Discovery BoxZephaniah 3:6-7 
Contexttheir walled cities 2 are in ruins.
I turned their streets into ruins;
no one passes through them.
Their cities are desolate; 3
no one lives there. 4
3:7 I thought, 5 ‘Certainly you will respect 6 me!
Now you will accept correction!’
If she had done so, her home 7 would not be destroyed 8
by all the punishments I have threatened. 9
But they eagerly sinned
in everything they did. 10
1 tn Heb “cut off.”
2 tn Heb “corner towers”; NEB, NRSV “battlements.”
3 tn This Hebrew verb (צָדָה, tsadah) occurs only here in the OT, but its meaning is established from the context and from an Aramaic cognate.
4 tn Heb “so that there is no man, without inhabitant.”
5 tn Heb “said.”
6 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.
7 tn Or “dwelling place.”
8 tn Heb “cut off.”
9 tn Heb “all which I have punished her.” The precise meaning of this statement and its relationship to what precedes are unclear.
10 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.
