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Zephaniah
Chapter One
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO ZEPHANIAH 1
After
the title of the book, Zephaniah 1:1,
follows the Lord's threatening of the land of Judea with an utter consumption
of it, and of all creatures in it, for the sins of its inhabitants, especially
their idolatry and apostasy, Zephaniah 1:2, and
this is represented under the notion of a sacrifice, to which guests are bid;
and which even princes, and those of the blood royal, should not escape, nor
ministers of state, or such who filled their masters' houses with violence, Zephaniah 1:7. Some
particular places are mentioned, where there should be a great noise of crying
and howling, and especially Jerusalem, which should be diligently searched, and
its goods become a booty, and its houses desolate, Zephaniah 1:10.
This destruction is spoken of as near at hand, and is described as very
terrible and distressing, Zephaniah 1:14 and
as inevitable; nothing would be able to deliver from it, Zephaniah 1:18.
Zephaniah 1:1 The word of the Lord which came to Zephaniah the son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the
son of Amariah, the son of Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah the son of Amon,
king of Judah.
YLT
1A word of Jehovah that hath
been unto Zephaniah son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of
Hezikiah, in the days of Josiah son of Amoz, king of Judah:
The word of the Lord which
came unto Zephaniah the son of Cushi,.... This is the title of
the book, which expresses the subject matter of it, the word of the Lord; the
word of prophecy from the Lord, as the Targum; and shows the divine authority
of it; that it was not of himself, nor from any man, but was of God; as well as
describes the penman of it by his descent: who or what this his father was;
whether a prophet, according to the rule the Jews give, that, when the name of
a prophet and his father's name are mentioned, he is a prophet, the son of a
prophet; or, whether a prince, a person of some great family, and even of the
blood royal, as some have thought, is not certain; or who those after mentioned:
the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hizkiah; which last
name, consisting of the same letters with Hezekiah, king of Judah, some have
thought, as Aben Ezra, that he is intended; and that Zephaniah was a
great-grandson of his; and which some think is confirmed by his style and
diction, and by the freedom he used with the king's family, Zephaniah 1:8 but
it is objected, that, if so it was, Hizkiah, or Hezekiah, would have been
called king of Judah; that it does not appear that Hezekiah had any other son
besides Manasseh; and that there was not a sufficient distance of time from
Hezekiah for four descents; and that, in fact, there were but three generations
from him to Josiah, in whose days Zephaniah prophesied, as follows; though it
is very probable that these progenitors of the prophet were men of note and
character, and therefore mentioned, as well as to distinguish him from others
of the same name, who lived
in the days of Josiah the son of Amon king of Judah: not Amos, as
the Arabic version: Amon and Manasseh, who reigned between Hezekiah and Josiah,
were both wicked princes, and introduced idolatrous worship among the Jews;
which Josiah in the twelfth year of his reign began to purge the people from,
and endeavoured a reformation; but whether it was before or after that
Zephaniah delivered out this prophecy is not certain; it may seem to be before,
by the corruption of the times described in it; and so it may be thought to
have some influence upon the after reformation; though it is thought by many it
was after; since, had he been in this office before the finding of the book of
the law, he, and not Huldah the prophetess, would have been consulted, 2 Kings 22:14 nor
could the people so well have been taxed with a perversion of the law, had it
not been as yet found, Zephaniah 3:4 and,
besides, the reformation seems to be hinted at in this prophecy, since mention
is made of the remnant of Baal, which supposes a removal of many of his images;
and also notice is taken of some that apostatized after the renewal of the
covenant, Zephaniah 1:4
moreover, the time of the Jews' destruction and captivity is represented as
very near, Zephaniah 1:7 which
began a little after the death of Josiah, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim; to
which Dr. LightfootF6Works, vol. 1. p. 117. adds, that the prophet
prophesies against the king's children, Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, and Zedekiah, for
their new fashions, and newfangled apparel, Zephaniah 1:8 and
therefore it must be in the latter part of his reign; and, if so, it shows how
a people may relapse into sin after the greatest endeavours for their good, and
the best of examples set them. Mr. WhistonF7Chronological Tables,
cent. 9. and Mr. BedfordF8Scripture Chronology, p. 674. place him in
the latter part of his reign, about 611 or 612 B.C.: there were three that
prophesied about this time, Zephaniah, Jeremiah, and Huldah the prophetess; of
whom the Jewish Rabbins say, as Kimchi quotes them, Jeremiah prophesied in the
streets, Zephaniah in the synagogues, and Huldah among the women.
Zephaniah 1:2 2 “I
will utterly consume everything From the face of the land,” Says the Lord;
YLT
2I utterly consume all from
off the face of the ground, An affirmation of Jehovah.
I will utterly consume all
things from off the land, saith the Lord. That is, from the land of
Judah, by means of the Chaldeans or Babylonians: this is a general denunciation
of the judgments of God, the particulars follow: or, "in gathering I will
gather"; all good things out of the land; all the necessaries of life, and
blessings of Providence; all that is for the sustenance and pleasure of man, as
well as all creatures, by death or captivity; and so the land should be
entirely stripped, and left naked and bare. The phrase denotes the certainty of
the thing, as well as the utter, entire, and total consumption that should be
made, and the vehemence and earnestness in which it is expressed.
Zephaniah 1:3 3 “I
will consume man and beast; I will consume the birds of the heavens, The fish
of the sea, And the stumbling blocks[a] along with
the wicked. I will cut off man from the face of the land,” Says the Lord.
YLT
3I consume man and beast, I
consume fowl of the heavens, and fishes of the sea, And the stumbling-blocks --
the wicked, And I have cut off man from the face of the ground, An affirmation
of Jehovah,
I will consume man and
beast,.... Wicked men for their sins, and beasts for the sins of men;
and, as a punishment for them, the creatures whom they have abused to the
gratifying of their lusts:
I will consume the fowls of the heaven, and the fishes of the sea; so that there
shall be none for the use of man, which are both delicate food; the latter were
not consumed at the general deluge. Kimchi thinks this is said by way of
hyperbole; but it is possible for these to be consumed, as men by famine,
pestilence, and captivity, and beasts by murrain; so the fowls of the air by
the noisomeness of it; and the fishes of the sea, that is, such as were in the
sea of Tiberias, and other lakes in Judea, by the stagnation of the waters, or
by some disease sent among them; unless wicked men, comparable to them, are
intended; though they are expressly mentioned, both before and after:
and the stumblingblocks with the wicked: that is,
idols, which are stumblingblocks to men, and cause them to offend and fall;
these, together with those that made them, and the priests that sacrificed unto
them, and the people that worshipped them, should be consumed from off the
land: or, "the stumblingblocks of the wicked"; for את is sometimes used as a sign of the genitive case, as
NoldiusF9Ebr. Concord. Part. p. 122. observes; and so the Vulgate
Latin version and the Targum render it:
and I will cut off men from off the land, saith the Lord: this is
repeated for the certainty of it; or else this designs another sort of men from
the former; and that, as before wicked men are designed, here such as are not
perfectly wicked, as Kimchi observes; yea, the righteous should be carried
captive, so that the land should be left desolate, without men, good or bad;
for even good men may fall in a general calamity, and be cut off from the land,
though not from the Lord. The Septuagint indeed here render it wicked men. The
phrase, "saith the Lord", is twice expressed, for the certain
confirmation of it; for it may be concluded it will be, since God has said it
again and again that it shall be.
Zephaniah 1:4 4 “I
will stretch out My hand against Judah, And against all the inhabitants of
Jerusalem. I will cut off every trace of Baal from this place, The names of the
idolatrous priests[b] with the pagan
priests—
YLT
4And stretched out My hand
against Judah, And against all inhabiting Jerusalem, And cut off from this
place the remnant of Baal, The name of the idolatrous priests, with the
priests,
I will also stretch out
mine hand upon Judah,.... Under whom the tribe of Benjamin is comprehended, which are
only designed; the ten tribes having been carried captive in Hezekiah's time
many years before this: not "to Judah", as beckoning to come and
hearken to him, as calling to repentance and reformation; this he had done, but
was rejected, and therefore determines to stretch out his hand "upon"
them; nor "over Judah", to protect and defend them; but "upon
Judah", exerting his power, stirring up his wrath, and executing his
vengeance; and this is dreadful and intolerable to bear! and when his hand is
stretched out, it cannot be turned back; and when laid on, can never be
removed, till he pleases:
and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem; the
metropolis of Judea, the royal seat of the kings of the house of David; where
were the temple of the Lord; the ark, the symbol of his presence; the altar,
where his priests sacrificed, and the place where his people worshipped; and
yet these inhabitants should not escape the hand of the Lord, having sinned
against him; nor should these things be any security to them:
and I will cut off the remnant of Baal from this place; either what
of the idolatry of Baal, or belonging to it, remained among the Jews after the
ten tribes were carried captive; which must be the sense, if this prophecy was
before the reformation was begun by Josiah; or, if after, the meaning is, what
was left unremoved by him, as any of the images of Baal, or altars erected for
his worship, or vessels consecrated to his service, or groves that were for his
use; all which would be cut off and destroyed by the Chaldeans, as well as the
worshippers of him that remained:
and the name of the Chemarims
with the priests; that is, the priests of Baal, with the priests of the tribe of
Levi, who sometimes tampered and officiated with them in idolatrous service;
for the word "Chemarim" is translated "idolatrous priests",
2 Kings 23:5 said
to be put down by Josiah, in whose days Zephaniah prophesied; and must be the
same with these, and it is used for such in Hosea 10:5 so
called, either from the black garments they wore, as some think; or from the
colour of their faces, smutted with the smoke of the incense they frequently
offered; or of the fires in which they sacrificed, or made the children to pass
through to Molech. HillerusF11Onomastic. Sacr. p. 113. thinks they
are the same with those heathen priests called "Phallophori";
deriving the word from one in the Arabic language, which has the signification
of the "Phalli"; which were obscene images, carried about in an
impudent manner by the priests of Bacchus, in the performance of his sacred
rites: the carrying of them was first instituted by Isis, as PlutarchF12De
Iside & Osiride. says; and if this was the case here, it is no wonder they
should be so severely threatened. Some take them to be a sort of servants or
ministers to the priests of Baal, who waited on them at the time of service;
and so are distinguished from them in this clause, taking the word
"priests" in it to design the priests of Baal; and the Vulgate Latin
version renders it, "the name of sextons with the priests". The word
is used now by the Jews for Popish monks that live in cloisters; and Elias
LevitaF13Tishbi, p. 163. Vid. Buxtorf. Lex. Talmud. in voce כמר. thinks these here are so called from their living in
such like recluse places. The Targum is,
"and
the name of their worshippers with their priests;'
one
and the other; priests of Baal, and apostate priests of the Lord; the
worshippers of Baal, and those that attend upon his priests, shall all feel the
weight of Jehovah's hand, and the lighting down of his arm with indignation.
Zephaniah 1:5 5 Those
who worship the host of heaven on the housetops; Those who worship and swear oaths
by the Lord, But who also swear by Milcom;[c]
YLT
5And those bowing themselves
On the roofs to the host of the heavens, And those bowing themselves, Swearing
to Jehovah, and swearing by Malcham,
And upon them that worship
the host of heaven upon the house tops,.... The sun, moon, and
stars, which some worshipped upon their house tops; the roofs of their houses
being flat, as the roofs of the houses of the Jews generally were; from hence
they had a full view of the host of heaven, and worshipped them openly; and
fancied, the nearer they were to them, the more acceptable was their service;
see Jeremiah 19:13,
and them that worship, and that swear the Lord, and that
swear by Malcham; that is, that worship the true God, or at least pretend to do
so, and swear by him when they take an oath: or, "that swear to the
Lord"; as the wordsF14הנשבעים ליהוה "qui jurant Domino", Drusius; "qui
jurant Jehovae", Cocceius; "jurantes Domino Jehovae", Burkius.
may be rendered; that swear allegiance to him, to be true and faithful to him,
to serve and obey him, and to keep his statutes and ordinances; and yet they
swear by Malcham also, or Milchom, or Melchom, the same with Molech, or Mo, the
god of the Ammonites. These were such as partly worshipped God, and partly
idols; they divided their religion and devotion between them, sometimes served
the one, and sometimes the other; they halted between two opinions, and were a
sort of occasional conformists; and such were as detestable to God as those
that worshipped idols; as the Papists are, who pretend to worship God and their
images, or God in them, and with them; and so all such persons that seek for
justification and salvation, partly by their own works, and partly by Christ,
are displeasing to the Lord, and miss of the thing; stumbling at the stumbling
stone, and so fall and perish.
Zephaniah 1:6 6 Those
who have turned back from following the Lord, And have
not sought the Lord, nor inquired of Him.”
YLT
6And those removing from
after Jehovah, And who have not sought Jehovah, nor besought Him.
And them that are turned
back from the Lord,.... Who once were worshippers of him, but now become apostates,
and had turned their backs on him and his worship. Some think this describes
those who renewed their covenant with God in Josiah's time, and after that
revolted from him, who must be very abominable to him; and therefore he
threatens to stretch out his hand, and pour out his wrath upon them:
and those that have not sought the Lord, nor inquired for
him; profane abandoned sinners, that lived without God in the world,
and as if there was no God; never concerned themselves about the worship of
him, having no faith in him, love to him, or fear and reverence of him; so far
were they from seeking him in the first place diligently, zealously, and with
their whole heart, that they never sought him at all; nor took any pains to get
any knowledge of him, or of his mind and will, and manner of worship; but were
altogether careless about these things, and unconcerned for them.
Zephaniah 1:7 7 Be
silent in the presence of the Lord God; For the
day of the Lord is at hand, For the Lord has
prepared a sacrifice; He has invited[d] His
guests.
YLT
7Hush! because of the Lord
Jehovah, For near [is] a day of Jehovah, For prepared hath Jehovah a sacrifice,
He hath sanctified His invited ones.
Hold thy peace at the
presence of the Lord God,.... When he comes forth, and appears in the way of his
judgments, do not dispute the point with him, or pretend to offer reasons
against his proceedings, or in order to disprove the justice of them; stand in
awe and reverence of him, who is the Lord God omniscient and omnipotent, holy,
just, and true; humble yourselves under his mighty hand; be still, and know that
he is God; and let not one murmuring and repining word come out of your mouth.
The Targum is,
"let
all the wicked of the earth perish from before the Lord God:'
for the day of the Lord is at hand; the time of
his vengeance on the Jewish nation for their sins, which he had fixed in his
mind, and had given notice of by his prophets: this began to take place at
Josiah's death, after which the Jews enjoyed little peace and prosperity; and
his successor reigned but three months, was deposed by the king of Egypt, and
carried thither captive, and there died; and Jehoiakim, that succeeded him, in
the fourth year of his reign was carried captive into Babylon, or died by the
way thither; so that this day might well be said to be at hand:
for the Lord hath prepared a sacrifice: his people
the Jews, who were to fall a victim to his vengeance, and a sacrifice to his
justice, to atone in some measure for the injury done to it by their sins; thus
they that had offered sacrifice to idols, and neglected the sacrifices of the
Lord, and especially the great sacrifice of Christ typified by them, the only
proper atoning one, should themselves become a sacrifice to the just resentment
of God; this he had prepared in his mind, determined should be done, and would
bring about in his providence; see Isaiah 34:6,
he hath bid his guests: or "called
ones"F15קראיו "vocatos
suos", Pagninus, Montanus, Cocceius, Burkius; "invitatos suos",
Vatablus, Tigurine verson, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Drusius. ; the
Chaldeans, whom he invited and called to this sacrifice and feast: or whom he
"prepared", or "sanctified"F16הקדיש "praeparavit", Vatablus, Junius &
Tremellius, Piscator; so Ben Melech; "sanctificavit", V. L. Montanus,
Cocceius, Burkius. ; he prepared them in his purpose and providence; he set
them apart for this service, and called them to it; to be the sacrificers of
this people, and to feast upon them; to spoil them of their goods and riches,
and enjoy them. These guests may also design, as Kimchi observes, the fowls of
the heaven, and the beasts of the field, invited to feast upon the slain; see Ezekiel 39:17.
Zephaniah 1:8 8 “And
it shall be, In the day of the Lord’s
sacrifice, That I will punish the princes and the king’s children, And all such
as are clothed with foreign apparel.
YLT
8And it hath come to pass,
In the day of the sacrifice of Jehovah, That I have laid a charge on the heads,
And on sons of the king, And on all putting on strange clothing.
And it shall come to pass
in the day of the Lord's sacrifice,.... When the above
sacrifice prepared shall be offered, and the slaughter of his people made, when
his wrath shall be poured out upon them, within the time of its beginning and
ending:
that I will punish the princes, and the king's children; either the
children of Josiah, who, though a good prince, his children did evil in the sight
of the Lord, and were punished by him: Jehoahaz, after a three months' reign
was carried down to Egypt, and died there; Jehoiakim, his elder brother, that
succeeded him, rebelling against the king of Babylon, in the fourth year of his
reign, fell into his hands, and died, and was buried with the burial of an ass;
and Jeconiah his son was carried captive into Babylon, and there remained to
the day of his death; and with him were carried the whole royal family, and all
the princes, and all the mighty men of valour, 2 Kings 24:14 or
else the children of Zedekiah, another son of Josiah, and the last of the kings
of Judah, who was carried captive by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, who before
his eyes slew his sons, and all the princes of Judah, and then put out his
eyes, and bound him in chains, Jeremiah 52:10 and
thus this prophecy had its accomplishment:
and all such as are clothed with strange apparel; either which
they put on in honour of the idols they worshipped, as Jarchi; so the heathens
wore one sort of garments for one idol, and another sort for another; or these
were men of a pharisaical cast, who wore garments different from others, that
they might be thought to be very holy and religious, which sense is mentioned
by Kimchi; or they were such, which he also observes, who, seeing some to have
plenty of good clothes, stole them from them, and put them on; or such who
arrayed themselves in garments that did not belong to their sex, men put on
women's garments, and women clothed themselves with men's, and both strange
apparel; or rather this points at such persons, who, in their apparel, imitated
the fashions and customs of foreign nations; which probably began with the
king's children and courtiers, and were followed by others. The Targum is,
"and
upon all those that make a noise at the worship of idols.'
Zephaniah 1:9 9 In
the same day I will punish All those who leap over the threshold,[e] Who fill
their masters’ houses with violence and deceit.
YLT
9And I have laid a charge on
every one Who is leaping over the threshold in that day, Who are filling the
house of their masters [With] violence and deceit.
In the same day also will
I punish all those that leap on the threshold,.... Not in a ludicrous
way, who, by dancing and leaping, made sport for persons, and brought their
masters much gain, as the damsel possessed with a spirit of divination did, Acts 16:16 rather,
that entered rashly and irreverently into the house of God; or else in an
idolatrous way, who, when they went into an idol's temple, did not tread upon
the threshold, but leaped over it, as the priests of Dagon, after the fall of that
idol on the threshold, 1 Samuel 5:4. So
the Targum,
"and
I will visit all those that walk in the laws (or according to the customs) of
the Philistines;'
whose
idol Dagon was: but it seems better to interpret it of such, who, seeing houses
full of good things, in a rude, bold, insolent manner, thrust themselves, or
jumped into them, and took away what they pleased; or when they returned to
their masters' houses with their spoil, who set them on, and encouraged them in
these practices, leaped over the threshold for joy of what they had got, as
Aben Ezra observes; which agrees with what follows:
which fill their masters' houses with violence and deceit; that is, with
goods got by rapine and force, and by fraudulent ways and methods: this is to
be understood of the servants of great men, who, to feed the ambition and
avarice of their masters, used very oppressive methods with inferior persons to
get their substance from them, and gratify their masters. Cocceius interprets
these "three" verses of the day of Christ's coming in the flesh being
at hand, when the true sacrifice should be offered up, and God would call his
people to feed by faith upon it; when all civil power and authority in the
sanhedrim and family of David should be removed from the Jews; and all
friendship with the nations of the world, signified by likeness of garments;
and the priestly dignity, the priests, according to him, being those that leaped
over the threshold; that is, of the house of the Lord, the temple, and filled
it with the spoil of widows' houses, unsupportable precepts, and false
doctrines.
Zephaniah 1:10 10 “And
there shall be on that day,” says the Lord, “The
sound of a mournful cry from the Fish Gate, A wailing from the Second Quarter, And
a loud crashing from the hills.
YLT
10And there hath been in that
day, An affirmation of Jehovah, The noise of a cry from the fish-gate, And of a
howling from the Second, And of great destruction from the hills.
And it shall come to pass
in that day, saith the Lord,.... In the day of the Lord's sacrifice,
when he shall punish the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem by the Chaldeans;
which, as well as what follows, shall surely come to pass, because the Lord has
said it; for not one word of his shall pass away, but all be fulfilled:
that there shall be the noise of a
cry from the fish gate; a gate of the city of Jerusalem so called, which suffered as the
rest in the destruction of the city by the Babylonians, and, after the
captivity, was rebuilt by the sons of Hassenaah, Nehemiah 3:3
according to Jerom, it was on the west side of the city, and led to Diospolis
and Joppa; and was the nearest road to the Mediterranean sea, or any of the
roads to Jerusalem, from whence fish were brought, and brought in by this gate;
and very probably the fish market was near it, from whence it had its name;
though Cocceius places it in the north corner of the east side of the city, and
so was nearer Jordan, the sea of Tiberias, and the city of Tyre, from whence
fish might be brought hither, and sold, Nehemiah 13:16
however, be it where it will, the enemy it seems would attack it, and enter in
by it; upon which a hideous cry would be made, either by the assailants, the
Chaldeans, at their attack upon it, and entrance through it; or by the
inhabitants of it, or that were nearest to it, upon their approach, or both:
and an howling from the second; either from the second
gate; and if the fish gate is the same with the first gate, Zechariah 14:10
then this may be pertinently called the second. Jarchi calls it the bird gate,
which was the second to the fish gate. So the Targum,
"from
the bird, or the bird gate;'
though
some copies of it read, from the tower or high fortress: or else this designs
the second wall, and the gate in that which answered to the fish gate; for
Jerusalem was encompassed with three walls; the fish gate was in the outermost,
and this was in the second, to which the Chaldeans came next, and occasioned a
dreadful howling and lamentation in the people that dwelt near it. Kimchi
interprets it of the school or university that was in Jerusalem; the same word
is rendered the cottage in which Huldah the prophetess lived, 2 Kings 22:14 and
there, by the Targum,
"the
house of doctrine or instruction;'
so
then the sense is, a grievous outcry would be heard from the university or
school of the prophets; the enemy having entered it, and were slaying the
students, or seizing them in order to carry them captive:
and a great crashing from the hills; either that were in
Jerusalem, as Mount Zion and Moriah, on which the temple stood; or those that
were round about it, as Gareb, and Goath, and others; though some interpret
this of the houses of nobles that stood in the higher parts of the city, where
there would be a shivering, a breaking to pieces, as the word signifies, of
doors and windows without, and of furniture within.
Zephaniah 1:11 11 Wail,
you inhabitants of Maktesh![f] For all
the merchant people are cut down; All those who handle money are cut off.
YLT
11Howl, ye inhabitants of the
hollow place, For cut off hath been all the merchant people, Cut off have been
all bearing silver.
Howl, ye inhabitants of
Maktesh,.... The name of a street in Jerusalem, as Aben Ezra; perhaps it
lay low in the hollow of the city, and in the form of a mortar, from whence it
might have its name, as the wordF17המכתש
"mortarii", Vatablus, Tigurine version; "cavi", Junius
& Tremellius, Piscator; "loci concavi", Calvin. signifies; which
is used both for a hollow place and for a mortar, Judges 15:19 unless
it might be so called from such persons dwelling in it, that used mortars for
spice, and other things. The Targum is,
"howl,
all ye that dwell in the valley of Kidron;'
and
Jerom thinks the valley of Siloah is intended, which is the same; which,
AdrichomiusF18Theatrum Terrae Sanctae, p. 163. says, was broad,
deep, and dark, and surrounded the temple in manner of a foss, or ditch; and
was disposed in the form of a mortar, called in Hebrew "machtes"; in
Latin, "pila"; in which merchants and tradesmen of all kinds dwelt.
It is thought by others to be the same which JosephusF19De Bello
Jud. l. 5. c. 4. sect. 1. calls "the valley of the cheese mongers",
which lay between the two hills Zion and Acra. The reason of their howling is,
for all the merchant people are cut down; either cut to
pieces by the sword of the enemy, and become silent, as the wordF20נדמה "conticuit", V. L. "in silentium
redactus est", Drusius. sometimes signifies, and the Vulgate Latin version
here renders it; become so by death, and laid in the silent grave, and no more
concerned in merchandise; or else stripped of all their wealth and goods by the
enemy, and so cut down, broke, and become bankrupt, and could trade no more.
The word for merchant signifies a Canaanite; and the Targum paraphrases it
thus,
"for
all the people are broken, whose works are like the works of the people of the
land of Canaan:'
all they that bear silver are cut off; that have
large quantities of it, and carry it to market to buy goods with it as
merchants; these shall be cut off, and so a great loss to trade, and a cause of
howling and lamentation; or such that wear it in their garments, embroidered
with it; or rather in their purses, who are loaded with this thick clay, abound
with it. The Targum is,
"all
that are rich in substance shall be destroyed.'
Zephaniah 1:12 12 “And
it shall come to pass at that time That I will search Jerusalem with
lamps, And punish the men Who are settled in complacency,[g] Who say in
their heart, ‘The Lord will not do good, Nor will He do
evil.’
YLT
12And it hath come to pass,
at that time, I search Jerusalem with lights, And I have laid a charge on the
men Who are hardened on their preserved things, Who are saying in their heart:
Jehovah doth no good, nor doth He evil.
And it shall come to pass
at that time, that I will search Jerusalem with candles,.... To find
out the sins of the inhabitants of it, and the authors of them, and punish them
for them, however hid and concealed from the eyes of others, or thought to be:
this must be understood consistent with the omniscience of God, who knows all
persons and things; nothing is hid from him; men may fancy their sins are hid,
being privately and secretly committed; but all will be manifest, sooner or
later; if not now, yet at the day of judgment; and sometimes they are made
manifest by God in this life, as here; for what the Lord here says he would do,
he did it by instruments, by the Chaldeans, whom he sent to Jerusalem; and to
whom the gates of the city, the doors of houses, and the innermost recesses of
them, were opened and plundered by them; and all for the sins of the people,
which were hereby exposed. So the Targum,
"and
it shall be at that time that I will appoint searchers, and they shall search
Jerusalem, as they that search with candles;'
and
no doubt but this was literally true of the Chaldeans, who with candles might
search vaults and cellars, and such like dark places, where they supposed goods
and riches were concealed. The allusion may be to the searching with lamps for
leaven on the fourteenth of Nisan, when the passover began, in every corner of
a house, and, when they found it, burnt itF21Vid. Misn. Pesachim, c.
1. sect. 1, 4. ; or in general to searching for anything which lies concealed
in dark places, where the light of the sun comes not, and can only be
discovered by the light of candles; and denotes that nothing should escape the
sight and knowledge of God, by whom a full discovery would be made of their
persons and sins, and cognizance taken of them in a vindictive way, as follows:
and punish the men that are settled on their lees; like wine on
the lees, quiet and undisturbed; in a good outward estate and condition,
abounding in wealth and riches, and trusting therein; and which, as the Targum
paraphrases it, they enjoy in great tranquillity; Moab like, having never been
emptied from vessel to vessel, Jeremiah 48:11 and
so concluded they should ever remain in the same state, and became hardened in
sin, or "curdled", and thickened, as the wordF23הקפאים "concreti sunt", Junius & Tremellius,
Piscator; "congelati", Calvin; "coagulatos", Montanus,
Cocceius; "qui concreverunt glaciei, vel casei ad instar",
Burkius. signifies; and were unconcerned about the state of religion, or the
state of their own souls; and fearless and thoughtless of the judgments of God;
but should now be visited, disturbed in their tranquil state, and be troubled
and punished:
that say in their heart; not daring to express
with their lips the following atheism and blasphemy; but God, who searched and
tried their hearts, knew it:
The Lord will not do good, neither will he do evil; which is a
flat denial of his providence; saying that he takes no notice of what is done
by men on earth, whether good or bad; and neither rewards the one, nor punishes
the other. So the Targum, as Kimchi quotes it,
"it
is not the good pleasure of God to do good to the righteous, or to do evil to
the wicked;'
than
which nothing is more false! the Lord does good to all in a providential way,
and to many in a way of special grace; and rewards with a reward of grace all
good men, both here and hereafter; and though he does not do any moral evil,
yet he executes the evil of punishment in this world, and in that to come, on
evildoers.
Zephaniah 1:13 13 Therefore
their goods shall become booty, And their houses a desolation; They shall build
houses, but not inhabit them; They shall plant vineyards, but not drink
their wine.”
YLT
13And their wealth hath been
for a spoil, And their houses for desolation, And they have built houses, and
do not inhabit, And they have planted vineyards, And they do not drink their
wine.
Therefore their goods
shall become a booty,.... To the enemy; the riches they trusted in, and thought
themselves so secure of; and therefore denied divine Providence, which ought to
be depended upon amidst the greatest affluence; or otherwise the Lord has
various ways by which he can soon strip men of all their enjoyments, and
dispose of them to others:
and their houses a desolation; be pulled down by the
enemy; or left uninhabited, they being killed or carried captive, even their
whole families:
they shall also build houses, but not inhabit them; not long, at
least; not always, as they expected, and promised themselves when they built
them:
and they shall plant vineyards, and not drink the wine thereof: but before
the vines planted by them bring forth grapes, and these are pressed, and wine
made of them, they should fall into the hands of the enemy, who would drink it,
and not they; and all this agreeably to what was threatened them in the law of
Moses, which they ought to have regarded, Deuteronomy 28:30.
Zephaniah 1:14 14 The
great day of the Lord is near; It is
near and hastens quickly. The noise of the day of the Lord is bitter; There the mighty men shall cry out.
YLT
14Near [is] the great day of
Jehovah, Near, and hasting exceedingly, The noise of the day of Jehovah,
Bitterly shriek there doth a mighty one.
The great day of the Lord is
near, it is near, and hasteth greatly,.... Not the day of
judgment, but the day of God's vengeance upon the Jews, which yet bore some
resemblance to that day of the Lord, and it may be therefore so called; as the
destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans had some likeness to it, and therefore
the signs of the one and of the other are given together by our Lord in Matthew 24:1 and
this was a day in which he would do great things, by the Chaldeans, and against
the Jews; and this is represented as very "near"; and repeated again
for the confirmation of it, and to arouse the thoughtless and careless about
it, and who put away this evil day far from them; yea, it is said to make great
haste, and to fly away swiftly, even faster than time usually does; though in
common it has wings ascribed unto it:
even the voice of
the day of the Lord; in which the Lord's voice will be heard; not his voice of grace
and mercy, as in the day of salvation; but of wrath and vengeance, which will
be terrible; hence it follows:
the mighty men shall cry there bitterly; not the voice
of the mighty men besieging the city, making a hideous noise to animate the
soldiers in making the assault, as some; but the mighty men within the city of
Jerusalem besieged, who, when they see the city broken up, would be in the
utmost terror, and cry bitterly, like women and children, being quite dismayed
and dispirited; even the men of war upon the walls, and in the garrisons, with
their officers and generals; and if this would be the case with them, how must
it be thought to be with others, the weak and timorous?
Zephaniah 1:15 15 That
day is a day of wrath, A day of trouble and distress, A day of
devastation and desolation, A day of darkness and gloominess, A day of clouds
and thick darkness,
YLT
15A day of wrath [is] that
day, A day of adversity and distress, A day of waste and desolation, A day of
darkness and gloominess, A day of cloud and thick darkness.
That day is a day
of wrath,.... Both of the wrath of God against his people for their sins;
these judgments being the effects of his wrath, provoked by their iniquities;
and of the wrath and cruelty of the Chaldeans, exercised in a furious manner:
a day of trouble and distress; to the inhabitants of
Jerusalem, they being taken and led captive, their houses plundered and
demolished, and the whole city and temple laid in ruins:
a day of wasteness and desolation; of the whole country of
Judea, and the metropolis of it; of their houses, fields, and vineyards:
a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick
darkness: as it might be in a natural sense; the displeasure of God being
shown in the very heavens, by the darkness and gloominess of them, and the
thick clouds with which they were covered; and made still more dark and gloomy
by the burning of the city, and the smoke of it; and, in such circumstances,
gloominess and melancholy must sit upon the minds of men: and thick clouds and
darkness portend greater troubles and calamities coming on; and the whole is
expressive of great adversity; for, as light frequently designs prosperity, so
darkness adversity.
Zephaniah 1:16 16 A
day of trumpet and alarm Against the fortified cities And against the high
towers.
YLT
16A day of trumpet and
shouting against the fenced cities, And against the high corners.
A day of the trumpet and
alarm against the fenced cities,.... The trumpet of the enemy, sounding the
alarm of war against the fenced cities of Judea, which were taken before
Jerusalem; calling and gathering the soldiers together, and animating them to
the assault of them; and blowing them in a way of triumph; and as expressive of
victory, having got possession of them:
and against the high towers; or "corners"F24פנות "pinnas", Montanus, Castalio;
"angulos", Junius & Tremellius, Burkius. ; towers being usually
built corner-wise, and full of corners, and on the corners of walls of cities;
sometimes these signify princes, magistrates, and great men, Zechariah 10:4.
Zephaniah 1:17 17 “I
will bring distress upon men, And they shall walk like blind men, Because they
have sinned against the Lord; Their blood shall be poured out
like dust, And their flesh like refuse.”
YLT
17And I have sent distress to
men, And they have walked as the blind, For against Jehovah they have sinned,
And poured out is their blood as dust, And their flesh [is] as dung.
And I will bring distress
upon men,.... Not upon men in general, but particularly on the men of
Judea, and inhabitants of Jerusalem; and especially those that were in the
fenced cities and high towers; and who might think themselves safe and secure;
but, being besieged, should be distressed with famine and pestilence, and with
the enemy; and more especially when stormed, and a breach made, and the enemy
just entering:
that they shall walk like blind men; not knowing which way to
go, where to turn themselves, what methods to take, or course to steer, no more
than a blind man. The phrase is expressive of their being at their wits' ends,
void of all thought and consultation:
because they have sinned against the Lord; and therefore
he gives them up, not only into the hand of the enemy, but unto an infatuation
of spirit, and a judicial blindness of mind:
and their blood shall be poured out as dust; in great
quantities, like that, without any regard to it, without showing any mercy, and
as if it was of no more value than the dust of the earth. The Targum is,
"their
blood shall be poured out into the dust;'
or
on it, and be drunk up by it:
and their flesh as the dung; or their carcasses, as
the same paraphrase; that is, their dead bodies shall lie unburied, and rot,
and putrefy, and shall be cast upon fields like dung, to fatten them. The word
for "flesh", in the Hebrew language, signifies bread or food; because
dead bodies are food for worms; but in the Arabic language, as Aben Ezra and
Jarchi observe, it signifies "flesh".
Zephaniah 1:18 18 Neither
their silver nor their gold Shall be able to deliver them In the day of the Lord’s wrath; But the whole land shall be devoured By the fire of His
jealousy, For He will make speedy riddance Of all those who dwell in the land.
YLT
18Even their silver, even
their gold, Is not able to deliver them in a day of the wrath of Jehovah, And
in the fire of His jealousy consumed is the whole land, For only a hastened end
doth He make Of all the inhabitants of the land!
Neither their silver nor
their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the Lord's wrath,.... Which
they have gotten in an unjust way, and have hoarded up, and put their
confidence in; these were the lees on which they were settled; but now, as they
would be disregarded by the Lord, as insufficient to atone for their sins, and
appease his wrath, and procure his favour; see Job 36:18 so they
would be of no avail to them, to deliver from their enemies, who would not be
bribed therewith to save their lives; the same is said of the Medes at the
taking of Babylon, Isaiah 13:17,
but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy; his zeal
against sin, and for his own glory, shall burn like fire; which shall consume
the whole land, and all the inhabitants of it, and was not to be stopped by
anything that could be done by them; so furious and raging would it be:
for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in
the land; burn up at once all the briers and thorns, even all that offend,
and do iniquity, and spare neither root nor branch; or, as when a field is
cleared of the stubble on it, after the wheat is gathered in; or a grain floor
of its chaff, after the wheat is separated from it; thus with the besom of
destruction would the Lord sweep away the sinful inhabitants of Judea, and
clear it of them, as he did by the sword, by famine, by pestilence, and by
captivity.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New King James
Version (NKJV)