6 I have cut off nations. Their battlements are desolate. I have made their streets waste, so that no one passes by. Their cities are destroyed, so that there is no man, so that there is no inhabitant.
I will lay your cities waste, and will bring your sanctuaries to desolation, and I will not take delight in the sweet fragrence of your offerings.
Woe to those who decree unrighteous decrees, and to the writers who write perverseness; to turn aside the needy from justice, and to rob the poor of my people of their right, that widows may be their spoil, and that they may make the fatherless their prey! What will you do in the day of visitation, and in the desolation which shall come from far? to whom will you flee for help? and where will you leave your glory? They shall only bow down under the prisoners, and shall fall under the slain. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still. Ho Assyrian, the rod of my anger, the staff in whose hand is my indignation! I will send him against a profane nation, and against the people of my wrath will I give him a charge, to take the spoil, and to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets. However he doesn't mean so, neither does his heart think so; but it is in his heart to destroy, and to cut off not a few nations. For he says, Aren't my princes all of them kings? Isn't Calno as Carchemish? Isn't Hamath as Arpad? Isn't Samaria as Damascus? As my hand has found the kingdoms of the idols, whose engraved images did excel them of Jerusalem and of Samaria; shall I not, as I have done to Samaria and her idols, so do to Jerusalem and her idols? Therefore it shall happen that, when the Lord has performed his whole work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, I will punish the fruit of the stout heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of his high looks. For he has said, By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom; for I have understanding: and I have removed the bounds of the peoples, and have robbed their treasures, and like a valiant man I have brought down those who sit [on thrones]: and my hand has found as a nest the riches of the peoples; and as one gathers eggs that are forsaken, have I gathered all the earth: and there was none that moved the wing, or that opened the mouth, or chirped. Shall the axe boast itself against him who hews therewith? Shall the saw magnify itself against him who wields it? as if a rod should wield those who lift it up, [or] as if a staff should lift up [him who is] not wood. Therefore will the Lord, Yahweh of Hosts, send among his fat ones leanness; and under his glory there shall be kindled a burning like the burning of fire. The light of Israel will be for a fire, and his Holy One for a flame; and it will burn and devour his thorns and his briers in one day. He will consume the glory of his forest, and of his fruitful field, both soul and body: and it shall be as when a standard-bearer faints. The remnant of the trees of his forest shall be few, so that a child may write them. It shall come to pass in that day, that the remnant of Israel, and those who are escaped of the house of Jacob, shall no more again lean on him who struck them, but shall lean on Yahweh, the Holy One of Israel, in truth. A remnant shall return, [even] the remnant of Jacob, to the mighty God. For though your people, Israel, be as the sand of the sea, [only] a remnant of them shall return: a destruction [is] determined, overflowing with righteousness. For a full end, and that determined, will the Lord, Yahweh of Hosts, make in the midst of all the earth. Therefore thus says the Lord, Yahweh of Hosts, my people who dwell in Zion, don't be afraid of the Assyrian, though he strike you with the rod, and lift up his staff against you, after the manner of Egypt. For yet a very little while, and the indignation [against you] shall be accomplished, and my anger [shall be directed] to his destruction. Yahweh of Hosts will stir up against him a scourge, as in the slaughter of Midian at the rock of Oreb: and his rod will be over the sea, and he will lift it up after the manner of Egypt. It shall happen in that day, that his burden shall depart from off your shoulder, and his yoke from off your neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed by reason of fatness. He is come to Aiath, he is passed through Migron; at Michmash he lays up his baggage; they are gone over the pass; they have taken up their lodging at Geba; Ramah trembles; Gibeah of Saul is fled. Cry aloud with your voice, daughter of Gallim! listen, Laishah! You poor Anathoth! Madmenah is a fugitive; the inhabitants of Gebim flee for safety. This very day shall he halt at Nob: he shakes his hand at the mountain of the daughter of Zion, the hill of Jerusalem. Behold, the Lord, Yahweh of Hosts, will lop the boughs with terror: and the high of stature shall be hewn down, and the lofty shall be brought low. He will cut down the thickets of the forest with iron, and Lebanon shall fall by a mighty one.
The burden of Moab. For in a night Ar of Moab is laid waste, [and] brought to nothing; for in a night Kir of Moab is laid waste, [and] brought to nothing. They are gone up to Bayith, and to Dibon, to the high places, to weep: Moab wails over Nebo, and over Medeba; on all their heads is baldness, every beard is cut off. In their streets they gird themselves with sackcloth; on their housetops, and in their broad places, everyone wails, weeping abundantly. Heshbon cries out, and Elealeh; their voice is heard even to Jahaz: therefore the armed men of Moab cry aloud; his soul trembles within him. My heart cries out for Moab; her nobles [flee] to Zoar, to Eglath Shelishiyah: for by the ascent of Luhith with weeping they go up; for in the way of Horonaim they raise up a cry of destruction. For the waters of Nimrim shall be desolate; for the grass is withered away, the tender grass fails, there is no green thing. Therefore the abundance they have gotten, and that which they have laid up, shall they carry away over the brook of the willows. For the cry is gone round about the borders of Moab; the wailing of it to Eglaim, and the wailing of it to Beer-elim. For the waters of Dimon are full of blood; for I will bring yet more on Dimon, a lion on them of Moab that escape, and on the remnant of the land.
The burden of Egypt. Behold, Yahweh rides on a swift cloud, and comes to Egypt: and the idols of Egypt shall tremble at his presence; and the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of it. I will stir up the Egyptians against the Egyptians: and they shall fight everyone against his brother, and everyone against his neighbor; city against city, [and] kingdom against kingdom. The spirit of Egypt shall fail in the midst of it; and I will destroy the counsel of it: and they shall seek to the idols, and to the charmers, and to those who have familiar spirits, and to the wizards. I will give over the Egyptians into the hand of a cruel lord; and a fierce king shall rule over them, says the Lord, Yahweh of Hosts. The waters shall fail from the sea, and the river shall be wasted and become dry. The rivers shall become foul; the streams of Egypt shall be diminished and dried up; the reeds and flags shall wither away. The meadows by the Nile, by the brink of the Nile, and all the sown fields of the Nile, shall become dry, be driven away, and be no more. The fishermen shall lament, and all those who cast angle into the Nile shall mourn, and those who spread nets on the waters shall languish. Moreover those who work in combed flax, and those who weave white cloth, shall be confounded. The pillars [of Egypt] shall be broken in pieces; all those who work for hire [shall be] grieved in soul. The princes of Zoan are utterly foolish; the counsel of the wisest counselors of Pharaoh is become brutish: how do you say to Pharaoh, I am the son of the wise, the son of ancient kings? Where then are your wise men? and let them tell you now; and let them know what Yahweh of Hosts has purposed concerning Egypt. The princes of Zoan are become fools, the princes of Memphis are deceived; they have caused Egypt to go astray, who are the corner-stone of her tribes. Yahweh has mixed a spirit of perverseness in the midst of her; and they have caused Egypt to go astray in every work of it, as a drunken man staggers in his vomit. Neither shall there be for Egypt any work, which head or tail, palm-branch or rush, may do. In that day shall the Egyptians be like women; and they shall tremble and fear because of the shaking of the hand of Yahweh of Hosts, which he shakes over them. The land of Judah shall become a terror to Egypt; everyone to whom mention is made of it shall be afraid, because of the purpose of Yahweh of Hosts, which he purposes against it. In that day there shall be five cities in the land of Egypt that speak the language of Canaan, and swear to Yahweh of hosts; one shall be called The city of destruction. In that day shall there be an altar to Yahweh in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar at the border of it to Yahweh. It shall be for a sign and for a witness to Yahweh of Hosts in the land of Egypt; for they shall cry to Yahweh because of oppressors, and he will send them a savior, and a defender, and he will deliver them. Yahweh shall be known to Egypt, and the Egyptians shall know Yahweh in that day; yes, they shall worship with sacrifice and offering, and shall vow a vow to Yahweh, and shall perform it. Yahweh will strike Egypt, smiting and healing; and they shall return to Yahweh, and he will be entreated of them, and will heal them. In that day shall there be a highway out of Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian shall come into Egypt, and the Egyptian into Assyria; and the Egyptians shall worship with the Assyrians. In that day shall Israel be the third with Egypt and with Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth; because Yahweh of Hosts has blessed them, saying, Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel my inheritance.
Behold, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands, by destroying them utterly: and shall you be delivered? Have the gods of the nations delivered them, which my fathers have destroyed, Gozan, and Haran, and Rezeph, and the children of Eden who were in Telassar? Where is the king of Hamath, and the king of Arpad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, of Hena, and Ivvah?
By your servants have you defied the Lord, and have said, With the multitude of my chariots am I come up to the height of the mountains, to the innermost parts of Lebanon; and I will cut down the tall cedars of it, and the choice fir trees of it; and I will enter into its farthest height, the forest of its fruitful field; I have dug and drunk water, and with the sole of my feet will I dry up all the rivers of Egypt. Have you not heard how I have done it long ago, and formed it of ancient times? now have I brought it to pass, that it should be your to lay waste fortified cities into ruinous heaps.
The angel of Yahweh went forth, and struck in the camp of the Assyrians one hundred and eighty-five thousand; and when men arose early in the morning, behold, these were all dead bodies.
behold, I will send and take all the families of the north, says Yahweh, and [I will send] to Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and will bring them against this land, and against the inhabitants of it, and against all these nations round about; and I will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, and a hissing, and perpetual desolations. Moreover I will take from them the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones, and the light of the lamp. This whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.
[to wit], Jerusalem, and the cities of Judah, and the kings of it, and the princes of it, to make them a desolation, an astonishment, a hissing, and a curse, as it is this day; Pharaoh king of Egypt, and his servants, and his princes, and all his people; and all the mixed people, and all the kings of the land of the Uz, and all the kings of the Philistines, and Ashkelon, and Gaza, and Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod; Edom, and Moab, and the children of Ammon; and all the kings of Tyre, and all the kings of Sidon, and the kings of the isle which is beyond the sea; Dedan, and Tema, and Buz, and all who have the corners [of their hair] cut off; and all the kings of Arabia, and all the kings of the mixed people who dwell in the wilderness; and all the kings of Zimri, and all the kings of Elam, and all the kings of the Medes; and all the kings of the north, far and near, one with another; and all the kingdoms of the world, which are on the surface of the earth: and the king of Sheshach shall drink after them.
He who dashes in pieces has come up against you. Keep the fortress! Watch the way! Strengthen your loins! Fortify your power mightily! For Yahweh restores the excellency of Jacob, as the excellency of Israel; for the destroyers have destroyed them, and ruined their vine branches. The shield of his mighty men is made red. The valiant men are in scarlet. The chariots flash with steel in the day of his preparation, and the pine spears are brandished.
Woe to the inhabitants of the sea coast, the nation of the Cherethites! The word of Yahweh is against you, Canaan, the land of the Philistines. I will destroy you, that there will be no inhabitant.
Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Zephaniah 3
Commentary on Zephaniah 3 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 3
Zep 3:1-20. Resumption of the Denunciation of Jerusalem, as Being Unreformed by the Punishment of Other Nations: After Her Chastisement Jehovah Will Interpose for Her against Her Foes; His Worship Shall Flourish in All Lands, Beginning at Jerusalem, Where He Shall Be in the Midst of His People, and Shall Make Them a Praise in All the Earth.
1. filthy—Maurer translates from a different root, "rebellious," "contumacious." But the following term, "polluted," refers rather to her inward moral filth, in spite of her outward ceremonial purity [Calvin]. Grotius says, the Hebrew is used of women who have prostituted their virtue. There is in the Hebrew Moreah; a play on the name Moriah, the hill on which the temple was built; implying the glaring contrast between their filthiness and the holiness of the worship on Moriah in which they professed to have a share.
oppressing—namely, the poor, weak, widows, orphans and strangers (Jer 22:3).
2. received not correction—Jerusalem is incurable, obstinately rejecting salutary admonition, and refusing to be reformed by "correction" (Jer 5:3).
trusted not in … Lord—Distrust in the Lord as if He were insufficient, is the parent of all superstitions and wickednesses [Calvin].
drew not near to her God—Though God was specially near to her (De 4:7) as "her God," yet she drew not near to Him, but gratuitously estranged herself from Him.
3. roaring—for prey (Pr 28:15; Eze 22:27; Am 3:4; Mic 2:2).
evening wolves—which are most ravenous at evening after being foodless all day (Jer 5:6; Hab 1:8).
they gnaw not the bones till the morrow—rather, "they put not off till to-morrow to gnaw the bones"; but devour all at once, bones and flesh, so ragingly ravenous are they [Calvin].
4. light—in whose life and teaching there is no truth, gravity, or steadiness.
treacherous—false to Jehovah, whose prophets they profess to be (Jer 23:32; Eze 22:28).
polluted … sanctuary—by their profane deeds.
5-7. The Jews regard not God's justice manifested in the midst of them, nor His judgments on the guilty nations around.
The just Lord—Why then are ye so unjust?
is in the midst thereof—He retorts on them their own boast, "Is not the Lord among us" (Mic 3:11)? True He is, but it is for another end from what ye think [Calvin]; namely, to lead you by the example of His righteousness to be righteous. Le 19:2, "Ye shall be holy: for I the Lord your God am holy" [Maurer]. But Calvin, "That ye may feel His hand to be the nearer for taking vengeance for your crimes: 'He will not do iniquity' by suffering your sins to go unpunished" (De 32:4).
every morning—literally, "morning by morning." The time in the sultry East for dispensing justice.
bring … to light—publicly and manifestly by the teaching of His prophets, which aggravates their guilt; also by samples of His judgments on the guilty.
he faileth not—He is continually setting before you samples of His justice, sparing no pains. Compare Isa 5:4; 50:4, "he wakeneth morning by morning."
knoweth no shame—The unjust Jews are not shamed by His justice into repentance.
6. I had hoped that My people by My judgments on other nations would be led to amendment; but they are not, so blinded by sin are they.
towers—literally, "angles" or "corners"; hence the towers built at the angles of their city walls. Under Josiah's long and peaceful reign the Jews were undisturbed, while the great incursion of Scythians into Western Asia took place. The judgment on the ten tribes in a former reign also is here alluded to.
7. I said, Surely, &c.—God speaks after the manner of men in condescension to man's infirmity; not as though God was ignorant of the future contingency, but in their sense, Surely one might have expected ye would under such circumstances repent: but no!
thou—at least, O Jerusalem! Compare "thou, even thou, at least in this thy day" (Lu 19:42).
their dwelling—the sanctuary [Buxtorf]. Or, the city. Compare Jesus' words (Lu 13:35), "Behold, your house is left unto you desolate" (Le 26:31, 32; Ps 69:25); and used as to the temple (Mic 3:12). "Their" is used instead of "thy"; this change of person implies that God puts them to a greater distance.
howsoever I punished them—Howsoever I might have punished them, I would not have cut off their dwelling. Calvin, "Howsoever I had marked them out for punishment" because of their provocations, still, if even then they had repented, taught by My corrections, I was ready to have pardoned them. Maurer, "Altogether in accordance with what I had long ago decreed (ordained) concerning you" (De 28:1-14, and, on the other hand, De 28:15-68; 27:15-26). English Version, or Calvin's view, is better.
rose early, and corrupted, &c.—Early morning is in the East the best time for transacting serious business, before the relaxing heat of midday comes on. Thus it means, With the greatest earnestness they set themselves to "corrupt all their doings" (Ge 6:12; Isa 5:11; Jer 11:7; 25:3).
8. wait ye upon me—Here Jehovah turns to the pious Jews. Amidst all these judgments on the Jewish nation, look forward to the glorious time of restoration to be ushered in by God's precious outpouring of wrath on all nations, Isa 30:18-33; where the same phrase, "blessed are all they that wait for Him," is used as to the same great event. Calvin erroneously makes this verse an address to the ungodly; and so Maurer, "Ye shall not have to wait for Me in vain"; I will presently come armed with indignation: I will no longer contend with you by My prophets.
until the day—that is, waiting for the day (Hab 2:3).
rise up to the prey—like a savage beast rising from his lair, greedy for the prey (compare Mt 24:28). Or rather, as a warrior leading Israel to certain victory, which is expressed by "the prey," or booty, which is the reward of victory. The Septuagint and Syriac versions read the Hebrew, "I rise up as a witness" (compare Job 16:8; Mal 3:5). Jehovah being in this view witness, accuser, and judge. English Version is better (compare Isa 33:23).
gather the nations—against Jerusalem (Zec 14:2), to pour out His indignation upon them there (Joe 3:2; Zec 12:2, 3).
9. For—The blessed things promised in this and Zep 3:10 are the immediate results of the punishment inflicted on the nations, mentioned in Zep 3:8 (compare Zep 3:19).
turn to the people a pure language—that is, changing their impure language I will give to them again a pure language (literally, "lip"). Compare for this Hebrew idiom, 1Sa 10:9, Margin. The confusion of languages was of the penalty sin, probably idolatry at Babel (Ge 11:1-6, Margin, where also "lip" expresses language, and perhaps also religion; Zep 3:4, "a tower whose top may reach unto heaven," or rather, points to heaven, namely, dedicated to the heavens idolized, or Bel); certainly, of rebellion against God's will. An earnest of the removal of this penalty was the gift of tongues on Pentecost (Ac 2:6-13). The full restoration of the earth's unity of language and of worship is yet future, and is connected with the restoration of the Jews, to be followed by the conversion of the world. Compare Isa 19:18; Zec 14:9; Ro 15:6, "with one mind and one mouth glorify God." The Gentiles' lips have been rendered impure through being the instruments of calling on idols and dishonoring God (compare Ps 16:4; Ho 2:17). Whether Hebrew shall be the one universal language or not, the God of the Hebrews shall be the one only object of worship. Until the Holy Ghost purify the lips, we cannot rightly call upon God (Isa 6:5-7).
serve him with one consent—literally, "shoulder" or "back"; metaphor from a yoke, or burden, borne between two (Nu 13:23); helping one another with conjoint effort. If one of the two bearers of a burden, laid on both conjointly, give way, the burden must fall to the earth [Calvin]. Christ's rule is called a burden (Mt 11:30; Ac 15:28; Re 2:24; compare 2Co 6:14 for the same image).
10. From beyond … Ethiopia my suppliants—literally, "burners of incense" (compare Ps 141:2; Re 5:8; 8:3, 4). The Israelites are meant, called "the daughter of My dispersed," a Hebrew idiom for My dispersed people. "The rivers of Ethiopia" are those which enclose it on the north. In the west of Abyssinia there has long existed a people called Falashas, or "emigrants" (akin to the synonym "Philistine"). These trace their origin to Palestine and profess the Jewish religion. In physical traits they resemble the Arabs. When Bruce was there, they had a Jewish king, Gideon, and his queen, Judith. Probably the Abyssinian Christians were originally in part converted Jews. They are here made the representatives of all Israel which is to be restored.
shall bring mine offering—that is, the offering that is My right. I prefer, with De Wette and Chaldee Version, making "suppliants" the objective case, not the nominative. The peoples: (Zep 3:8, 9), brought to fear Me by My judgments, "shall bring as Mine offering My suppliants (an appropriate term for the Jews, on whom then there shall have been poured the spirit of supplications, Zec 12:10), the daughter of My dispersed." So Isa 66:20, "they shall bring all your brethren for an offering unto the Lord." Compare Horsley's view of Isa 18:1, 2, 7. England in this view may be the naval power to restore Israel to Palestine (Isa 60:9). The Hebrew for "Ethiopia" is Cush, which may include not only Ethiopia, but also the region of the Tigris and Babylon, where Nimrod, Cush's son (Ge 10:8-12), founded Nineveh and acquired Babylon, and where the ten tribes are mentioned as being scattered (1Pe 1:1; 5:13; compare Isa 11:11). The restoration under Cyrus of the Jews transported under Pharaoh-necho to Egypt and Ethiopia, was an earnest of the future restoration under Christ.
11. shalt thou not be ashamed—Thou shalt then have no cause to be ashamed; for I will then take away out of the midst of thee those who by their sins gave thee cause for shame (Zep 3:7).
them that rejoice in thy pride—those priding themselves on that which thou boastest of, thy temple ("My holy mountain"), thy election as God's people, &c., in the Pharisaic spirit (Jer 7:4; Mic 3:11; Mt 3:9). Compare Jer 13:17, "mine eyes shall weep for your pride." The converted remnant shall be of a humble spirit (Zep 3:12; Isa 66:2, 10).
12. afflicted … they shall trust in … Lord—the blessed effect of sanctified affliction on the Jewish remnant. Entire trust in the Lord cannot be, except where all cause for boasting is taken away (Isa 14:32; Zec 11:11).
13. nor speak lies—worshipping God in truth, and towards man having love without dissimulation. The characteristic of the 144,000 sealed of Israel.
none shall make them afraid—either foreign foe, or unjust prince (Zep 3:3), prophet, or priest (Zep 3:4).
14. The prophet in mental vision sees the joyful day of Zion present, and bids her rejoice at it.
15. The cause for joy: "The Lord hath taken away thy judgments," namely, those sent by Him upon thee. After the taking away of sin (Zep 3:13) follows the taking away of trouble. When the cause is removed, the effect will cease. Happiness follows in the wake of holiness.
the Lord is in the midst of thee—Though He seemed to desert thee for a time, He is now present as thy safeguard (Zep 3:17).
not see evil any more—Thou shalt not experience it (Jer 5:12; 44:17).
16. Let not thine hands be slack—(Heb 12:12). Do not faint in the work of the Lord.
17. he will rest in his love—content with it as His supreme delight (compare Lu 15:7, 10) [Calvin], (Isa 62:5; 65:19). Or, He shall be silent, namely as to thy faults, not imputing them to thee [Maurer] (Ps 32:2; Eze 33:16). I prefer explaining it of that calm silent joy in the possession of the object of one's love, too great for words to express: just as God after the six days of creation rested with silent satisfaction in His work, for "behold it was very good" (Ge 1:31; 2:2). So the parallel clause by contrast expresses the joy, not kept silent as this, but uttered in "singing."
18. sorrowful for the solemn assembly—pining after the solemn assembly which they cannot celebrate in exile (La 1:4; 2:6).
who are of thee—that is, of thy true citizens; and whom therefore I will restore.
to whom the reproach of it was a burden—that is, to whom thy reproach ("the reproach of My people," Mic 6:16; their ignominious captivity) was a burden. "Of it" is put of thee, as the person is often changed. Those who shared in the burden of reproach which fell on My people. Compare Isa 25:8, "the rebuke of His people shall He take away from off all the earth."
19. undo—Maurer translates, "I will deal with," that is, as they deserve. Compare Eze 23:25, where the Hebrew is similarly translated. The destruction of Israel's foes precedes Israel's restoration (Isa 66:15, 16).
her that halteth—all that are helpless. Their weakness will be no barrier in the way of My restoring them. So in Ps 35:15, Margin, "halting" is used for adversity. Also Eze 34:16; Mic 4:6, 7.
I will get them praise, &c.—literally, "I will make them (to become) a praise and a name," &c.
shame—(Eze 34:29).
20. make you a name … praise—make you to become celebrated and praised.
turn back your captivity—bring back your captives [Maurer]. The Hebrew is plural, "captivities"; to express the captivities of different ages of their history, as well as the diversity of places in which they were and are dispersed.
before your eyes—Incredible as the event may seem, your own eyes with delight shall see it. You will scarcely believe it for joy, but the testimony of your own eyes shall convince you of the delightful reality (compare Lu 24:41).