Zephaniah 3:7

Zep 3:7 I said, Surely thou wilt fear me, thou wilt receive instruction; so their dwelling should not be cut off, howsoever I punished them: but they rose early, [and] corrupted all their doings.

Ver. 7. I said, surely thou wilt fear me] As in a school, when one boy is whipped the rest tremble; and as in the commonwealth, poena ad paucos, metus ad omnes; punishment for the few, fear for everybody so it should be in the Church. Other men’s woes should be our warnings; others’ sufferings our sermons; others’ lashes our lessons; God’s house of correction a school of instruction, where we should hear and fear, and do no more so, Deu 17:13. He that trembleth not in hearing shall be crushed to pieces in feeling, said that martyr.

And receive instruction] This I promised myself of thee, but am disappointed, Jer 15:3. See Zep 3:2, thou art therefore ripe for destruction.

So their dwelling should not be cut off] They should have redeemed their sorrows and saved their city. And this God speaks to others, as weary of speaking any longer to them to so little purpose.

But they rose early and corrupted, &c.] Manicabant, they made haste, that no time might be lost; they woefully wasted that best part of the day, the morning (which παν εργον οφελλει, furthereth every business), in corrupting their practices, doing evil as they could. Once (saith a reverend man) Peter’s argument was more than probable; These men are not drunk, for it is but the third hour of the day. Now, men are grown such husbands, as that by that time they will return their stocks, and have their brains crowing before day.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

In Zep 3:7 and Zep 3:8 the prophet sums up all that he has said in Zep 3:1-6, to close his admonition to repentance with the announcement of judgment. Zep 3:7. "I said, Only do thou fear me, do thou accept correction, so will their dwelling not be cut off, according to all that I have appointed concerning them: but they most zealously destroyed all their doings. Zep 3:8. Therefore wait for me, is the saying of Jehovah, for the day when I rise up to the prey; for it is my right to gather nations together, to bring kingdoms in crowds, to heap upon them my fury, all the burning of my wrath: for in the fire of my zeal will the whole earth be devoured." God has not allowed instruction and warning to be wanting, to avert the judgment of destruction from Judah; but the people have been getting worse and worse, so that now He is obliged to make His justice acknowledged on earth by means of judgments. אמרתּי, not I thought, but I said. This refers to the strenuous exertions of God to bring His justice to the light day by day (Zep 3:5), and to admonitions of the prophets in order to bring the people to repentance. תּיראי and תּקחי dna תּ are cohortatives, chosen instead of imperatives, to set forth the demand of God by clothing it in the form of entreating admonition as an emanation of His love. Lâqach mūsâr as in Zep 3:2. The words are addressed to the inhabitants of Jerusalem personified as the daughter of Zion (Zep 3:11); and מעונהּ, her dwelling, is the city of Jerusalem, not the temple, which is called the dwelling-place of Jehovah indeed, but never the dwelling-place of the nation, or of the inhabitants of Jerusalem. The clause which follows, and which has been very differently interpreted, כּל אשׁר פּקדתּי עליה, can hardly be taken in any other way than that in which Ewald has taken it, viz., by rendering kōl as the accusative of manner: according to all that I have appointed, or as I have appointed everything concerning them. For it is evidently impracticable to connect it with what precedes as asyndeton, because the idea of יבוא cannot be taken per zeugma from יכּרת, and we should necessarily have to supply that idea. For hikkârēth does not in any way fit in with אשׁר פּקדתּי, whether we take פּקד על in the sense of charge, command, appoint (after Job 34:13; Job 36:23), or in that of correct, punish. For the thought that God will cut off all that He has appointed concerning Jerusalem, would be just as untenable as the thought that He will exterminate the sins that have been punished in Jerusalem. But instead of repenting, the people have only shown themselves still more zealous in evil deeds. Hishkı̄m, to rise early, then in connection with another verb, adverbially: early and zealously. Hishchı̄th, to act corruptly; and with ‛ălı̄lōth, to complete corrupt and evil deeds (cf. Psa 14:1). Jehovah must therefore interpose with punishment.

Zep 3:8

With the summons chakkū lı̄, wait for me, the prophecy returns to its starting-point in Zep 3:2 and Zep 3:3, to bring it to a close. The persons addressed are kol ‛anvē hâ'ârets, whom the prophet has summoned in the introduction to his exhortation to repentance (Zep 2:3), to seek the Lord and His righteousness. The Lord calls upon them, to wait for Him. For the nation as such, or those who act corruptly, cannot be addressed, since in that case we should necessarily have to take chakkū lı̄ as ironical (Hitzig, Maurer); and this would be at variance with the usage of the language, inasmuch as chikkâh layehōvâh is only used for waiting in a believing attitude of the Lord and His help (Psa 33:20; Isa 8:17; Isa 30:18; Isa 64:3). The lı̄ is still more precisely defined by ליום וגו, for the day of my rising up for prey. לעד does not mean εἰς μαρτύριον = לעד (lxx, Syr.), or for a witness (Hitzig), which does not even yield a suitable thought apart from the alteration in the pointing, unless we "combine with the witness the accuser and judge" (Hitzig), or, to speak more correctly, make the witness into a judge; nor does לעד stand for לעד, in perpetuum, as Jerome has interpreted it after Jewish commentators, who referred the words to the coming of the Messiah, "who as they hope will come, and, as they say, will devour the earth with the fire of His zeal when the nations are gathered together, and the fury of the Lord is poured out upon them." For "the rising up of Jehovah for ever" cannot possibly denote the coming of the Messiah, or be understood as referring to the resurrection of Christ, as Cocceius supposes, even if the judgment upon the nations is to be inflicted through the Messiah. לעד means "for prey," that is to say, it is a concise expression for taking prey, though not in the sense suggested by Calvin: "Just as lions seize, tear in pieces, and devour; so will I do with you, because hitherto I have spared you with too much humanity and paternal care." This neither suits the expression chakkū lı̄, according to the only meaning of chikkâh that is grammatically established, nor the verses which follow (Zep 3:9, Zep 3:10), according to which the judgment to be inflicted upon the nations by the Lord is not an exterminating but a refining judgment, through which He will turn to the nations pure lips, to call upon His name. The prey for which Jehovah will rise up, can only consist, therefore, in the fact, that through the judgment He obtains from among the nations those who will confess His name, so that the souls from among the nations which desire salvation fall to Him as prey (compare Isa 53:12 with Isa 52:15 and Isa 49:7). It is true that, in order to gain this victory, it is necessary to exterminate by means of the judgment the obstinate and hardened sinners. "For my justice (right) is to gather this." Mishpât does not mean judicium, judgment, here; still less does it signify decretum, a meaning which it never has; but justice or right, as in Zep 3:5. My justice, i.e., the justice which I shall bring to the light, consists in the fact that I pour my fury upon all nations, to exterminate the wicked by judgments, and to convert the penitent to myself, and prepare for myself worshippers out of all nations. לשׁפּך is governed by לאסף וגו. God will gather together the nations, to sift and convert them by severe judgments. To give the reason for the terrible character and universality of the judgment, the thought is repeated from Zep 1:18 that "all the earth shall be devoured in the fire of His zeal." In what follows, the aim and fruit of the judgment are given; and this forms an introduction to the announcement of salvation.

Keil & Delitzsch — Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–1891) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API. (Old Testament only.)

3:7 get up early: Jerusalem’s citizens couldn’t wait to jump out of bed in the morning and do more evil deeds (cp. Prov 1:16). They had moved far from the ways of their ancestor Abraham, who arose early to obey God’s command (Gen 22:3).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

They were most earnest and ready to do wickedly.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

I said, Surely, &c.--God speaks after the manner of men in condescension to man's infirmity; not as though God was ignorant of the future contingency, but in their sense, Surely one might have expected ye would under such circumstances repent: but no!

thou--at least, O Jerusalem! Compare "thou, even thou, at least in this thy day" (Luk 19:42).

their dwelling--the sanctuary [BUXTORF]. Or, the city. Compare Jesus' words (Luk 13:35), "Behold, your house is left unto you desolate" (Lev 26:31-32; Psa 69:25); and used as to the temple (Mic 3:12). "Their" is used instead of "thy"; this change of person implies that God puts them to a greater distance.

howsoever I punished them--Howsoever I might have punished them, I would not have cut off their dwelling. CALVIN, "Howsoever I had marked them out for punishment" because of their provocations, still, if even then they had repented, taught by My corrections, I was ready to have pardoned them. MAURER, "Altogether in accordance with what I had long ago decreed (ordained) concerning you" (Deu 28:1-14, and, on the other hand, Deu. 28:15-68; Deu 27:15-26). English Version, or CALVIN'S view, is better.

rose early, and corrupted, &c.--Early morning is in the East the best time for transacting serious business, before the relaxing heat of midday comes on. Thus it means, With the greatest earnestness they set themselves to "corrupt all their doings" (Gen 6:12; Isa 5:11; Jer 11:7; Jer 25:3).

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 7. Surely thou wilt fear me] After so many displays of my sovereign power and judgments.

But they rose early] And instead of returning to God, they practised every abomination. They were diligent to find out times and places for their iniquity. This is the worst state of man.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(7) I said, Surely thou wilt fear me . . .—Better, I said, Wouldest thou only fear me? wouldest thou receive correction? then should her dwelling-place not be destroyed, according to all that I have appointed for them; but they only speeded their infamous doings. Our Saviour’s lamentation over Jerusalem in Mat_23:37 naturally suggests itself.

All that I have appointed—i.e., in the way of punishment.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

7. God’s purpose in these judgments on the nations was that Israel should take warning from them and receive instruction.

I said] Or, I thought; Jer_3:19. For their dwelling read her dwelling.

howsoever I punished them] Perhaps: according to all that I have appointed concerning her. The words seem to explain the preceding “that her dwelling should not be cut off.” This destruction of her place of abode is what the Lord has appointed for her. His desire and nope was that she would receive instruction so that her dwelling place should remain for ever. Instead of “her dwelling-place” Sept. reads “from her eyes” (with a difference of one letter). So Wellhausen: she will receive instruction, and that which I have commanded her will never be cut off (fade) from her sight, i.e. she will continually keep before her eyes God’s commandments. For the meaning “I have commanded her” instead of “appointed concerning her” he cites Job_36:23; 2Ch_36:23; Ezr_1:2.

rose early, and corrupted] i.e. corrupted with eagerness. The phrase is a favourite one with Jeremiah, e.g. Jer_7:13.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

I said, Surely thou wilt fear me This is spoken after the manner of men; as if God should say within himself, and reason in his own mind, upon a view of things, surely the people of the Jews will take notice of my judgments executed on other nations, and will stand in awe of me on account of them; and fear to offend me, lest the same calamities should come upon them; this, humanly speaking, might be reasonably thought would be the case: thou wilt receive instruction; by these judgments, taking warning by them; repent, reform, and amend, and thereby escape the like: so their dwelling should not be cut off; or, "its dwelling"; the dwelling of the city of Jerusalem, the houses in it; the dwelling places of the inhabitants of it; the singular being put for the plural; unless the temple should be meant, as Abendana interprets it; and so it may be rendered "his dwelling" F3; their house, which was left desolate to them, because they feared not the Lord; nor received instruction by the example of others; nor repented of their sins, and altered their course of life; which, if done, their dwelling would have been preserved, ( Matthew 23:38 ) : howsoever I punished them; or "visited" F4 them; chastised them in a gentle manner, in order to reform them, but in vain. Some render it, "all which I committed to them" F5; the oracles of God, his word and ordinances, his promises, and the blessings of his goodness, which he deposited with them, in order to do them good, and bring them to repentance. The Targum is, ``all the good things which I have said unto them (or promised them), I will bring unto them;'' and to the same sense Jarchi. The goodness of God should have brought them to repentance, yet it did not: but they rose early, [and] corrupted all their doings; they were diligent and industrious eager and early, in the commission of sins, in doing corrupt and abominable works; receiving and tenaciously adhering to the traditions of the elders; seeking to establish their own righteousness, not submitting to Christ's; rejecting him the true Messiah; blaspheming his doctrines, despising his ordinances, and persecuting his people; besides other vices, which abounded among them; for which the wrath of God came upon them to the uttermost, as expressed in the following verse, ( Zephaniah 3:8 ) . FOOTNOTES: F3 (hnwem) "habitaculum; [vel] habitatio ejus", Pagninus, Montanus, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Burkius; "mansio ejus", Cocceius. F4 (ytdqp) "visitavi", Pagninus, Montanus, Vatablus. F5 "Omne id quod commendavi illi", Cocceius.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

I said, surely thou wilt fear Me - God speaks of things here, as they are in their own nature. “It could not but be,” that in the very presence of the Hand of God, destroying others but as yet sparing them, they must learn to fear Him; they must stand in awe of Him for His judgments on others; they must be in filial fear of Him for His loving longsuffering toward themselves. “Thou ‘wilt’ receive instruction,” corrected and taught through God’s correction of others and the lighter judgments on themselves, as Solomon says, “I looked, I set my heart: I saw, I received instruction” Pro 24:32. He saith, “receive,” making it man’s free act. God brings it near, commends it to him, exhorts, entreats, but leaves him the awful power to “receive” or to refuse. God speaks with a wonderful tenderness. “Surely thou ‘wilt’ stand in awe of Me; thou ‘wilt’ receive instruction; thou wilt now do what hitherto thou hast refused to do.” There was (so to speak) nothing else left for them, in sight of those judgments. He pleads their own interests. The lightning was ready to fall. The prophet had, in vision, seen the enemy within the city. Yet even now God lingers, as it were, “If thou hadst known in this thy day, the things which are for thy peace” Luk 19:42.

So their - (her) dwelling should not be cut off His own holy land which He had given them. A Jew paraphrases , “And He will not cut off their dwellings from the land of the house of My Shechinah” (God’s visible presence in glory). Judah, who was before addressed “thou,” is now spoken of in the third person, “her;” and this also had wonderful tenderness. It is as though God were musing over her and the blessed fruits of her return to Him; “it shall not be needed to correct her further.” “Howsoever I punished them:” literally, “all” (that is, ‘all’ the offences) “which I visited upon her,” as God saith of Himself, “‘visiting’ the ‘sins’ of the fathers ‘upon’ the children” Exo 20:5; Exo 34:7; Num 14:18, and this is mostly the meaning of the words “visit upon.” Amid and not withstanding all the offences which God had already chastised, He, in His love and compassion, still longeth, not utterly to remove them from His presence, if they would but receive instruction “now;” but they would not. “How often,” our Lord says, “would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not” Mat 23:37. “But indeed,” “probably, Of a truth” (it is a word strongly affirming what follows) “they rose early, they corrupted all their doings;” God gave them His warnings, awaited the result; they lost no time, they began with morning light; they hasted to rise, burdened themselves, made sure of having the whole day before them, to - seek God as He had sent His prophets, “rising early and sending them?” Jer 7:13, Jer 7:25; Jer 11:7; Jer 26:5; Jer 29:19.

No, nor even simply to do ill, but of set purpose. to do, not this or that corruptly, but “to corrupt all their doings.” Jerome: “They with diligence and eagerness rose early, that, with the same haste wherewith they ought to have returned to Me, they might shew forth in deed what they had conceived amiss in their mind.” There are as many aggravations of their sin as there are words. The four Hebrew words bespeak eagerness, willfulness, completeness enormity, in sin. They “rose early,” themselves deliberately “corrupted,” of their own mind made offensive, “all” their “doings,” not slight acts, but “deeds,” great works done with a high hand .

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

But. Septuagint, "be prepared, rise early, all their grapes are corrupt." (Haydock) --- I had reason to expect an amendment, when so many nations had perished before their eyes. (Calmet) --- They however sinned out of malice, and strove to provoke me in all their ways.

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

I said; I thought, (speaking as man would,) I concluded what was likely, what I might expect.

Surely thou, O Jerusalem, O Judah, wilt fear me, for the many and great judgments executed upon others in thy sight; thou wilt fear, by sinning still, to provoke me.

Thou wilt receive instruction; wilt learn thy duty, to do it; thy danger, to prevent it; thy sins, to repent of them; thy ways, to amend them.

So their dwelling, houses, villages, Jerusalem,

should not be out off, sacked and burned,

howsoever I punished them; whatever I had done against them, however I had chastised them, had they been bettered, humbled, and amended, I would have spared, not destroyed utterly.

But they rose early; but they grew worse, more eager in the pursuit of their vile courses; as if the day would be too short for their sins, they rise early, and begin betimes.

Corrupted all their doings; designedly and out of set purpose did worse and worse, when smitten they revolted more and more, Isa 1:5.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Taught by such examples, the Jews might have learned to repent and amend their ways. I said. God represents himself as reasoning as a man would reason. Surely thou wilt fear me; Septuagint, "only fear me." This is the one condition for salvation. Or, according to our version, Judah must learn experience from my threats and visitations, and return unto me. Thou wilt.., receive instruction; Septuagint, "receive ye discipline," accept the correction and learn the lesson which it is meant to teach. (Pro_24:32) Their (her) dwelling. Jerusalem or Judaea. The temple is never called the dwelling place of the people. This sudden change of person is very common in the prophets. Howsoever I punished them; rather, according to all that I appointed concerning her. God had ordained certain punishment for Jerusalem if she reformed not. The Anglican Version means that God would never cut them off wholly, however severely he might chastise them. The Hebrew will not carry this; nor are the Greek and Latin Versions quite correct. Septuagint, Ou mh exoloyreuyhte ex ofyalmwn authv panta doa exedikhsa ep authn , "And ye shall not be cut off from the face thereof for all the punishment that I inflicted upon it;" Vulgate, Propter omnia in quibus visitavi earn. But they rose early. Warning, reproof, and chastisement were expended in vain; the people only gave themselves up more ardently to their evil doings. "To rise early to do a thing" is a phrase used to signify the acting with zeal and full purpose. (comp. Jer_7:13, 25 11:7, etc.) Corrupted all their doings. Like the inhabitants of the earth before the Flood. (1Co_6:12; comp. Psa_14:1) The Septuagint rendering is peculiar, Etoi mazou oryison efyartai pasa h epifulli "Prepare thyself, rise early, all their produce is spoiled." St. Jerome, moralizing on this, adds, "Nisi praeparati fuerimus, non nobis orietur sol justitiae. Orto autem sole, omnes racemi de vinea Sodomorum dissipantur et pereunt; ut non solum grandes botri, sed etiam quod parvum esse videbatur in nobis, Christi lucerna radiante dispereat."

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

I said - I thought (speaking after the manner of men). Thou - O Jerusalem. Fear me - For the many and great judgments executed upon others. I punished them - In some measure.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

fear

(See Scofield "Psa 19:9")

The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

I said, “Surely you will fear Me... and her dwelling shall not be cut off” Her dwellings shall not be destroyed.

all that I ordained upon her And all the good that I ordained to bring upon her shall not be cut off from her.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.