Zephaniah 3:12-20

A Remnant of Israel

12 "But I will leave among you A ¹humble and lowly people, And they will ²take refuge in the name of the LORD.

13 "The ³remnant of Israel will ⁴do no wrong And ⁵tell no lies, Nor will a deceitful tongue Be found in their mouths; For they will ⁶feed and lie down With no one to make them tremble."

14 Shout for joy, O daughter of Zion! ⁷Shout in triumph, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem!

15 The LORD has taken away ⁸His judgments against you, He has cleared away your enemies. The King of Israel, the LORD, is ⁹in your midst; You will ¹⁰fear disaster no more.

16 ¹¹In that day it will be said to Jerusalem: "¹²Do not be afraid, O Zion; ¹³Do not let your hands fall limp.

17 "The LORD your God is ¹⁴in your midst, A ¹⁵victorious warrior. He will ¹⁶exult over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.

18 "I will gather those who ¹⁷grieve about the appointed feasts - They came from you, O Zion; The reproach of exile is a burden on them.

19 "Behold, I am going to deal at that time With all your ¹⁸oppressors, I will save the ¹⁹lame And gather the outcast, And I will turn their ²⁰shame into ²¹praise and renown In all the earth.

20 "At that time I will ²²bring you in, Even at the time when I gather you together; Indeed, I will give you ²³renown and praise Among all the peoples of the earth, When I ²⁴restore your fortunes before your eyes," Says the LORD.

Zephaniah 3:12-20 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.

Cross References

• 1. Isaiah 14:30
• 2. Isaiah 14:32; Isaiah 50:10; Nahum 1:7; Zechariah 13:8, 9
• 3. Isaiah 10:20-22; Micah 4:7; Zephaniah 2:7
• 4. Psalms 119:3; Jeremiah 31:33; Zephaniah 3:5
• 5. Zechariah 8:3, 16; Revelation 14:5
• 6. Ezekiel 34:13-15
• 7. Zechariah 9:9
• 8. Psalms 19:9; John 5:30; Revelation 18:20
• 9. Ezekiel 37:26-28; Zephaniah 3:5
• 10. Isaiah 54:14
• 11. Isaiah 25:9
• 12. Isaiah 35:3, 4
• 13. Job 4:3; Hebrews 12:12
• 14. Zephaniah 3:5, 15
• 15. Isaiah 63:1
• 16. Isaiah 62:5
• 17. Psalms 42:2-4; Ezekiel 9:4
• 18. Isaiah 60:14
• 19. Ezekiel 34:16; Micah 4:6
• 20. Ezekiel 16:27, 57
• 21. Isaiah 60:18; Isaiah 62:7; Zechariah 8:23
• 22. Ezekiel 37:12, 21
• 23. Deuteronomy 26:18, 19; Isaiah 56:5; Isaiah 66:22
• 24. Jeremiah 29:14; Joel 3:1; Zephaniah 2:7

Footnotes

• [a]. Lit "A warrior who saves"
• [b]. Or with some ancient versions, "renew" you "in"
• [c]. Lit "were"
• [d]. Lit "her"