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The Prophet Zephaniah

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- Chapter 1 -

(Matthew 13:36–43)
1
The word of the Lord that came to Zephaniah the son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah.
2
While gathering, I will gather together all things from the face of the earth, says the Lord.(a)
3
I will gather man and cattle; I will gather the flying things of the air and the fish of the sea. And the impious will be a catastrophe. And I will disperse men before the face of the earth, says the Lord.(b)
4
And I will extend my hand over Judah and over all the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And I will disperse from this place the remnant of Baal, and the names of the administrators along with the priests,(c) (d)
5
and those who adore the military campaign over the ceiling of the sky, both those who adore and swear by the Lord, and those who swear by Melchom,(e) (f) (g)
6
both those who turn aside from following after the Lord, and those who have not sought the Lord, nor inquired about him.

The Day of the LORD

(Malachi 4:1–6; 1 Thessalonians 5:1–11; 2 Peter 3:8–13)
7
Be silent before the face of the Lord God. For the day of the Lord is near; for the Lord has prepared a victim, he has sanctified those he has called.
8
And this shall be: in the day of the victim of the Lord, I will visit upon the leaders, and upon the sons of the king, and upon all who have been clothed with strange garments.(h)
9
And I will visit upon all who enter arrogantly over the threshold in that day, those who fill the house of the Lord their God with iniquity and deceit.
10
And this shall be in that day, says the Lord: the voice of an outcry from the fish gate, and a howling from the Second, and a great contrition from the hills.(i)
11
Howl, inhabitants of the Pillar. All the people of Canaan have fallen silent. All were ruined who had been wrapped in silver.(j) (k)
12
And this shall be in that time: I will scrutinize Jerusalem with lamps, and I will visit upon the men who have become stuck in the dregs, who say in their hearts, “The Lord will not do good, and he will not do evil.”(l)
13
And their strength will be in plundering, and their houses in the desert. And they will build houses and not dwell in them, and they will plant vineyards and not drink their wine.
14
The great day of the Lord is near; it is near and exceedingly swift. The voice of the day of the Lord is bitter; the strong will be tested there.(m)
15
That day is a day of wrath, a day of tribulation and anguish, a day of calamity and misery, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and whirlwinds,
16
a day of the trumpet and the trumpet blast over fortified cities and over exalted ramparts.
17
And I will trouble men, and they will walk like the blind, because they have sinned against the Lord. And their blood will be poured out like soil, and their bodies like manure.
18
Neither their silver, nor their gold, will be able to free them in the day of the wrath of the Lord. All the land will be devoured in the fire of his zeal, for with all speed, he will bring to consummation every inhabitant of the land.(n)

Footnotes

(a)1:2 Gathering, I will gather, etc:That is, I will assuredly take away, and wholly consume, either by captivity, or death, both men and beasts out of this land.(Challoner)
(b)1:3 The word ‘disperdam’ usually means ‘to destroy’ or ‘to bring to ruin’ or ‘to do away with’ something. However, the prefix ‘dis’ means to separate or to scatter, and the root of the word, ‘perdo’ means ‘to lose’ something. In the context of all men on the face of the earth, it cannot be taken to mean ‘destroy,’ but rather ‘scatter’ or ‘disperse’ before the face of the earth. Also, ‘disperse’ is contrasted with ‘gather.’(Conte)
(c)1:4 An ‘ædituorum’ is a custodian of a temple (but not a priest). In the modern context, the word administrators is a good fit.(Conte)
(d)1:4 The wardens, etc:Viz., of the temples of the idols. AEdituos, in Hebrew, the Chemarims, that is, such as kindle the fires, or burn incense.(Challoner)
(e)1:5 Or, ‘those who adore the military campaign of the sky over the rooftops....’(Conte)
(f)1:5 Notice that both those who profess true religion and those who worship a false god are grouped together. They behave the same, so they are treated the same. The next verse informs us that the one has turned aside from following the Lord and the other has never sought Him.(Conte)
(g)1:5 Melchom:The idol of the Ammonites.(Challoner)
(h)1:8 Or, ‘foreign apparel.’(Conte)
(i)1:10 The Second:A part of the city so called.(Challoner)
(j)1:11 The Morter:Maktesh. A valley in or near Jerusalem.(Challoner)
(k)1:11 The people of Chanaan:So he calls the Jews, from their following the wicked ways of the Chanaanites.(Challoner)
(l)1:12 Settled on their lees:That is, the wealthy, and such as live at their ease, resting upon their riches, like wine upon the lees.(Challoner)
(m)1:14 The verb ‘tribulabitur’ refers to being pressed or squeezed, in some contexts to obtain tribute or payment, in other contexts to pay for ones offenses. It is related to the word referring to the tribulation. The strong does not necessarily refer only to those who are evil and strong, it can refer to those who think they are strong in the faith; they will be tested in the time of the tribulation, to see if their strength is truly based on the Lord.(Conte)
(n)1:18 The word ‘consummation’ brings to mind the words of Christ on the Cross, in Latin, ‘consummatum est,’ or ‘it is completed.’ The word ‘completion’ does not quite do justice to the Latin word.(Conte)
(Matthew 13:36–43)
1
The LORD’s(a) word which came to Zephaniah, the son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah, the son of Amon, king of Judah.
2
I will utterly sweep away everything from the surface of the earth, says the LORD.
3
I will sweep away man and animal. I will sweep away the birds of the sky, the fish of the sea, and the heaps of rubble with the wicked. I will cut off man from the surface of the earth, says the LORD.
4
I will stretch out my hand against Judah and against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem. I will cut off the remnant of Baal from this place—the name of the idolatrous and pagan priests,
5
those who worship the army of the sky on the housetops, those who worship and swear by the LORD and also swear by Malcam,
6
those who have turned back from following the LORD, and those who haven’t sought the LORD nor inquired after him.

The Day of the LORD

(Malachi 4:1–6; 1 Thessalonians 5:1–11; 2 Peter 3:8–13)
7
Be silent at the presence of the Lord (b) GOD, for the day of the LORD is at hand. For the LORD has prepared a sacrifice. He has consecrated his guests.
8
It will happen in the day of the LORD’s sacrifice that I will punish the princes, the king’s sons, and all those who are clothed with foreign clothing.
9
In that day, I will punish all those who leap over the threshold, who fill their master’s house with violence and deceit.
10
In that day, says the LORD, there will be the noise of a cry from the fish gate, a wailing from the second quarter, and a great crashing from the hills.
11
Wail, you inhabitants of Maktesh, for all the people of Canaan are undone! All those who were loaded with silver are cut off.
12
It will happen at that time, that I will search Jerusalem with lamps, and I will punish the men who are settled on their dregs, who say in their heart, “The LORD will not do good, neither will he do evil.”
13
Their wealth will become a plunder, and their houses a desolation. Yes, they will build houses, but won’t inhabit them. They will plant vineyards, but won’t drink their wine.
14
The great day of the LORD is near. It is near and hurries greatly, the voice of the day of the LORD. The mighty man cries there bitterly.
15
That day is a day of wrath, a day of distress and anguish, a day of trouble and ruin, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness,
16
a day of the trumpet and alarm against the fortified cities and against the high battlements.
17
I will bring such distress on men that they will walk like blind men because they have sinned against the LORD. Their blood will be poured out like dust and their flesh like dung.
18
Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD’s wrath, but the whole land will be devoured by the fire of his jealousy; for he will make an end, yes, a terrible end, of all those who dwell in the land.

Footnotes

(a)1:1 When rendered in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS, “LORD” or “GOD” is the translation of God’s Proper Name.
(b)1:7 The word translated “Lord” is “Adonai.”
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