11 The Lord will let himself be seen by them: for he will make all the gods of the earth feeble; and men will go down before him in worship, everyone from his place, even all the sea-lands of the nations.
Let his kingdom be from sea to sea, from the River to the ends of the earth. Let those who are against him go down before him; and let his haters be low in the dust. Let the kings of Tarshish and of the islands come back with offerings; let the kings of Sheba and Seba give of their stores. Yes, let all kings go down before him; let all nations be his servants.
From these came the nations of the sea-lands, with their different families and languages.
And at the sounding of the seventh angel there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord, and of his Christ, and he will have rule for ever and ever.
It is my desire, then, that in every place men may give themselves to prayer, lifting up holy hands, without wrath or argument.
Jesus said to her, Woman, take my word for this; the time is coming when you will not give worship to the Father on this mountain or in Jerusalem. You give worship, but without knowledge of what you are worshipping: we give worship to what we have knowledge of: for salvation comes from the Jews. But the time is coming, and is even now here, when the true worshippers will give worship to the Father in the true way of the spirit, for these are the worshippers desired by the Father.
For, from the coming up of the sun till its going down, my name is great among the Gentiles; and in every place the smell of burning flesh is offered to my name, and a clean offering: for my name is great among the Gentiles, says the Lord of armies.
And the Lord will be King over all the earth: in that day there will be one Lord and his name one. And all the land will become like the Arabah, from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem; and she will be lifted up and be living in her place; from the doorway of Benjamin to the place of the first doorway, to the doorway of the angle, and from the tower of Hananel to the king's wine-crushing places, men will be living in her. And there will be no more curse; but Jerusalem will be living without fear of danger. And this will be the disease which the Lord will send on all the peoples which have been warring against Jerusalem: their flesh will be wasted away while they are on their feet, their eyes will be wasted in their heads and their tongues in their mouths. And it will be on that day that a great fear will be sent among them from the Lord; and everyone will take his neighbour's hand, and every man's hand will be lifted against his neighbour's. And even Judah will be fighting against Jerusalem; and the wealth of all the nations round about will be massed together, a great store of gold and silver and clothing. And the horses and the transport beasts, the camels and the asses and all the beasts in those tents will be attacked by the same disease. And it will come about that everyone who is still living, of all those nations who came against Jerusalem, will go up from year to year to give worship to the King, the Lord of armies, and to keep the feast of tents. And it will be that if any one of all the families of the earth does not go up to Jerusalem to give worship to the King, the Lord of armies, on them there will be no rain. And if the family of Egypt does not go up or come there, they will be attacked by the disease which the Lord will send on the nations: This will be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all the nations who do not go up to keep the feast of tents. On that day all the bells of the horses will be holy to the Lord, and the pots in the Lord's house will be like the basins before the altar. And every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah will be holy to the Lord of armies: and all those who make offerings will come and take them for boiling their offerings: in that day there will be no more traders in the house of the Lord of armies.
This is what the Lord of armies has said: In those days, ten men from all the languages of the nations will put out their hands and take a grip of the skirt of him who is a Jew, saying, We will go with you, for it has come to our ears that God is with you.
This is what the Lord of armies has said: It will again come about that when peoples and those living in great towns come,
For then I will give the people a clean language, so that they may all make prayer to the Lord and be his servants with one mind.
And my hand will be stretched out on Judah and on all the people of Jerusalem, cutting off the name of the Baal from this place, and the name of the false priests,
But in the last days it will come about that the mountain of the Lord's house will be placed on the top of the mountains, and be lifted up over the hills; and peoples will be flowing to it. And a number of nations will go and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will give us knowledge of his ways and we will be guided by his word: for from Zion the law will go out, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And he will be judge between great peoples, and strong nations far away will be ruled by his decisions; their swords will be hammered into plough-blades and their spears into vine-knives: nations will no longer be lifting up their swords against one another, and knowledge of war will have gone for ever.
Who took the fat of their offerings, and the wine of their drink offering? Let them now come to your help, let them be your salvation.
For I will take away the names of the Baals out of her mouth, and never again will she say their names.
Make a new song to the Lord, and let his praise be sounded from the end of the earth; you who go down to the sea, and everything in it, the sea-lands and their people.
His light will not be put out, and he will not be crushed, till he has given the knowledge of the true God to the earth, and the sea-lands will be waiting for his teaching.
But those will be making sounds of joy; they will be crying loudly from the sea for the glory of the Lord. Give praise to the Lord in the east, to the name of the Lord, the God of Israel, in the sea-lands. From the farthest part of the earth comes the sound of songs, glory to the upright. But I said, I am wasting away, wasting away, the curse is on me! The false ones go on in their false way, yes, they go on acting falsely.
There will be no cause of pain or destruction in all my holy mountain: for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the sea is covered by the waters. And in that day, the eyes of the nations will be turned to the root of Jesse which will be lifted up as the flag of the peoples; and his resting-place will be glory.
And it will come about in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord will be placed on the top of the mountains, and be lifted up over the hills; and all nations will come to it. And the peoples will say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob: and he will give us knowledge of his ways, and we will be guided by his word; for out of Zion the law will go out, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And he will be the judge between the nations, and the peoples will be ruled by his decisions: and their swords will be turned into plough-blades, and their spears into vine-knives: no longer will the nations be turning their swords against one another, and the knowledge of war will be gone for ever.
Let all the nations give praise to the Lord: let all the people give him praise. For great is his mercy to us, and his faith is unchanging for ever. Praise be to the Lord.
The heavens gave out the news of his righteousness, and all the people saw his glory. Shamed be all those who give worship to images, and take pride in false gods; give him worship, all you gods. Zion gave ear and was glad; and the daughters of Judah were full of joy, because of your decisions, O Lord.
May his name go on for ever, as long as the sun: may men be blessing themselves by him; may all nations be blessing his name.
All the ends of the earth will keep it in mind and be turned to the Lord: all the families of the nations will give him worship. For the kingdom is the Lord's; he is the ruler among the nations. All the fat ones of the earth will give him worship; all those who go down to the dust will make themselves low before him, even he who has not enough for the life of his soul. A seed will be his servant; the doings of the Lord will be made clear to the generation which comes after.
Make your request to me, and I will give you the nations for your heritage, and the farthest limits of the earth will be under your hand. They will be ruled by you with a rod of iron; they will be broken like a potter's vessel. So now be wise, you kings: take his teaching, you judges of the earth. Give worship to the Lord with fear, kissing his feet and giving him honour, For fear that he may be angry, causing destruction to come on you, because he is quickly moved to wrath. Happy are all those who put their faith in him.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Zephaniah 2
Commentary on Zephaniah 2 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 2
Zep 2:1-15. Exhortation to Repent before the Chaldean Invaders Come. Doom of Judah's Foes, the Philistines, Moab, Ammon, with Their Idols, and Ethiopia and Assyria.
1. Gather yourselves—to a religious assembly, to avert the judgment by prayers (Joe 2:16) [Grotius]. Or, so as not to be dissipated "as chaff" (Zep 2:2). The Hebrew is akin to a root meaning "chaff." Self-confidence and corrupt desires are the dissipation from which they are exhorted to gather themselves [Calvin]. The foe otherwise, like the wind, will scatter you "as the chaff." Repentance is the gathering of themselves meant.
nation not desired—(Compare 2Ch 21:20), that is, not desirable; unworthy of the grace or favor of God; and yet God so magnifies that grace as to be still solicitous for their safety, though they had destroyed themselves and forfeited all claims on His grace [Calvin]. The Margin from Chaldee Version has, "not desirous," namely of returning to God. Maurer and Gesenius translate, "Not waxing pale," that is, dead to shame. English Version is best.
2. Before the decree bring forth—that is, Before God's decree against you announced by me (Zep 1:1-18) have its fulfilment. As the embryo lies hid in the womb, and then emerges to light in its own due time, so though God for a time hides His vengeance, yet He brings it forth at the proper season.
before the day pass as the chaff—that is, before the day for repentance pass, and with it you, the ungodly, pass away as the chaff (Job 21:18; Ps 1:4). Maurer puts it parenthetically, "the day (that is, time) passes as the chaff (that is, most quickly)." Calvin, "before the decree bring forth" (the predicted vengeance), (then) the chaff (the Jews) shall pass in a day, that is, in a moment, though they thought that it would be long before they could be overthrown. English Version is best; the latter clause being explanatory of the former, and so the before being understood, not expressed.
3. As in Zep 2:1 (compare Note, see on Zep 1:12) he had warned the hardened among the people to humble themselves, so now he admonishes "the meek" to proceed in their right course, that so they may escape the general calamity (Ps 76:9). The meek bow themselves under God's chastisements to God's will, whereas the ungodly become only the more hardened by them.
Seek ye the Lord—in contrast to those that "sought not the Lord" (Zep 1:6). The meek are not to regard what the multitudes do, but seek God at once.
his judgment—that is, law. The true way of "seeking the Lord" is to "work judgment," not merely to be zealous about outward ordinances.
seek meekness—not perversely murmuring against God's dealings, but patiently submitting to them, and composedly waiting for deliverance.
it may be ye shall be hid—(Isa 26:20; Am 5:6). This phrase does not imply doubt of the deliverance of the godly, but expresses the difficulty of it, as well that the ungodly may see the certainty of their doom, as also that the faithful may value the more the grace of God in their case (1Pe 4:17-19) [Calvin]. Compare 2Ki 25:12.
4. For—He makes the punishment awaiting the neighboring states an argument why the ungodly should repent (Zep 2:1) and the godly persevere, namely, that so they may escape from the general calamity.
Gaza shall be forsaken—In the Hebrew there is a play of similar sounds, Gaza Gazubah; Gaza shall be forsaken, as its name implies. So the Hebrew of the next clause, Ekron teeakeer.
at the noonday—when on account of the heat Orientals usually sleep, and military operations are suspended (2Sa 4:5). Hence an attack at noon implies one sudden and unexpected (Jer 6:4, 5; 15:8).
Ekron—Four cities of the Philistines are mentioned, whereas five was the normal number of their leading cities. Gath is omitted, being at this time under the Jews' dominion. David had subjugated it (1Ch 18:1). Under Joram the Philistines almost regained it (2Ch 21:16), but Uzziah (2Ch 26:6) and Hezekiah (2Ki 18:8) having conquered them, it remained under the Jews. Am 1:6; Zec 9:5, 6; Jer 25:20, similarly mention only four cities of the Philistines.
5. inhabitants of the seacoast—the Philistines dwelling on the strip of seacoast southwest of Canaan. Literally, the "cord" or "line" of sea (compare Jer 47:7; Eze 25:16).
the Cherethites—the Cretans, a name applied to the Philistines as sprung from Crete (De 2:23; Jer 47:4; Am 9:7). Philistine means "an emigrant."
Canaan … land of the Philistines—They occupied the southwest of Canaan (Jos 13:2, 3); a name which hints that they are doomed to the same destruction as the early occupants of the land.
6. dwellings and cottages for shepherds—rather, "dwellings with cisterns" (that is, water-tanks dug in the earth) for shepherds. Instead of a thick population and tillage, the region shall become a pasturage for nomad shepherds' flocks. The Hebrew for "dug cisterns," Ceroth, seems a play on sounds, alluding to their name Cherethites (Zep 2:5): Their land shall become what their national name implies, a land of cisterns. Maurer translates, "Feasts for shepherds' (flocks)," that is, one wide pasturage.
7. remnant of … Judah—those of the Jews who shall be left after the coming calamity, and who shall return from exile.
feed thereupon—namely, in the pastures of that seacoast region (Zep 2:6).
visit—in mercy (Ex 4:31).
8. I have heard—A seasonable consolation to Judah when wantonly assailed by Moab and Ammon with impunity: God saith, "I have heard it all, though I might seem to men not to have observed it because I did not immediately inflict punishment."
magnified themselves—acted haughtily, invading the territory of Judah (Jer 48:29; 49:1; compare Zep 2:10; Ps 35:26; Ob 12).
9. the breeding of nettles—or, the overspreading of nettles, that is, a place overrun with them.
salt pits—found at the south of the Dead Sea. The water overflows in the spring, and salt is left by the evaporation. Salt land is barren (Jud 9:45; Ps 107:34, Margin).
possess them—that is, their land; in retribution for their having occupied Judah's land.
10. (Compare Zep 2:8).
their pride—in antithesis to the meek (Zep 2:3).
11. famish—bring low by taking from the idols their former fame; as beasts are famished by their food being withheld. Also by destroying the kingdoms under the tutelage of idols (Ps 96:4; Isa 46:1).
gods of the earth—who have their existence only on earth, not in heaven as the true God.
every one from his place—each in his own Gentile home, taught by the Jews in the true religion: not in Jerusalem alone shall men worship God, but everywhere (Ps 68:29, 30; Mal 1:11; Joh 4:21; 1Co 1:2; 1Ti 2:8). It does not mean, as in Isa 2:2; Mic 4:1, 2; Zec 8:22; 14:16 that they shall come from their several places to Jerusalem to worship [Maurer].
all … isles of … heathen—that is, all the maritime regions, especially the west, now being fulfilled in the gathering in of the Gentiles to Messiah.
12. Fulfilled when Nebuchadnezzar (God's sword, Isa 10:5) conquered Egypt, with which Ethiopia was closely connected as its ally (Jer 46:2-9; Eze 30:5-9).
Ye—literally, "They." The third person expresses estrangement; while doomed before God's tribunal in the second person, they are spoken of in the third as aliens from God.
13. Here he passes suddenly to the north. Nineveh was destroyed by Cyaxares and Nabopolassar, 625 B.C. The Scythian hordes, by an inroad into Media and thence in the southwest of Asia (thought by many to be the forces described by Zephaniah, as the invaders of Judea, rather than the Chaldeans), for a while interrupted Cyaxares' operations; but he finally succeeded. Arbaces and Belesis previously subverted the Assyrian empire under Sardanapalus (that is, Pul?), 877 B.C.
14. flocks—of sheep; answering to "beasts" in the parallel clause. Wide pastures for sheep and haunts for wild beasts shall be where once there was a teeming population (compare Zep 2:6). Maurer, needlessly for the parallelism, makes it "flocks of savage animals."
beasts of the nations—that is, beasts of the earth (Ge 1:24). Not as Rosenmuller, "all kinds of beasts that form a nation," that is, gregarious beasts (Pr 30:25, 26).
cormorant—rather, the "pelican" (so Ps 102:6; Isa 34:11, Margin).
bittern—(Isa 14:23). Maurer translates, "the hedgehog"; Henderson, "the porcupine."
upper lintels—rather, "the capitals of her columns," namely, in her temples and palaces [Maurer]. Or, "on the pomegranate-like knops at the tops of the houses" [Grotius].
their voice shall sing in the windows—The desert-frequenting birds' "voice in the windows" implies desolation reigning in the upper parts of the palaces, answering to "desolation … in the thresholds," that is, in the lower.
he shall uncover the cedar work—laying the cedar wainscoting on the walls, and beams of the ceiling, bare to wind and rain, the roof being torn off, and the windows and doors broken through. All this is designed as a consolation to the Jews that they may bear their calamities patiently, knowing that God will avenge them.
15. Nothing then seemed more improbable than that the capital of so vast an empire, a city sixty miles in compass, with walls one hundred feet high, and so thick that three chariots could go abreast on them, and with fifteen hundred towers, should be so totally destroyed that its site is with difficulty discovered. Yet so it is, as the prophet foretold.
there is none beside me—This peculiar phrase, expressing self-gratulation as if peerless, is plainly adopted from Isa 47:8. The later prophets, when the spirit of prophecy was on the verge of departing, leaned more on the predictions of their predecessors.
hiss—in astonishment at a desolation so great and sudden (1Ki 9:8); also in derision (Job 27:23; La 2:15; Eze 27:36).