Zephaniah 3:12

3:12 I will leave in your midst a humble and meek group of people, ¹ 

and they will find safety in the Lord’s presence. ² 

Zephaniah 2:3

2:3 Seek the Lord’s favor, ³  all you humble people ⁴  of the land who have obeyed his commands! ⁵ 

Strive to do what is right! ⁶  Strive to be humble! ⁷ 

Maybe you will be protected ⁸  on the day of the Lord’s angry judgment.

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¹ 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.

² tn Heb “and they will take refuge in the name of the Lord.”

sn Safety in the Lord’s presence. From the time the Lord introduced his special covenant name (Yahweh) to Moses, it served as a reminder of his protective presence as Israel’s faithful deliverer.

³ tn Heb “seek the Lord,” but “favor” seems to be implied from the final line of the verse.

⁴ tn Or “poor.” The precise referent of this Hebrew term is unclear. The word may refer to the economically poor or to the spiritually humble.

⁵ tn The present translation assumes the Hebrew term מִשְׁפָּט (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.”

⁶ tn Heb “Seek what is right.”

⁷ tn Heb “Seek humility.”

⁸ tn Heb “hidden.” Cf. NEB “it may be that you will find shelter”; NRSV “perhaps you may be hidden.”