and the fish of the sea,
I mean to send the wicked stagge ring, " 14 The great day of Ya hweh is nea r, R m2:5
and wipe man off the face of the ear th near , and coming with all speed. U
w
- it is Yahweh who speaks. Ho w bitte r the sound of the day of Yahweh, N
N b 10:5 +
the day when the warr ior sho uts his cry of war. k Is 42:13
Against the worship of alien gods
15 A day of wrat h, that day, Rm 1:18
I am going to raise my hand against Judah a da y of distress and agony , ,.j
,«
and aga inst all the inhab ita nts of Jerusalem, a day of ru in and of devastat ion, ::;;
z K 23:41,12 and from this place I will wipe out Baal , 1IJ1 2:2
a day of darkness and gloom,
to the very last vestige of him, a day of cloud and blackne ss,
even to the name of his spur ious priests ," a day of trumpet blast and battle cry JI2:1+
D14 :19
16 tr
2 K 21:3-5 those who prostrate themselves on the roofs
before the array of heaven,
against fortified town
and high corner-tower.
::;;
..
those who prostrate themse lves before Yahweh ' 17 I am going to bring such distress on men
1 K 11:7.33 but swear by Milcorn,«
2 K 23:13 that the y will grope like the blind
those who turn aside fro m Yahweh , " I

who do not seek Yahweh, 1 a. '1 mean to send . . . stagger ing' corr. : ' the: r. T he rege nts , subservient to Assyria. du ri ng the
s tumb lin g-b locks' Hebr. minori ty of Klng Jos iah.
who will not bother with him. b. The word tra nsla ted 's purio us pries ts' is used
Am6: 10 Silence befor e the Lord Yahweh! onl y of the prie sth ood of idols. Heb r. adds ' and the
Ha b 2:20
ze 2:17 pri ests' , e. Lit. 'those who asce nd th e step' (here probably
'\ I
R v 8:1 For the day of Ya hweh is near. c. He br. ad ds 'a nd who swea r' . the dais of th e th ron e).
Yes, Ya hweh has prepared a sacrifice, d. "Mllcom' some Gr eek MSS. 8YT.. vc is . : 'their h. The prec ise locat ion of thi s Qua rter of Jerus alem
king ' Heb r . Zep ha n ia h de nounces the vestiges of is unknown.
he has co nsecrated his guests. e Ca naanite relig io n. v. 4. the star worship of Assyria. 1. Th e 'Ca naa nites ' a re t he merc hants. Ho 12:8 ;
und finally t he com binat ion of Yahwism with the Is 23:8: Pc J I:24. etc.
Against the dignitaries of the court' worship of neighbour ing gods (Milcom. god of the j . As in Amos , 5: 18-20 + . and Isa iah . 2:6-22. the
Ammonites), day is a terr lfvln s man ifestat io n of the power of
O n the day of Ya hweh's sac rifice, e. 'Silence befo re the Lord Ya hweh' is a liturgica l Ya hweh . God is re prese nte d as a warrior (cf. Ex 15:3;
Ex3 : 16 + co mmand. the day of Yahweh being rep resented as a 2 55:24; Ps 18:7- 14. etc .) but here he fights aga inst
I will punish the ministers, sacr ftlce in which the people of J udah a re the victi ms. his own peo ple. Th is poem ins pired Joel . 2:1-11. a nd
the roya l princes, As in the great religiou s massacres of Elijah. I K 18: the med iaeva l author of t he 'D ies [rae .
Iq·40, and Je hu, 2 K 10:18-27. the gues ts are 'conse- k. A co m mon trans lation is 'even the he ro u tters
and all those who dress themselves cra ted' for the slaug hter. cries of fear ' .
II I :I8 ZE PH ANIA H 15 2 2 /5 23 ZEP H A NIAH 2:15
(because they have sinned against Yahweh); Fo r this, as I live-it is Ya hweh Sabaoth who speaks,
Ps 79:3
their blood will be scattered like dus t, the G od of lsrael-
J r 9:2 1
their corpses like dung. Moab shall become like Sodo m G n 19'1 +
Ezk7:19
Neit her their silver no r their gold 18 an d the so ns of Ammo n like Go rnorrah:'
will have a ny power to save them. a realm of nettles, a heap of salt,
O t4:24
On the day of the anger of Ya hweh, a desolat ion for ever.
Wha t is left of my peop le will plunder them, Is 14:2
in the fire of his jealou sy, Zc 2:13
A m 8:9 +
all the earth will be con sumed . those of my nat ion who survive will take their heritage.
For he means to destroy , yes, to make an end 10 This will be the pr ice of the ir pride,
of all the inh abitan ts of the earth. of their taunts, of their boasts
against the peop le of Yahweh Sabaoth.
Conclusion: a call to conversion" II Full of terror will Yahweh be for them.

2 nation with out des ire,«

When he has utterly destroyed all the gods of the earth,
the nations will prostrate themselves before him,
before yo u are dr iven" each on its own soil,
H o 13:3
like chaff that is blow n away in a day, all the islan ds of the natio ns.'
before ther e descend s on yo u
The enemy to the south: Ethiopia" Is 18· 20
the fierce anger of Ya hweh 1r46
Ezk 29-32
(before there descends on you 12 And as for you, Ethiop ians:
the day of the ange r of Ya hweh). They will be run t hro ugh with my sword.
Am 5:4-6
Seek Yahweh,
Es t 1:l k The enemy to the north: Assyria'
Ps 72:3-4 all you, the hu mble of the earth,«
Si 3:20 ;
11:12 who obey his com ma nds. I) He is going to raise his hand against the north
D n 3:87
Jm 2:5 Seek integr ity, and brin g Assyria dow n in ruins;
Is 57: 15 seek humility: he will make Nineveh a waste,
you may perhaps find shelter dryas the desert.
on the day of the anger of Ya hweh. 14 In the middle of her the flocks will rest; o
~
all the beasts of the valley,
even the pelican and the heron
fl l os 13:2 +
II. AGAINST THE PAGAN S will roost round her cornices at night;
Is 14:28-32
I r 47 the owl will hoot at the window oW
The enemy to the west: the Philistines!
Ezk 25:15 -1 7
A m 1:6-8 and the raven croak on the doorstep. '" N
Yes, Gaza is goi ng to be reduced to desert,
fl Ash kelon to was te.
rs Is t his the joyful city,
Ashdod will be stormed in broad daylight, ...J

) and Ekro n rooted out. so confident on her thr one,

who said in her heart,
<d:
::<
Woe to the members of the Confederacy of the Sea,
D' 2:23
Jr 47:4 to the nati on of the Cheret hites !
A m 9:7 2 a . The t hreat of the day of Yahweh does not
This is th e wor d of Ya hweh against you: oppression. Is 53:4; Ps 22:24.
\ p rec lude hope of co nvers io n. Salva t ion is prom ised to f. Except for Gath (pe r haps already in r ui ns) the ~
J I mean to brin g you down, « land of the Philistine s, the ' h um ble ' (or th e ' poor') , v. 3. federated Ph ilist ine to wns are listed, the 'Confederacy ::<
I am going to ruin you , emp ty you of inhabitants ; b . T ext obscure and var touslv interpreted 'As- of the Sea'. Fo llowi ng the p recedent of Is 10:29 -31 a nd
semble to geth er". 'Ente r in to yourselves', ' Bo w down', Mi 1:10 -15 , Zephaniah p lays on the names 'Gaza' and
a nd yo u will be redu ced - to past ure lan d, 'Heap yourselves un' , i.e . for the threshing. v, 2. 'Ekron', maki ng t hem omens of disaster.
to grazing gro unds for the shepherds, c . Mea ning uncertai n. g . ' I meanto b r ing you down' corr. : 'Canaan ' Hebr.
h . ' yo u will be' corr.: IS he will be' Hebr. Hebr.
to folds for the sheep.
d, ' be fo re you arc dr iven' corr.: 'the bi rth o f the
decree' Hebr. in serts ' C onfederacy of the Sea ' , ab sent from Greek. "
It will be included in the prop erty e. The 'h umble' or ' po or ' . anawim in Hebr. T hese
play a la rge part in th e Bib le . Thoug h wisdom lite r- i. Accord ing to Gn 19:30· 3H. Lot beca me fa th er of
of the remna nt of the House of J udah ; a tu re loo ks o n pover ty. resh, as the res ult of id le ness, Ammo n and Moab after h is escape from Sod om.
they will lead flocks there to pasture; Pr 10:4. the prop hets are awa re that the poo r a re I. This prom ise of co nve rs ion for the ' isla nds ' is
usu ally th e oppresse d. anivyim; they dem and jus tice probab ly an ad dit io n, s ince it env isages a w ider horizon
am ong the hous es of Ashkelon they will rest at evening ; for t he wea k a nd low ly. dalti m, a nd for th ose in need. than Moab and A mmon. It seems to be based on
for Yahweh their God is goin g to deal kind ly with them ebionim, Am 2:6f~ Is 10:2 ; cf. J b 34:28f; Si 4: Jf: J m 2:2f. Is 4 1:1.5 : 42:4. 10.12: 49: 1: 51:5 .
The hu m an e leai sla rio n o f Dt shows th e same attitude k , Et hiopia is used he re for Egypt where an
N b 20:2 3 + and restore their fortu nes. of mi nd, Dt 24: 1Of. Wit h Zephania h 'poverty' ass u mes a Ethiop ian dynasty ru led shortly before the time of
Is 15. 16 mora l a nd esc hatological signi fica nce , 3: 11f. cf. Is 49: 13; Zepha n iah (f rom 715 to 663: the 25th dynasty). The
Jr48 : 1-49:6
Ez k 25:1 - 11 The enemies to the east: M oab and Ammon 66:2: Ps2 2:26: 34:2f: 37:1 1f: 69:33; 74:19 : 149:4 . a nd oracle seems to be incomplete.
Am 1:13 - 2:3 see M t 5:3 +- ; Lk 1:52: 6:20: 7:22 . In shor t. t he anawim I, The great enemy a nd oppressor of Judah for
Ps 79:4 I ha ve hea rd the taunts of Moab are t hose Isr aeli tes who s ub m it to the will of Go d . nearly a cen tu ry.
In the LX X per iod , t he word QlWW (or ani) has th e m. ' t he valley' corr. ; 'the People' Hebr. 'the owl'
and the insult s of the sons of Ammon added mea nin g of tho ught fu lness fo r others , Zc 9:9. corr. : 'a vo ice' Hebr. ' the raven' G reek: 'desolati on'
as they lau ghed at my peopl e, cr. Si 1:27. It is to the ' p oor ' th at th e Me ss iah will be Hebr. The lin e t hat fo llows is, in t his co n tex t, o bscu re :
sen t, Is 61:1, cf . Lk 4: 18. He h imse lf will be hum b le 'for he ha s torn UP the ceda r' or , af ter co rre ct io n,
and boasted of t heir own domains. a nd gen tle. Zc 9:9. cf. M t 2 1:5 , a nd t he vict im of 'for I sha ll destroy th e city '.
 3: I ZEPHANIA H /5 2 4 / 525 Z EP H A NI AH 3: I 8
Ills 47 :8. 10
'Here am I, with none to equal me' ? so that all may invoke the name of Ya hweh M I I: lI
What a ru in she is now, and serve him under the same yok e.«
a lai r for beasts! 10 Fro m beyond the bank s of the rivers of Ethiopia my suppliants
Jr 18:16 : 19: All those who pass by her will bring me offer ings.'
8: 49 :17
whistle and shake their fists.
The humble remnant of Israel! 2:3+
II When that day comes
III. AGAINST JERUSALE M you need feel no shame for all t he misdeeds
you have co mmitt ed again st me,
Against the leaders of the people
Ps 55:9 3 Trouble is coming to the rebellio us, t he defiled,
the tyrannical city !
for I will remove your proud boasters
from yo ur midst ;
and you will cease to stru t
She would never listen to the call, on my holy mounta in.
Am 4:6f woul d never lea rn the lesson ; 12 In your midst I will leave R v 14: 1
she has never truste d in Ya hweh, a humble an d lowly peop le,
never drawn near to her God. II a nd those who are left in Israel will seek refuge in the name of Ya hweh . Is 4:3
Ezk 22:25-26 T he lead ers she harbours They will do no wro ng,
are roa ring lions, will tell no lies; Is 53:9
Hab 1:8 ? R v 14:5
her ju dges, wolves at evening a nd the perjured tongu e will no long er
that have ha d no thing to gnaw that mo rn ing; be found in their mo uths.
her prop hets are bragga rts, But they will be ab le to graze and rest
[lll they ar e impostors; wit h no one to disturb them.
her priests pro fane the holy thi ngs,
they do violence to the Law. P salms of joy in Z ion Y
D '3 2:4 Ya hweh is in her, he is ju st and honourabl e ;
14 Shou t for joy, daughter of Zion, Ps 47 :1
Is 12:6:54: 1
he never does wron g ; Israe l, shout alo ud ! Zc 2: 14
Ps 1U1:8 + morning by morning he mak es his law know n, Rejo ice, exult with a ll your heart, o
<t
/ eac h daw n un failin gly ; daughter of Jeru salem! ::I:

he knows no inju stice."

15 Ya hweh has repea led you r sentence; Is 40 :2
he has driv en you r enemies away.
The pagans punished Ya hweh, the king of Israel, is in your midst ;
U
) I have wiped out nations, you have no more evil to fear . W
N
their corne r-towers lie in rui ns ; When that da y comes, word will come to Jeru salem:
III I hav e emptied their st reets,
16
Zion, have no fear,
no one walks there ; do not let your hand s fall limp. .J
) their towns have been sacked: 17 Ya hweh your God is in your mid st,
. 00:
::;;
no one left there, no more inhabitants. a victor ious warri or.
II I A m 4:6f 'At least ,' I used to say 'you will fear me now , He will exu lt with joy over you, Is 62:5
you will learn the lesson ; Jr 32:4 1
he will renew you" by his love ;
she cannot lose sight b ~
he will dance wit h shouts of j oy for you ::;;
of the many times I have punished her.' 18 as on a day of festival. i Lm 2:6
But no , it only mad e them mo re anxious
to see that all they did was corrupt. Return of the exiles!
I have tak en awa y your misfor tune,
II
,

~
T herefo re, expect me-it is Ya hweh who speaks-
on the day I sta nd up to make my accusat ion ; 3 a. 'he kn o ws no iniustice ' cor r.; 'the uni ust man per sia n' , This promise o f th e co nvers io n of E thio p ia,
kno ws no sha me ' Hebr.
for I am determined to gath er the nat ions, cf. Is 18:7; 19: 18-25: 45: 14, is probably no t a u then tic.
b. Lit. ' fro m her eyes canno t be cu t off', ' fr om her T he Hebr. glo ss I'jn y D ispe rs io n ' ) turns it in to a prom ise
to assemble the kingdom s, eyes ' G ree k. $yr . : 'he r dwelli n g' Hebr. to t he Jews in exile .
and to pou r ou t my fury on you , c. ' to acc use ' G ree k. Syr.: 'for plunder ' (o r '(o r f . T h is made prophesie s t ha t t he idea l proposed
ever ' ) He br . ' to ga the r' Greek , Syr ,: ' that I may in 2:3 w ill beco me a rea lity . and is one of t he m o st
the who le heat of my anger.s Mather ' He br. ' on yo u ' corr. : 'o n t hem ' Hebr, He bt . pe r fec t d escri p tion s of ' the sn it-it of pove r ty' in the O .T .
ad ds a t the end ' fo r b y th e fir e o f my jea lousy Ihe R, The oracles of Zep ha nia h llri llin a lly end ed with
who le ea rt h will be co ns u med ' , cr. I: 18. T h is eme nde d these two psalm s.
text o f v, 8 m akes a co ncl us io n 10 VV. 6-7 by decl art na h. ' he will renew YO U' ( 'fC"C'};. Syr . : ' he " ill be
IV . P R O M I S E S rlnu Ju dah will be pu n ished before rbe eyes o f t he s ile nt ' Hc br,
ruueans , as in Am 3:9- 11. Th e He br . text as it s ta nds I. T he rit u ul da n....c p lu~'cd a turae ru rl in a neter u
snea ks o f the p unis hme nt o f t he nat in ns. ceremo nial. 'IlS o n 1\ d :l~' of resuve!' c..1rtt.... Srr.:
Conversion of the pagans ' Ilrh.' \"ed fur from Ih e festi\'lll' Hcb r.
d . Thus (ired. a nd SYr . : Hcbr. IiI. 'w it h o ne J, V. .:!O is U vnrtnnt o f v. IQ, (he la tter hc'llUI bA~lL'l d
Yes, I will then give t he peo ples lIIlUlI ldcr ' . o n MI4: 6. T hese oru d('s rrtlhubly dlto iC th.\nl 1M\" eetue
lips that are clean, c. A ft er 'm y sunnliun ts", Heb r . adds ' my Dls ~ pc rlo d ,
 3='9 ZEP HA N IAH
no lon ger need yo u bear th e d isgr ace of it. k
I a m ta kin g action he re a nd no w
against yo u r o pp res so rs.
M i 4:6
W he n th at time co mes I w ill resc ue t he la me,
a nd gat he r t he st rays,
a nd I wi ll win t hem p ra ise and renown
when I restore t he ir fo rtunes. '
When that times co mes, I wi ll be you r gu ide,
when that t ime co mes, m I will ga t her you in ;
I will give you praise and re now n
among all the peoples of th e earth
whe n I restore your fortunes under your own eyes,
says Yahweh.
r~
3 k , ' m isfortu ne' corr .: ' they were' Hebr. 'no lon ger
n eed YOU bear ' fo llowi ng G ree k, Syr .• Ta ra. : '3 burde n
on her ' H ebr .
/ 5 26
19
20
H AGGAI
The movement to rebuild th e Temple
1 1 In the second year of King Darius, on the first day of th e sixth m onth. " t he
word of Yahwe h was addressed throu gh the prophet Haggai to Zerubbabel
Zt..-4 :6· 10
so n of Shcalt iel, h igh commiss io ner of Judah, and to Joshua so n of Jehozadak, Zc 3: 1-9
2 th e high pr iest, as follow s, · ' Ya hwe h Sabaoth says th is, "T h is people says:
T he time has no t ye t co me" to re bui ld t he Te m ple o f Ya hweh. -fA nd t he word
o f Yahweh wa s a d dressed t h roug h t he p rop het Haggai, as follows:) -Is th is a
t ime for yo u to live in your pane lled houses, when t his House lies in ruins? 2 S 7:2
So no w, Ya hwe h Sabaot h says this: Reflect carefully ho w thi ngs have gone
6 fo r you . • Yo u have sow n m uch a nd harvested little; you eat but never ha ve Ho 4:3+
eno ug h, drink b ut never have your fill, put on c lothes but do no t feel warm. T he
8 wage ea rner gets h is wages only to put th e m in a p urse ridd led w ith hol es. -So go to o<t
I
th e h ill co u nt ry ," fe tch wood, a nd re b uil d the House: I shall th en take pleasu re
7 in it , an d be glo r ified there, says Ya hweh . • Y a h we h Sabaoth says this : Reflect
9 carefully ho w t hi ngs ha ve go ne for you . -The abundance you expected
proved to be d little. When you brought t he harvest in, my b reath spoi lt it. And U
W
w hy? -it is Ya hw eh Sa baoth wh o spea ks. Beca use while m y House lies in ruins N
10 you are bu sy w ith yo ur own, each o ne of you. -Tha t is why t he sky has w it h he ld Lv 26: 19-20
11 the r ai n" a nd the eart h w ith he ld its yiel d. ·1 ha ve ca lled do wn dro ug h t on lan d
a nd h ills, o n wh eat, on new wine, o n o il a nd o n all the produce o f the gro u nd , ..J
<t
o n ma n a nd bea st a nd a ll th ei r la bo u rs. " , ::;;
12 Now Ze ru b ba bel so n of S hea ltic l, Joshua son of Jehozadak, th e hi gh priest,
a nd a ll t he re m nant! o f th e peo ple, pa id attent ion to t he vo ice of Yahw e h t heir
God a nd to t he words o f t he p rophet Haggai, Yahwe h hav ing sent h im to t hem.'
~
13 An d t he people we re filled with fear be fore Yahwe h. • Haggai, t he messenger of ::;;
Y a hwe h, passed o n the messa ge of Ya hwe h to t he peo ple, as fo llows, ' I am ~
14 w it h you - it is Ya hweh w ho sp ea ks' . -A nd Yahwe h ro used the sp irit of
Ze rub ba be l so n o f Shea lt iel , hi gh com mission e r of Ju dah, the spi rit of Joshua
son of Jeh ozad a k, t he hig h p r iest, and th e s pir it of all t he re m na n t of t he people ;
a nd t hey came an d set to wor k on t he T e m ple of Ya hwe h Sabaot h their God .
,.",
Zc 8:9
15 T h is was o n th e twe n ty -fourt h day of t he sixt h month .
The glory that is to eome to the Temple
In th e seco nd yea r o f Ki n g Da rius , 2 on th e twen ty-fi rst d ay o f the seven th
m onth ," t he word o f Yahweh was addressed throug h t he pro phet Haggai,
1 a. A ug us t 520. r. In Hg a nd Zc ' t he rem nan t o f t he people' me an s
b. ' ha s no t ye t co me' G reek . VuIR. ; He b r. un int e l- the fa ith fu l gro uped ro u nd Jer usalem . cr. Is 4:3 { .
ligib le. J:. Li t. 'as Ya hwe h had sc nt h im to t hem' G reek:
c . Probably t he hill co u nt ry o f Juda h. ' as Ya h we h t hei r G od had se nt hi m H ebr .
I. ' When I resto re the ir fortun es ' co rr .; ' thei r s ha me ' d . Li t. 'and it was ' Greek , Svr. . Ta rg. ; 'and be ho ld ' 2 :1. Octobe r 520. t he la st d ay o f the feast of
Hcbr. H cbr . Tabernacles.
c. ' [he rain ' Ta ru.: 'the dew ' Heb r .
m. Lit. 'at tha t rime ' co rr. : 'a t t he rim e' He be.