Zephaniah 1:17-18
Context1:17 I will bring distress on the people 1
and they will stumble 2 like blind men,
for they have sinned against the Lord.
Their blood will be poured out like dirt;
their flesh 3 will be scattered 4 like manure.
1:18 Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to deliver them
in the day of the Lord’s angry judgment.
The whole earth 5 will be consumed by his fiery wrath. 6
Indeed, 7 he will bring terrifying destruction 8 on all who live on the earth.” 9
1 tn “The people” refers to mankind in general (see vv. 2-3) or more specifically to the residents of Judah (see vv. 4-13).
2 tn Heb “walk.”
3 tn Some take the referent of “flesh” to be more specific here; cf. NEB (“bowels”), NAB (“brains”), NIV (“entrails”).
4 tn The words “will be scattered” are supplied in the translation for clarity based on the parallelism with “will be poured out” in the previous line.
5 tn Or “land” (cf. NEB). This same word also occurs at the end of the present verse.
6 tn Or “passion”; traditionally, “jealousy.”
7 tn Or “for.”
8 tn Heb “complete destruction, even terror, he will make.”
9 tn It is not certain where the