Discovery BoxZephaniah 1:4 
Contextand all who live in Jerusalem. 2
I will remove 3 from this place every trace of Baal worship, 4
as well as the very memory 5 of the pagan priests. 6
Zephaniah 1:12
Context1:12 At that time I will search through Jerusalem with lamps.
I will punish the people who are entrenched in their sin, 7
those who think to themselves, 8
‘The Lord neither rewards nor punishes.’ 9
Zephaniah 3:7
Context3:7 I thought, 10 ‘Certainly you will respect 11 me!
Now you will accept correction!’
If she had done so, her home 12 would not be destroyed 13
by all the punishments I have threatened. 14
But they eagerly sinned
in everything they did. 15
1 tn Heb “I will stretch out my hand against,” is an idiom for hostile action.
2 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
3 tn Heb “cut off.”
4 tn Heb “the remnant of Baal.”
5 tn Heb “name.” Here the “name” is figurative for the memory of those who bear it.
6 tc Heb “of the pagan priests and priests.” The first word (כְּמָרִים, kÿmarim) refers to idolatrous priests in its two other appearances in the OT (2 Kgs 23:5, Hos 10:5), while the second word (כֹּהֲנִים, kohanim) is the normal term for “priest” and is used of both legitimate and illegitimate priests in the OT. It is likely that the second term, which is omitted in the LXX, is a later scribal addition to the Hebrew text, defining the extremely rare word that precedes (see J. J. M. Roberts, Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah [OTL], 167-68; cf. also NEB, NRSV). Some argue that both words are original; among the modern English versions that include both are NASB and NIV. Possibly the first word refers to outright pagan priests, while the second has in view once-legitimate priests of the Lord who had drifted into idolatrous practices. Another option is found in Adele Berlin, who translates, “the idolatrous priests among the priests,” understanding the second word as giving the general category of which the idolatrous priests are a part (Zephaniah [AB 25A], 75).
7 tn Heb “who thicken on their sediment.” The imagery comes from wine making, where the wine, if allowed to remain on the sediment too long, will thicken into syrup. The image suggests that the people described here were complacent in their sinful behavior and interpreted the delay in judgment as divine apathy.
8 tn Heb “who say in their hearts.”
9 tn Heb “The
10 tn Heb “said.”
11 tn Or “fear.” The second person verb form (“you will respect”) is feminine singular, indicating that personified Jerusalem is addressed.
sn God’s judgment of the nations (v. 6) was an object lesson for Israel’s benefit.
12 tn Or “dwelling place.”
13 tn Heb “cut off.”
14 tn Heb “all which I have punished her.” The precise meaning of this statement and its relationship to what precedes are unclear.
15 tn Heb “But they got up early, they made corrupt all their actions.” The phrase “they got up early” probably refers to their eagerness to engage in sinful activities.
