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. Ver. 1. _The word of the Lord which came unto Zephaniah_] Which is (by interpretation) God's secretary, or, hidden one,... [ Continue Reading ]
I will utterly consume all [things] from off the land, saith the LORD. Ver. 2. _I will utterly consume all things from off the land_] _Exordium plane tragicum._ A tragic beginning of a terrible sermon. Hard knots must have hard wedges; hard hearts, heavy menaces; yea, handfulls of hell fire must be... [ Continue Reading ]
I will consume man and beast; I will consume the fowls of the heaven, and the fishes of the sea, and the stumblingblocks with the wicked; and I will cut off man from off the land, saith the LORD. Ver. 3. _I will consume man and beast_] Heb. I will gather _as _ Zep 1:2 them, and cast them away as th... [ 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; Ver. 4. _I will also stretch out mine hand upon Judah_] To whom I have so long stretched out my hand in... [ 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; Ver. 5. _And them that worship the host of heaven upon the housetops_] Called elsewhere the Queen of heaven, the constellations and heavenly bodies: whom they... [ Continue Reading ]
And them that are turned back from the LORD; and [those] that have not sought the LORD, nor enquired for him. Ver. 6. _And them that are turned back from the Lord_] Not gross idolaters, but yet treacherous backsliders, that fall off from their former forwardness, that turn from the holy commandment... [ 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. Ver. 7. _Hold thy peace at the presence of the Lord God_] When his hand is upon thy back let thy hand be on thy mouth. Chat not against him, murmur n... [ 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. Ver. 8. And it shall come to pass in the day of the Lord's sacrifice] Or, good cheer; for at their sacrifices they used to feast t... [ 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._ Ver. 9. _In the same day also will I punish all those that leap on the threshold_] _i.e._ Great men's officers, who by an absolute power went into other men's houses... [ 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. Ver. 10. _There shall be the noise of a cry from the fish gate_] Called also the first gate, Zechariah 14:10, wher... [ Continue Reading ]
Howl, ye inhabitants of Maktesh, for all the merchant people are cut down; all they that bear silver are cut off. Ver. 11. _Howl, ye inhabitants of Maktesh_] Or, of the mortar, or of the low and hollow place, of the base town, where grain was ground in mortars, before mills were in use. These are h... [ 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. Ver. 12. _I will search Jerusalem with candles_] Which yet he needs not do, sith the ... [ 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. Ver. 13. _Therefore their goads shall become a booty_] Their illgotten goods, Zephaniah 1:9; Zephaniah 1:1... [ 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. Ver. 14. _The great day of the Lord is near, it is near_] It is the "day of the Lord," that fatal day appointed by him to ruin the nation; for wi... [ 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, Ver. 15. _That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress_] By this synathroismos, or heap of words, the prophet would frig... [ Continue Reading ]
A day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities, and against the high towers. Ver. 16. _A day of the trumpet_] With its horrid _taratantara_ and alarm; not of those that shout and praise God, neither with a noise of joy and triumph, as Num 23:21 Psalms 67:5 Ezra 3:11,12; but of those that... [ 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. Ver. 17. _And I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like blind men_] The Dutch have a proverb,... [ 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. Ver. 18. Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able... [ Continue Reading ]