Zephaniah 2:1

Bunch yourselves together like straw, ¹  you undesirable ²  nation,

2Ch 20:4; Ne 8:1; Ne 9:1; Es 4:16; Isa 1:4-6,10-15; Isa 26:8,9; Jer 12:7-9; Joe 1:14; Joe 2:12-18; Zec 11:8; Mt 18:20

¹ tn The Hebrew text combines a Hitpolel imperative of קָשַׁשׁ (qashash) with a Qal imperative of the same root. Elsewhere this root appears in the polel stem with the meaning “gather stubble.” Zephaniah’s command is ironic, implying the people are like stubble or straw. As such, they are vulnerable to the Lord’s fiery judgment that will quickly consume them (see 1:18). See Adele Berlin, Zephaniah (AB 25A), 96.

² tn Some relate this word to an Aramaic cognate meaning “to be ashamed.” With the negative particle it would then mean “unashamed” (cf. NIV “shameful”; NRSV “shameless”). However, elsewhere in biblical Hebrew the verb means “to desire,” or with the negative particle “undesirable.” Cf. also NEB “unruly.”