Zephaniah 3:1-9

1 Woe to her who is rebellious and polluted, To the oppressing city!
2 She has not obeyed His voice, She has not received correction; She has not trusted in the Lord, She has not drawn near to her God.
3 Her princes in her midst are roaring lions; Her judges are evening wolves That leave not a bone till morning.
4 Her prophets are insolent, treacherous people; Her priests have polluted the sanctuary, They have done violence to the law.
5 The Lord is righteous in her midst, He will do no unrighteousness. Every morning He brings His justice to light; He never fails, But the unjust knows no shame.
6 "I have cut off nations, Their fortresses are devastated; I have made their streets desolate, With none passing by. Their cities are destroyed; There is no one, no inhabitant.
7 I said, 'Surely you will fear Me, You will receive instruction'-- So that her dwelling would not be cut off, Despite everything for which I punished her. But they rose early and corrupted all their deeds.
8 "Therefore wait for Me," says the Lord, "Until the day I rise up for plunder; My determination is to gather the nations To My assembly of kingdoms, To pour on them My indignation, All my fierce anger; All the earth shall be devoured With the fire of My jealousy.
9 "For then I will restore to the peoples a pure language, That they all may call on the name of the Lord, To serve Him with one accord.

Zephaniah 3:1-9 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO ZEPHANIAH 3

In this chapter the character of the city of Jerusalem, and its inhabitants in general, is drawn, as it would be, and as it was, in the times of Christ and his apostles, Zep 3:1,2 and of the principal persons of it in particular, its princes, judges, prophets, and priests, Zep 3:3,4. The hardness, impenitence, and shamelessness of this people, are exposed and aggravated by the just Lord being among them; who, by his example and doctrine, taught them otherwise; yet they were not amended or made ashamed, Zep 3:5 nor received instruction, nor took warning by the judgments of God on other nations, Zep 3:6,7 wherefore the followers of God are called upon to wait his time, who would gather many people together, and destroy the whole land of Judea, Zep 3:8 at which time he would send his Gospel among the Gentiles, who should thereby be brought to the true worship and service of God, Zep 3:9,10 though there should be a remnant among the Jews, according to the election of grace, that should be saved from that general calamity, Zep 3:11-13 and the spiritual Israel are encouraged with promises of better times, when the Jews in general should be converted and gathered into the church of God, have the presence and protection of God with them, and deliverance from all their enemies, and be a praise among all people of the earth, Zep 3:14-20.

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. Septuagint and Syriac read for witness; Targum reads for the day of My revelation for judgment; Vulgate reads for the day of My resurrection that is to come.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.