The word of the LORD which came unto Zephaniah the son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hizkiah, in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah. THE WORD OF THE LORD WHICH CAME UNTO ZEPHANIAH ... IN THE DAYS OF JOSIAH. Had their idolatries been under former kin... [ Continue Reading ]
I will utterly consume all things from off the land, saith the LORD. I WILL UTTERLY CONSUME - from a root [ cuwp (H5486)] to sweep away or scrape off utterly. See the margin, Jeremiah 8:13 ("I will surely consume them"), in gathering I will consume, and here. FROM OFF THE LAND - of Judah.... [ Continue Reading ]
I will consume man and beast; I will consume the fowls of the heaven, and the fishes of the sea, and the stumbling-blocks with the wicked; and I will cut off man from off the land, saith the LORD. I WILL CONSUME MAN AND BEAST. Enumeration in detail of the "all things" (: cf. ; ). AND THE STUMB... [ Continue Reading ]
I will also stretch out mine hand upon Judah, and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and I will cut off the remnant of Baal from this place, and the name of the Chemarims with the priests; I WILL ALSO STRETCH OUT MINE HAND - indicating some remarkable and unusual work of vengeance (Isaiah 5:... [ Continue Reading ]
And them that worship the host of heaven upon the housetops; and them that worship and that swear by the LORD, and that swear by Malcham; AND THEM THAT WORSHIP THE HOST OF HEAVEN - Saba: whence, in contrast to Sabeanism, Yahweh is called Lord of Sabaoth. UPON THE HOUSE-TOPS - which were flat (2... [ Continue Reading ]
And them that are turned back from the LORD; and those that have not sought the LORD, nor inquired And them that are turned back from the LORD; and those that have not sought the LORD, nor inquired for him. AND THEM THAT ARE TURNED BACK FROM THE LORD; AND THOSE THAT HAVE NOT SOUGHT THE LORD - pos... [ Continue Reading ]
Hold thy peace at the presence of the Lord GOD: for the day of the LORD is at hand: for the LORD hath prepared a sacrifice, he hath bid his guests. HOLD THY PEACE AT THE PRESENCE OF THE LORD GOD - (Habakkuk 2:20, "The Lord is in his holy temple let all the earth keep silence before him"). Let th... [ Continue Reading ]
And it shall come to pass 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 strange apparel. I WILL PUNISH THE PRINCES - who ought to have been an example of good to others, but were ringleaders in all evil. AND THE KIN... [ Continue Reading ]
In the same day also will I punish all those that leap on the threshold, which fill their masters' houses with violence and deceit. THOSE THAT LEAP ON THE THRESHOLD - the servants of the princes who, after having gotten prey, like hounds for their masters, leap exultingly on their masters' thresh... [ Continue Reading ]
And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD, that there shall be the noise of a cry from the fish gate, and an howling from the second, and a great crashing from the hills. THERE SHALL BE THE NOISE OF A CRY FROM THE FISH GATE - (2 Chronicles 33:14; Nehemiah 3:3. At the restoration of th... [ Continue Reading ]
Howl, ye inhabitants of Maktesh, for all the merchant people are cut down; all they that bear silver are cut off. HOWL, YE INHABITANTS OF MAKTESH - rather, 'the mortar,' a name applied to the valley of Siloam from its hollow shape (Jerome). The article prefixed proves it not to be a proper name ... [ Continue Reading ]
And it shall come to pass at that time, that I will search Jerusalem with candles, and punish the men that are settled on their lees: that say in their heart, The LORD will not do good, neither will he do evil. AT THAT TIME ... I WILL SEARCH JERUSALEM WITH CANDLES - or lamps; so as to leave no da... [ Continue Reading ]
Therefore their goods shall become a booty, and their houses a desolation: they shall also build houses, but not inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, but not drink the wine thereof. THEY SHALL ... BUILD HOUSES, BUT NOT INHABIT THEM; AND THEY SHALL PLANT VINEYARDS, BUT NOT DRINK THE WINE... [ Continue Reading ]
The great day of the LORD is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the LORD: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly. THE VOICE OF THE DAY OF THE LORD - i:e., Yahweh ushering in that day with a roar of vengeance against the guilty (; , "The Lord will roar from Zion,... [ Continue Reading ]
That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, A DAY OF WASTENESS AND DESOLATION. The Hebrew terms, by their similarity of sounds, Shoah, Umeshoah, express the dreary monotony of... [ Continue Reading ]
A day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities, and against the high towers. A DAY OF THE TRUMPET - namely, of the besieging enemy (, "Moab shall die with tumult, with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet"). AND ALARM - the war shout (Maurer). AND AGAINST THE HIGH TOWERS - l... [ Continue Reading ]
And I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the LORD: and their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as the dung. THEY SHALL WALK LIKE BLIND MEN - unable to see where to turn themselves, so as to find an escape from exis... [ Continue Reading ]
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 shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land. NEITHER THEIR SILVER NOR THEIR GOLD SHALL BE ABLE TO DE... [ Continue Reading ]