Discovery BoxZephaniah 1:3 
Context1:3 “I will destroy people and animals;
I will destroy the birds in the sky
and the fish in the sea.
(The idolatrous images of these creatures will be destroyed along with evil people.) 1
I will remove 2 humanity from the face of the earth,” says the Lord.
Zephaniah 1:18
Context1:18 Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to deliver them
in the day of the Lord’s angry judgment.
The whole earth 3 will be consumed by his fiery wrath. 4
Indeed, 5 he will bring terrifying destruction 6 on all who live on the earth.” 7
Zephaniah 2:7
Context2:7 Those who are left from the kingdom of Judah 8 will take possession of it. 9
By the sea 10 they 11 will graze,
in the houses of Ashkelon they will lie down in the evening,
for the Lord their God will intervene for them 12 and restore their prosperity. 13
Zephaniah 3:8
Context3:8 Therefore you must wait patiently 14 for me,” says the Lord,
“for the day when I attack and take plunder. 15
I have decided 16 to gather nations together
and assemble kingdoms,
so I can pour out my fury on them –
all my raging anger.
For 17 the whole earth will be consumed
by my fiery anger.
1 tn Heb “And the stumbling blocks [or, “ruins”] with the evil”; or “the things that make the evil stumble.” The line does not appear in the original form of the LXX; it may be a later scribal addition. The present translation assumes the “stumbling blocks” are idolatrous images of animals, birds, and fish. See J. J. M. Roberts, Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah (OTL), 167, and Adele Berlin, Zephaniah (AB), 73-74.
2 tn Heb “cut off.”
3 tn Or “land” (cf. NEB). This same word also occurs at the end of the present verse.
4 tn Or “passion”; traditionally, “jealousy.”
5 tn Or “for.”
6 tn Heb “complete destruction, even terror, he will make.”
7 tn It is not certain where the
8 tn Heb “the remnant of the house of Judah.”
9 tn Or “the coast will belong to the remnant of the house of Judah.”
10 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 עֲלֵיהֶם (’alehem) to עַל־הַיָּם (’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.
11 tn 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”).
12 tn Or “will care for them.”
13 tn 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).
14 tn The second person verb form (“you must wait patiently”) is masculine plural, indicating that a group is being addressed. Perhaps the humble individuals addressed earlier (see 2:3) are in view. Because of Jerusalem’s sin, they must patiently wait for judgment to pass before their vindication arrives.
15 tn Heb “when I arise for plunder.” The present translation takes עַד (’ad) as “plunder.” Some, following the LXX, repoint the term עֵד (’ed) and translate, “as a witness” (cf. NASB, NIV, NRSV). In this case the Lord uses a legal metaphor to picture himself as testifying against his enemies. Adele Berlin takes לְעַד (lÿ’ad) in a temporal sense (“forever”) and translates “once and for all” (Zephaniah [AB 25A], 133).
16 tn Heb “for my decision is.”
17 tn Or “certainly.”
