1:9 On that day I will punish all who leap over the threshold, 1
who fill the house of their master 2 with wealth taken by violence and deceit. 3
2:8 “I have heard Moab’s taunts
and the Ammonites’ insults.
They 4 taunted my people
and verbally harassed those living in Judah. 5
3:12 I will leave in your midst a humble and meek group of people, 6
and they will find safety in the Lord’s presence. 7
3:18 “As for those who grieve because they cannot attend the festivals –
I took them away from you;
they became tribute and were a source of shame to you. 8
1 sn The point of the statement all who hop over the threshold is unclear. A ritual or superstition associated with the Philistine god Dagon may be in view (see 1 Sam 5:5).
2 tn The referent of “their master” is unclear. The king or a pagan god may be in view.
3 tn Heb “who fill…with violence and deceit.” The expression “violence and deceit” refers metonymically to the wealth taken by oppressive measures.
4 tn Heb “who.” A new sentence was begun here in the translation for stylistic reasons.
5 tn 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.”
6 tn Heb “needy and poor people.” The terms often refer to a socioeconomic group, but here they may refer to those who are humble in a spiritual sense.
7 tn Heb “and they will take refuge in the name of the
sn Safety in the
8 tn Heb “The ones grieving from an assembly I gathered from you they were, tribute upon her, a reproach.” Any translation of this difficult verse must be provisional at best. The present translation assumes three things: (1) The preposition מִן (min) prefixed to “assembly” is causal (the individuals are sorrowing because of the assemblies or festivals they are no longer able to hold). (2) מַשְׂאֵת (mas’et) means “tribute” and refers to the exiled people being treated as the spoils of warfare (see R. D. Patterson, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah [WEC], 385-86). (3) The third feminine singular suffix refers to personified Jerusalem, which is addressed earlier in the verse (the pronominal suffix in “from you” is second feminine singular). For other interpretive options see Adele Berlin, Zephaniah (AB 25A), 146.