דְּבַר־ה' אֲשֶׁר הָיָה אֶל־צְפַנְיָה בֶּן־כּוּשִׁי בֶן־גְּדַלְיָה בֶּן־אֲמַרְיָה בֶּן־חִזְקִיָּה בִּימֵי יֹאשִׁיָּהוּ בֶן־אָמוֹן מֶלֶךְ יְהוּדָה

The word of the Lord that was with Zephaniah, son of Kushi, son of Gedalya, son of Amarya, son of Hizkiya. This is an unusually extensive lineage, which is recorded either due to the greatness of all those named, or to trace the prophet’s line back to Hizkiya. It is evident from these names that Zephaniah was from a distinguished family of Judean leaders. According to the Talmud, Zephaniah is one of the “eight princes among men” mentioned in the book of Micah (5:4). Zephaniah prophesied in the days of Yoshiyahu son of Amon, king of Judah. The period of Zephaniah’s prophecy would indicate the places where he was likely active, as by Yoshiya’s time the Kingdom of Israel had already been conquered by the Assyrians and most of its inhabitants exiled. While it is possible that Yoshiya sought to reestablish some sort of political entity within the borders of the former Kingdom of Israel, nevertheless, Zephaniah primarily addresses the people of Judah and Jerusalem.

אָסֹף אָסֵף כֹּל מֵעַל פְּנֵי הָאֲדָמָה נְאֻם־ה'

I will destroy everything from upon the face of the earth – the utterance of the Lord.

אָסֵף אָדָם וּבְהֵמָה אָסֵף עוֹף־הַשָּׁמַיִם וּדְגֵי הַיָּם וְהַמַּכְשֵׁלוֹת אֶת הָרְשָׁעִים וְהִכְרַתִּי אֶת־הָאָדָם מֵעַל פְּנֵי הָאֲדָמָה נְאֻם־ה'

I will destroy man and animal, I will destroy the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, and the stumbling blocks of the wicked, those that cause the wicked to sin; I will eliminate man from upon the face of the earth; this is the utterance of the Lord. The kingdom will not merely collapse or be vanquished but will be utterly destroyed.

וְנָטִיתִי יָדִי עַל־יְהוּדָה וְעַל כָּל־יוֹשְׁבֵי יְרוּשָׁלִָם וְהִכְרַתִּי מִן־הַמָּקוֹם הַזֶּה אֶת־שְׁאָר הַבַּעַל אֶת־שֵׁם הַכְּמָרִים עִם־הַכֹּהֲנִים

And I will extend My hand over Judah and over all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the great city at the center of the Kingdom of Judah; and I will eliminate from this place the remnant of the Baal. The cult of the Baal was practiced in Jerusalem during the days of Amon and earlier; it was fully removed only over the course of Yoshiya’s reign. And I will also destroy the name of the novice priests [kemarim] with the priests [kohanim] of the Baal. The difference between these titles is unclear; perhaps the kemarim had a lower status than that of the kohanim.

וְאֶת־הַמִּשְׁתַּחֲוִים עַל־הַגַּגּוֹת לִצְבָא הַשָּׁמָיִם וְאֶת־הַמִּשְׁתַּחֲוִים הַנִּשְׁבָּעִים לַה' וְהַנִּשְׁבָּעִים בְּמַלְכָּם

And I will destroy not only the central cult of the Baal, but also those who prostrate themselves, worship, on the rooftops to the host of heaven, the constellations, and those who prostrate themselves, who take oaths to the Lord, and those who take oaths by their king. This is referring to a different group of people, who profess a dual loyalty by swearing both by God and their king or their idol;

וְאֶת־הַנְּסוֹגִים מֵאַחֲרֵי ה'וַאֲשֶׁר לֹא־בִקְשׁוּ אֶת־ה' וְלֹא־דְרָשֻׁהוּ

and those who withdraw from following the Lord, who were once close to God but have since distanced themselves from worship of Him; and those who did not seek the Lord, and did not ever search for Him. This list includes all those who worshipped idols, as well as people who are not fully committed to the service of God.

הַס מִפְּנֵי ה' אֱלוֹהִים כִּי קָרוֹב יוֹם ה'כִּי־הֵכִין ה' זֶבַח הִקְדִּישׁ קְרֻאָיו

Be silent in fear before the Lord God, as the day of the judgment of the Lord is near. For the Lord has prepared a feast, actually, a slaughter, a destruction, and He has invited His guests. Both the slaughterers and their victims have been summoned to the event.

וְהָיָה בְּיוֹם זֶבַח ה' וּפָקַדְתִּי עַל־הַשָּׂרִים וְעַל־בְּנֵי הַמֶּלֶךְ וְעַל כָּל־הַלֹּבְשִׁים מַלְבּוּשׁ נָכְרִי

It shall be on the day of the Lord’s slaughter, I will reckon with the princes, and with the king’s sons, not necessarily Yoshiya’s own sons, but members of the royal household, all descendants of one king or another. And all who wear foreign garments. Apparently, the tendency to absorb foreign influences was more pronounced among the upper classes, as is often the case. These individuals were not entirely assimilated, but they dressed as gentiles out of a desire to emphasize their ties to other nations.

וּפָקַדְתִּי עַל כָּל־הַדּוֹלֵג עַל־הַמִּפְתָּן בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא הַמְמַלְאִים בֵּית אֲדֹנֵיהֶם חָמָס וּמִרְמָה

In addition to the above, I will reckon on that day with all those that practice the Philistine rite to leap over the threshold.Among the nobility of Judah and Jerusalem, those who fill the house of their masters with money gained through villainy and deceit will also be punished.

וְהָיָה בַיּוֹם הַהוּא נְאֻם־ה' קוֹל צְעָקָה מִשַּׁעַר הַדָּגִים וִילָלָה מִן־הַמִּשְׁנֶה וְשֶׁבֶר גָּדוֹל מֵהַגְּבָעוֹת

It shall be on that day – the utterance of the Lord – that there will be heard a sound of an outcry in Jerusalem from the Gate of Fish, one of the gates of Jerusalem, and a wail from the second quarter,or the residences that were added to the city, and the sound of a great calamity from the hills surrounding Jerusalem.

הֵילִילוּ יֹשְׁבֵי הַמַּכְתֵּשׁ כִּי נִדְמָה כָּל־עַם כְּנַעַן נִכְרְתוּ כָּל־נְטִילֵי כָסֶף

Wail, inhabitants of the crater, a low area near Jerusalem. Some identify it as the Kidron Valley, while others identify it as the valley west of the City of David known as the Tyropoeon Valley. For all the people of Canaan are destroyed. This is a euphemistic reference to the people of Israel, who displaced the ancient Canaanites. All those who were laden with silver were eliminated. This might be a disparaging name for the wealthy, similar to the English term “loaded.”

וְהָיָה בָּעֵת הַהִיא אֲחַפֵּשׂ אֶת־יְרוּשָׁלִַם בַּנֵּרוֹת וּפָקַדְתִּי עַל־הָאֲנָשִׁים הַקֹּפְאִים עַל־שִׁמְרֵיהֶם הָאֹמְרִים בִּלְבָבָם לֹא־יֵיטִיב ה' וְלֹא יָרֵעַ

It shall be at that time, that not only will I punish people for sins committed publicly, but I will search Jerusalem with lamps, to discern the smallest, most private iniquities; and I will reckon with the men who are settled on their dregs, the apathetic, who do nothing, like wine settled on its lees, who say in their heart: The Lord will not do good and He will not do harm. These people do not willfully transgress, but neither do they act with the specific intention of fulfilling God’s commands. They are indifferent toward God and take no notice of Him whatsoever.

וְהָיָה חֵילָם לִמְשִׁסָּה וּבָתֵּיהֶם לִשְׁמָמָה וּבָנוּ בָתִּים וְלֹא יֵשֵׁבוּ וְנָטְעוּ כְרָמִים וְלֹא יִשְׁתּוּ אֶת־יֵינָם

Their riches will be for plunder and their houses will be for desolation; they will build houses, but they will not live in them, as they will be exiled or killed; they will plant vineyards, but they will not drink their wine. Death and exile from their land will destroy the people’s plans for all future enterprises as well. Similar curses appear elsewhere in the Bible.

קָרוֹב יוֹם־ה' הַגָּדוֹל קָרוֹב וּמַהֵר מְאֹד; קוֹל יוֹם ה' – מַר צֹרֵחַ שָׁם גִּבּוֹר

The great day of the Lord is near, it is near and hastens greatly; it is the sound of the day of the Lord, the valiant one cries out there bitterly. The judgment of that day will be so harsh that even mighty warriors will wail in shock.

יוֹם עֶבְרָה הַיּוֹם הַהוּא יוֹם צָרָה וּמְצוּקָה יוֹם שֹׁאָה וּמְשׁוֹאָה יוֹם חֹשֶׁךְ וַאֲפֵלָה יוֹם עָנָן וַעֲרָפֶל

That day is a day of ire, a day of trouble and distress, a day of destruction and desolation [shoa umshoa]. The use of alliteration here adds to the words’ effect. It will be a day of darkness and blackness, a day of cloud and fog, confusion, death, and great darkness of more than one type;

יוֹם שׁוֹפָר וּתְרוּעָה עַל הֶעָרִים הַבְּצֻרוֹת וְעַל הַפִּנּוֹת הַגְּבֹהוֹת

a day of trumpeting and alarm, sounds of warning and of the enemies’ attack against the fortified cities and against the high, fortified, towers.

וַהֲצֵרֹתִי לָאָדָם וְהָלְכוּ כַּעִוְרִים כִּי לַה' חָטָאוּ וְשֻׁפַּךְ דָּמָם כֶּעָפָר וּלְחֻמָם כַּגְּלָלִים

I will distress the people and they will walk like the blind. They will wander aimlessly, unsure of the best way to flee, because they sinned against the Lord; their blood will be spilled like dust, scattered on the ground and trampled upon by all, and their flesh will be spread out like dung.

גַּם־כַּסְפָּם גַּם־זְהָבָם לֹא־יוּכַל לְהַצִּילָם בְּיוֹם עֶבְרַת ה'וּבְאֵשׁ קִנְאָתוֹ תֵּאָכֵל כָּל־הָאָרֶץ כִּי־כָלָה אַךְ־נִבְהָלָה יַעֲשֶׂה אֵת כָּל־יֹשְׁבֵי הָאָרֶץ

Even their silver and their gold will be unable to rescue them on the day of the Lord’s ire, as money will be of no use whatsoever at that time; in the fire of His zealotry the entire land will be consumed, as He will effect a termination, a terrifying one, or one of great dread and confusion, of all the inhabitants of the land.