¹tn The Hebrew text combines a Hitpolel imperative of vv^q* (qashash) with a Qal imperative of the same root. Elsewhere this root appears in the polel stem with the meaning “gather stubble.” Zephaniah’s command is ironic, implying the people are like stubble or straw. As such, they are vulnerable to the Lord’s fiery judgment that will quickly consume them (see 1:18). See Adele Berlin, Zephaniah (AB 25A), 96.
²tn Some relate this word to an Aramaic cognate meaning “to be ashamed.” With the negative particle it would then mean “unashamed” (cf. NIV “shameful”; NRSV “shameless”). However, elsewhere in biblical Hebrew the verb means “to desire,” or with the negative particle “undesirable.” Cf. also NEB “unruly.”
³tn Heb “before the giving birth of a decree.” For various alternative readings, see J. J. M. Roberts, Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah (OTL), 187-88.
⁴tn The second half of the line reads literally, “like chaff it passes by a day.” The translation above assumes the “day” is the brief time God is giving the nation to repent. The comparison of this quickly passing opportunity to chaff is consistent with the straw imagery of v. 1.
⁵tn Heb “the fury of the anger of the Lord.” The synonyms are combined to emphasize the extreme degree of the Lord’s anger.
⁶tn Heb “comes upon.” This phrase occurs twice in this verse.
⁷tn Heb “seek the Lord,” but “favor” seems to be implied from the final line of the verse.
⁸tn Or “poor.” The precise referent of this Hebrew term is unclear. The word may refer to the economically poor or to the spiritually humble.
⁹tn The present translation assumes the Hebrew term fP*v=m! (mishpat) here refers to God’s covenantal requirements and is a synonym for the Law. The word can mean “justice” and could refer more specifically to the principles of justice contained in the Law. In this case the phrase could be translated, “who have promoted the justice God demands.”
¹⁰tn Heb “Seek what is right.”
¹¹tn Heb “Seek humility.”
¹²tn Heb “hidden.” Cf. NEB “it may be that you will find shelter.”
¹³tn Or “for.”
¹⁴tn There is a sound play here in the Hebrew text: the name Gaza (hZ*u^, ’azzah) sounds like the word translated “deserted” (hb*Wzu&, ’azuvah).
¹⁵tn Or “a desolate place.”
¹⁶tn Heb “[As for] Ashdod, at noon they will drive her away.”
sn The reference to noon may suggest a sudden, quick defeat (see Jer 6:4; 15:8).
¹⁷tn Heb “uprooted.” There is a sound play here in the Hebrew text: the name “Ekron” (/orq=u#, ’eqron) sounds like the word translated “uprooted” (rq@u*T@, te’aqer).
¹⁸tn Heb “Kerethites,” a people settled alongside the Philistines in the coastal areas of southern Palestine (cf. 1 Sam 30:14; Ezek 25:16). They originally came from the island of Crete.
¹⁹tn Heb “Woe, inhabitants of the coast of the sea, nation of Kerethites.” The Hebrew term yoh (hoy, “ah, woe”), is used to mourn the dead and express outwardly one’s sorrow (see 1 Kgs 13:30; Jer 22:18; 34:5). By using it here the prophet mourns in advance the downfall of the Philistines, thereby emphasizing the certainty of their demise (“as good as dead”). Some argue the word does not have its earlier connotation here and is simply an attention-getting interjection, equivalent to “Hey!”
²⁰tn Heb “the word of the Lord is against you.”
²¹tn Heb “I will destroy you so there is no inhabitant [remaining].”
²²tn The NIV here supplies the phrase “where the Kerethites dwell” (“Kerethites” is translated in v. 5 as “the people who came from Crete”) as an interpretive gloss, but this phrase is not in the MT. The NAB likewise reads “the coastland of the Cretans,” supplying “Cretans” here.
²³tn The Hebrew phrase here is tr)K= tw)n+ (n^evot k^erot). The first word is probably a plural form of hw*n` (navah, “pasture”). The meaning of the second word is unclear. It may be a synonym of the preceding word (cf. NRSV “pastures, meadows for shepherds”); there is a word rK^ (kar, “pasture”) in biblical Hebrew, but elsewhere it forms its plural with a masculine ending. Some have suggested the meaning “wells” or “caves” used as shelters (cf. NEB “shepherds’ huts”); in this case, one might translate, “The seacoast will be used for pasturelands; for shepherds’ wells/caves.”
<sup>24</sup>tn Heb “the remnant of the house of Judah.”
<sup>25</sup>tn Or “the coast will belong to the remnant of the house of Judah.”
<sup>26</sup>tc Heb “on them,” but the antecedent of the masculine pronoun is unclear. It may refer back to the “pasture lands,” though that noun is feminine. It is preferable to emend the text from <h#yl@u& (’alehem) to <Y`h^-lu^ (’al-hayyam, “by the sea”) an emendation that assumes a misdivision and transposition of letters in the MT (cf. NEB “They shall pasture their flocks by the sea”). See J. J. M. Roberts, Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah (OTL), 192.
²⁷tn The referent of the pronominal subject (“they”) is unclear. It may refer (1) to the shepherds (in which case the first verb should be translated, “pasture their sheep,” cf. NEB), or (2) to the Judahites occupying the area, who are being compared to sheep (cf. NIV, “there they will find pasture”).
²⁸tn Or “will care for them.”
²⁹tn Traditionally, “restore their captivity,” i.e., bring back their captives, but it is more likely the expression means “restore their fortunes” in a more general sense (cf. NEB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).
³⁰tn Heb “who.” A new sentence was begun here in the translation for stylistic reasons.
³¹tn Heb “and they made great [their mouth?] against their territory.” Other possible translation options include (1) “they enlarged their own territory” (cf. NEB) and (2) “they bragged about [the size] of their own territory.”
³²tn The Hebrew text reads lWrj* qv^m=m! (mimshaq kharul, “[?] of weeds”). The meaning of the first word is unknown. The present translation (“They will be overrun by weeds”) is speculative, based on the general sense of the context. For a defense of “overrun” on linguistic grounds, see R. D. Patterson, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah (WEC), 347. Cf. NEB “a pile of weeds”; NIV “a place of weeds”; NRSV “a land possessed by nettles.”
³³tn The Hebrew text reads jl^m#-hr@k=m!W (umikhreh-melakh, “and a [?] of salt”). The meaning of the first word is unclear, though “pit” (NASB, NIV, NRSV; NKJV “saltpit”), “mine,” and “heap” (cf. NEB “a rotting heap of saltwort”) are all options. The words “filled with” are supplied for clarification.
³⁴tn Or “The remnant of my people.”
³⁵tn Heb “them.” The actual object of the plundering, “their belongings,” has been specified in the translation for clarity.
³⁶tn Heb “[the] nation.” For clarity the “nation” has been specified as “Judah” in the translation.
³⁷tn Heb “this is for them in place of their arrogance.”
³⁸tn Heb “made great [their mouth?] against” (cf. the last phrase of v. 8).
³⁹tn Heb “will be awesome over [or, “against”] them.”
⁴⁰tn Or “certainly.”
⁴¹tn The meaning of this rare Hebrew word is unclear. If the meaning is indeed “weaken,” then this line may be referring to the reduction of these gods’ territory through conquest (see Adele Berlin, Zephaniah [AB 25A], 110-11). Cf. NEB “reduce to beggary”; NASB “starve”; NIV “when he destroys”; NRSV “shrivel.”
⁴²tn Heb “and all the coastlands of the nations will worship [or, “bow down”] to him, each from his own place.”
⁴³sn Though there is no formal introduction, these words are apparently spoken by the Lord (note my sword).
⁴⁴tn Heb “Cushites.” This is traditionally assumed to refer to people from the region south of Egypt, i.e., Nubia or northern Sudan, referred to as “Ethiopia” by classical authors (not the more recent Abyssinia).
⁴⁵tn Heb “Also you Cushites, who lie dead by my sword.”
⁴⁶tn Heb “He”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
⁴⁷tn Heb “he will stretch out his hand against the north.”
⁴⁸tn Or “dry.”
⁴⁹tn Heb “flocks.” The Hebrew word can refer to both flocks of sheep and herds of cattle.
⁵⁰tn Heb “[and] all the wild animals of a nation.” How yog (goy, “nation”) relates to what precedes is unclear. It may be a corruption of another word. See J. J. M. Roberts, Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah (OTL), 193.
⁵¹tn The Hebrew text reads here dP)q!-<G^ ta^q*-<G^ (gam-qa’at gam-qippod). The term ta^q* refers to some type of bird (see Lev 11:18; Deut 14:17) that was typically found near ruins (Isa 34:11); one of the most common translations is “owl” (cf. NEB “horned owl”; NIV, NRSV “desert owl”; contra NASB “pelican”). The term dP)q! may also refer to a type of bird (cf. NEB “ruffed bustard”; NIV, NRSV “screech owl”). Some suggest a rodent may be in view (cf. NASB “hedgehog”); this is not unreasonable, for a rodent or some other small animal would be able to sleep in the tops of pillars which would be lying in the ruins of the fallen buildings.
⁵²tn Heb “a sound will sing in the window.” If some type of owl is in view, “hoot” is a more appropriate translation (cf. NEB, NRSV).
⁵³tn Heb “rubble [will be] on the threshold.” “Rubble” translates the Hebrew word br#j) (khorev, “desolation”). Some emend to br@u) (’orev, “raven”) following the LXX and Vg; Adele Berlin translates, “A voice shall shriek from the window—a raven at the sill” (Zephaniah [AB 25A], 104).
⁵⁴tn The meaning of the Hebrew word translated “cedar work” (so NASB, NRSV) is unclear; NIV has “the beams of cedar.”
⁵⁵tn Heb “one will expose.” The subject is probably indefinite, though one could translate, “for he [i.e., God] will lay bare.”
⁵⁶tn Heb “this is the proud city.”
⁵⁷tn Heb “the one that lived securely.”
⁵⁸tn Heb “the one who says in her heart.”
⁵⁹tn Heb “I [am], and besides me there is no other.”
⁶⁰tn Heb “hisses”; or “whistles.”
⁶¹sn Hissing (or whistling) and shaking the fist were apparently ways of taunting a defeated foe or an object of derision in the culture of the time.