| 1. The word of the Lord that came to Zephaniah son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah son of Amon, king of Judah. |
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| 2. I will totally destroy everything from off the face of the earth, says the Lord. |
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| I will totally destroy: An expression of destruction, as in (Jud. 18: 25) “and you will lose your life,” mentioned regarding Micah. The “aleph” is defective in the second word, for it should have been written אֶאֱסֹף There are many [defective alephs] like these, as in (Isa. 13:20) “no Arab shall pitch his tent there,” which is like י ֶאֱהַל. |
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| 3. I will totally destroy man and beast; I will totally destroy the fowl of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, and the stumbling blocks with the wicked; and I will cut off man from the face of the earth, says the Lord. |
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| and the stumbling blocks with the wicked: They are the pagan deities. |
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| 4. And I will stretch out My hand over Judah and over all the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And I will cut off from this place the remnant of Baal, the name of the idolatrous priests with the ancillary priests, |
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| the remnant of Baal: that there shall be no remnant of its remembrance. |
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| the name of the idolatrous priests with the ancillary priests: Their worshippers with their priests. |
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| 5. and those who prostrate themselves on the roofs to the host of the heavens, and those who prostrate themselves who swear by the Lord and swear by their king, |
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| who swear by the Lord: and go back and swear by their king, their pagan deity. They make the pagan deity the main one, saying, “If you do not believe the oath by God, I swear to you by the pagan deity.” |
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| 6. and those who turn away from following the Lord, and those who did not seek the Lord nor inquire after Him. |
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| 7. Be silent before the Lord God, for the day of the Lord is near. For the Lord has prepared a slaughter; He has invited His guests. |
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| He has invited His guests: He prepared His armies for the appointed day. |
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| 8. And it shall be on the day of the Lord's slaughter, that I will visit upon the princes, and upon the king's sons, and upon all those who wear gentile garb. |
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| gentile garb: Ornaments of the idols. |
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| 9. And I will visit upon everyone who leaps over the threshold [a Philistine idolatrous practice], [and] those who fill the houses of their masters with violence and deceit. |
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| who leaps over the threshold: Jonathan renders: who follows the customs of the Philistines, who would not step on the threshold of Dagon, as it is stated (I Sam. 5:5): “Therefore, the priests of Dagon… do not tread, etc.” |
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| 10. And it shall come to pass on that day, says the Lord; A sound of a cry from the fish gate, and a wail from the second gate, and great destruction from the hills. |
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| from the fish gate: Jonathan renders: from the gate of the fish; there was a gate in Jerusalem called by that name. |
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| from the second gate: from the gate of the fowl, which was second to it [the fish gate]. |
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| 11. Wail, O you inhabitants of Maktesh, for the entire people of Canaan is cut off; all those laden with silver have been cut off. |
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| you inhabitants of Maktesh: The Kidron Valley, which is as deep as a mortar. This is according to Targum Jonathan . |
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| from the fish gate: This is Acre, situated in the bosom of the sea, where many fish are caught. |
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| from the Mishneh: This is Lod, which is second to Jerusalem. |
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| from the hills: This is Sepphoris, which is situated at the tops of the mountains like a bird. |
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| [11] inhabitants of Maktesh: This is Tiberias, which is deeper than all of [the rest of] the land of Israel. |
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| for the entire people of Canaan is cut off: Jonathan renders: For the entire nation, whose deeds resemble the deeds of the people of the land of Canaan, has been broken. |
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| all those laden with silver: Jonathan renders: All those wealthy with property, laden with a burden of silver and gold; as in (Prov. 27:3) “The weight of stone, the burden of sand” an expression of a burden. |
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| 12. And it shall come to pass on that day, that I will search Jerusalem with candles, and I will visit upon the men who are settled on their lees, who say in their heart, "The Lord shall do neither good nor harm." |
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| I will search Jerusalem with candles: I will judge their iniquities strictly. |
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| who are settled: float on their lees. [As in] (II Kings 6:6) “And the axe blade floated,” rendered in Aramaic: וּקְפָא פַרְזְלָה. |
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| who say in their heart, “The Lord shall do neither good…”: to those who obey His will. |
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| nor harm: to those who transgress His will. |
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| 13. And their wealth shall become a booty, and their houses a desolation, and they shall build houses and not dwell in them, and plant vineyards and not drink their wine. |
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| 14. The great day of the Lord is near; it is near and hastens greatly, the sound of the day of the Lord, wherein the mighty man cries bitterly. |
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| wherein the mighty man cries bitterly: The mighty man will cry out with a bitter voice. |
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| 15. That day is a day of wrath; a day of trouble and distress; a day of ruin and desolation; a day of darkness and gloom; a day of clouds and thick darkness; |
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טו. |
| a day of ruin: , an expression of desolation. |
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| and desolation: A greater degree of desolation. |
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| 16. a day of shofar and alarm against the fortified cities and against the high towers. |
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טז. |
| 17. And I will bring distress upon men, and they shall walk like the blind, for they have sinned against the Lord. And their blood shall be shed like dust, and their flesh like dung. |
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יז. |
| And I will bring distress upon men: Upon Israel, who is called “man.” |
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| and their flesh: their flesh. In Arabic, flesh is called al laham. |
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| like dung: dung. |
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| 18. Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to save them on the day of the Lord's wrath. And with the fire of His passion the entire land shall be consumed; for an end, yea, a sudden end, He shall make of all the inhabitants of the land. |