Zephaniah 3:2-12

2 She gave no attention to the voice, she had no use for teaching, she put no faith in the Lord, she did not come near to her God.

3 Her rulers are like loud-voiced lions in her; her judges are wolves of the evening, crushing up the bones before the morning.

4 Her prophets are good-for-nothing persons, full of deceit: her priests have made the holy place unclean and have gone violently against the law.

5 The Lord in her is upright; he will not do evil; every morning he lets his righteousness be seen, he is unchanging; but the evil-doer has no sense of shame.

6 I have had the nations cut off, their towers are broken down; I have made their streets a waste so that no one goes through them: destruction has overtaken their towns, so that there is no man living in them.

7 I said, Certainly you will go in fear of me, and come under my training, so that whatever I may send on her may not be cut off before her eyes: but they got up early and made all their works evil.

8 For this reason, go on waiting for me, says the Lord, till the day when I come up as a witness: for my purpose is to send for the nations and to get the kingdoms together, so that I may let loose on them my passion, even all my burning wrath: for all the earth will be burned up in the fire of my bitter passion.

9 For then I will give the people a clean language, so that they may all make prayer to the Lord and be his servants with one mind.

10 From over the rivers of Ethiopia, and from the sides of the north, they will come to me with an offering.

11 In that day you will have no shame on account of all the things in which you did evil against me: for then I will take away from among you those who were lifted up in pride, and you will no longer be lifted up with pride in my holy mountain.

12 But I will still have among you a quiet and poor people, and they will put their faith in the name of the Lord.

Zephaniah 3:2-12 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.