This book in some Hebrew copies is called “Sepher Zephaniah”, the Book of Zephaniah. Its title, in the Vulgate Latin version, is, the Prophecy of Zephaniah; and, in the Syriac version, the Prophecy of the Prophet Zephaniah; and so the Arabic version calls him a prophet; and he is the last of the…

The word of the Lord which came unto Zephaniah the son of Cushi This is the title of the book, which expresses the subject matter of it, the word of the Lord; the word of prophecy from the Lord, as the Targum; and shows the divine authority of it; that it was not of himself, nor from any man, but…

I will utterly consume all things from off the land, saith the Lord. ] That is, from the land of Judah, by means of the Chaldeans or Babylonians: this is a general denunciation of the judgments of God, the particulars follow: or, “in gathering I will gather”; all good things out of the land; all…

I will consume man and beast Wicked men for their sins, and beasts for the sins of men; and, as a punishment for them, the creatures whom they have abused to the gratifying of their lusts: I will consume the fowls of the heaven, and the fishes of the sea; so that there shall be none for the use of…

I will also stretch out mine hand upon Judah Under whom the tribe of Benjamin is comprehended, which are only designed; the ten tribes having been carried captive in Hezekiah’s time many years before this: not “to Judah”, as beckoning to come and hearken to him, as calling to repentance and…

And upon them that worship the host of heaven upon the house tops The sun, moon, and stars, which some worshipped upon their house tops; the roofs of their houses being flat, as the roofs of the houses of the Jews generally were; from hence they had a full view of the host of heaven, and worshipped…

And them that are turned back from the Lord Who once were worshippers of him, but now become apostates, and had turned their backs on him and his worship.

Hold thy peace at the presence of the Lord God When he comes forth, and appears in the way of his judgments, do not dispute the point with him, or pretend to offer reasons against his proceedings, or in order to disprove the justice of them; stand in awe and reverence of him, who is the Lord God…

And it shall come to pass in the day of the Lord’s sacrifice, &c.] When the above sacrifice prepared shall be offered, and the slaughter of his people made, when his wrath shall be poured out upon them, within the time of its beginning and ending: that I will punish the princes, and the king’s…

In the same day also will I punish all those that leap on the threshold Not in a ludicrous way, who, by dancing and leaping, made sport for persons, and brought their masters much gain, as the damsel possessed with a spirit of divination did, rather, that entered rashly and irreverently into the…

And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord, &c.] In the day of the Lord’s sacrifice, when he shall punish the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem by the Chaldeans; which, as well as what follows, shall surely come to pass, because the Lord has said it; for not one word of his shall pass…

Howl, ye inhabitants of Maktesh The name of a street in Jerusalem, as Aben Ezra; perhaps it lay low in the hollow of the city, and in the form of a mortar, from whence it might have its name, as the word [[15]] signifies; which is used both for a hollow place and for a mortar, unless it might be so…

And it shall come to pass at that time, that I will search Jerusalem with candles To find out the sins of the inhabitants of it, and the authors of them, and punish them for them, however hid and concealed from the eyes of others, or thought to be: this must be understood consistent with the…

Therefore their goods shall become a booty To the enemy; the riches they trusted in, and thought themselves so secure of; and therefore denied divine Providence, which ought to be depended upon amidst the greatest affluence; or otherwise the Lord has various ways by which he can soon strip men of…

The great day of the Lord is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly Not the day of judgment, but the day of God’s vengeance upon the Jews, which yet bore some resemblance to that day of the Lord, and it may be therefore so called; as the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans had some likeness to…

That day is a day of wrath Both of the wrath of God against his people for their sins; these judgments being the effects of his wrath, provoked by their iniquities; and of the wrath and cruelty of the Chaldeans, exercised in a furious manner: a day of trouble and distress; to the inhabitants of…

A day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities, &c.] The trumpet of the enemy, sounding the alarm of war against the fenced cities of Judea, which were taken before Jerusalem; calling and gathering the soldiers together, and animating them to the assault of them; and blowing them in a way…

And I will bring distress upon men Not upon men in general, but particularly on the men of Judea, and inhabitants of Jerusalem; and especially those that were in the fenced cities and high towers; and who might think themselves safe and secure; but, being besieged, should be distressed with famine…

Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the Lord’s wrath Which they have gotten in an unjust way, and have hoarded up, and put their confidence in; these were the lees on which they were settled; but now, as they would be disregarded by the Lord, as…