Zephaniah 3:15
in Zephaniah 3The LORD has taken away your punishment; He has turned back your enemy. Israel’s King, the LORD, is among you; no longer will you fear any harm.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Jehovah hath taken away thy judgments, he hath cast out thine enemy: the King of Israel, even Jehovah, is in the midst of thee; thou shalt not fear evil any more.
KJV
The Lord hath taken away thy judgments, he hath cast out thine enemy: the king of Israel, even the Lord, is in the midst of thee: thou shalt not see evil any more.
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This verse in Zephaniah 3
Commentary
14 notes on this verseThe spiritual and holy Zion—that is, the church, the holy multitude of the believers—is justified in Christ and only in him. By him and through him we are also saved as we escape from the harm of the invisible enemies, for we have a Mediator who was incarnated in our form, the king of all, that is, the Word of God the Father. Thanks to him, we do not see evil anymore, for we have been delivered from the powers of evil.
This site's exposition
Sing, O daughter of Zion
on Zephaniah 3:14-17
The command to sing answers every woe and every wait of the book with unmixed joy, the daughter of Zion and daughter of Jerusalem addressed together as one people told to rejoice with all the heart rather than half measure. Verse 15's the king of Israel, even the Lord, is in the midst of thee identifies the ruler the whole book has been building toward, not a human throne restored but the Lord himself reigning in the city he searched with candles at 1:12. Verse 17 is the book's own summit and the Twelve's tenderest line, he will rejoice over thee with joy, he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing, the Lord pictured not merely forgiving Zion but singing over her, an image the bench calls unmatched anywhere else in the prophets for its warmth.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers4 voices
(Verse 14 and following) Praise, daughter of Zion, shout for joy, Israel, rejoice and exult with all your heart, daughter of Jerusalem. The Lord has taken away your judgment, he has turned away your enemies: the Lord, the King of Israel, is in your midst, you will no longer fear evil.
Live now in utter delight, O Jerusalem, living in complete happiness and satisfaction; for God has removed all your lawless deeds and of necessity has rescued you from the power of the foe, to whom you were subjected in paying the penalty of punishment. The …
Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Sion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem; be glad and rejoice with all the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem; the Lord hath taken away thine iniquities. The King of Israel, even the Lord, is in the midst of thee; thou shalt …
Take heart, O Jerusalem, the Lord will take away your iniquities. The Lord will wash away the filth of his sons and daughters by the spirit of judgment and the spirit of burning. He will pour upon you clean water, and you shall be cleansed from all your sins. Choiring angels shall encircle you, chanting, "Who is it that comes up all white and leaning upon her beloved?" For the soul that was formerly a slave has now accounted its Lord as its kinsman, and he, acknowledging its sincere purpose, will answer, "Ah, you are beautiful, my beloved, ah, you are beautiful … your teeth are like a flock of ewes to be shorn"—a sincere confession is a spiritual shearing. And further: "all of them big with twins," signifying the twofold grace, either that perfected by water and the Spirit or that announced in the Old and in the New Testament. God grant that all of you, your course of fasting finished, mindful of the teaching, fruitful in good works, standing blameless before the spiritual bridegroom, may obtain the remission of your sins from God, in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Taken away - Abolished, and put an end to the judgments thy sins brought upon thee. Thine enemy - The Babylonian. Is in the midst - He is returned to redeem and govern thee.
7 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
Thus the "Redeemer shall come to Zion," and to clear his own way, shall "turn away ungodliness from Jacob." These promises were to have their full accomplishment in gospel-times and gospel-graces. The Depravity of Jerusalem. 1 Woe to her that is filthy and polluted, to the oppressing city!
): " The Lord has taken away thy judgments, has removed all the calamities thou hast been groaning under, which were the punishments of thy sin; the noise of war shall be silenced, the reproach of famine done away, and the captivity brought back. Though some grievances remain, they shall be only afflictions, and not judgments, for sin shall be pardoned.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens+odd-straight-quotes
The Lord hath taken away thy judgments,....
"He is the Lord thy God, thine in covenant, and he is in the midst of thee as thy God, whom thou hast an interest in and whose own thou art. He has put himself into dear relations to thee, laid himself by promise under obligations to thee, and, that thou mayest have abundant comfort in both, he is in the midst of thee, nigh at hand to answer both." 3.
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
After the taking away of sin (Zep 3:13) follows the taking away of trouble. When the cause is removed, the effect will cease. Happiness follows in the wake of holiness. the Lord is in the midst of thee--Though He seemed to desert thee for a time, He is now present as thy safeguard (Zep 3:17). not see evil any more--Thou shalt not experience it (Jer 5:12;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
The King of Israel, even the Lord, is in the midst of thee - They have never had a king since the death of Zedekiah, and never shall have one till they have the King Messiah to reign among them; and this promise refers to that event.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The Lord hath taken away thy judgments - Her own, because brought upon her by her sins. But when God takes away the chastisements in mercy, He removes and forgives the sin too.
The words behind it
13 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הֵסִ֤יר | hesir | he has removed | H5493 → | |
| יְהוָה֙ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| מִשְׁפָּטַ֔יִךְ | mishpatayikh | judgments your | H4941 → | 422 times |
| פִּנָּ֖ה | pinah | he has cleared away | H6437 → | |
| אֹֽיְבֵ֑ךְ | ʾoyevekh | enemy your | H341 → | |
| מֶ֣לֶךְ | melekh | [the] king of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֤ל׀ | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| יְהוָה֙ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| בְּקִרְבֵּ֔ךְ | bekirbekh | [is] in midst your | H7130 → | 227 times |
| לֹא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תִֽירְאִ֥י | tiri | you will fear | H3372 → | 315 times |
| רָ֖ע | ra' | evil | H7451 → | |
| עֽוֹד׃ | od | again | H5750 → | 490 times |
הֵסִ֤ירhe has removed
hesirH5493 →
יְהוָה֙Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
מִשְׁפָּטַ֔יִךְjudgments your
mishpatayikhH4941 →422 times
פִּנָּ֖הhe has cleared away
pinahH6437 →
אֹֽיְבֵ֑ךְenemy your
ʾoyevekhH341 →
מֶ֣לֶךְ[the] king of
melekhH4428 →2525 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֤ל׀Israel
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
יְהוָה֙Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
בְּקִרְבֵּ֔ךְ[is] in midst your
bekirbekhH7130 →227 times
לֹא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
תִֽירְאִ֥יyou will fear
tiriH3372 →315 times
רָ֖עevil
ra'H7451 →
עֽוֹד׃again
odH5750 →490 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Isaiah 60:18No longer will violence be heard in your land, nor ruin or destruction within your borders. But you will name your walls Salvation and your gates Praise.
it leads to
- Isaiah 26:1
In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah: We have a strong city; salvation is established as its walls and ramparts.
- Isaiah 11:9
They will neither harm nor destroy on all My holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the sea is full of water.
- Zechariah 9:8
But I will camp around My house because of an army, because of those who march to and fro, and never again will an oppressor overrun My people, for now I keep watch with…
- Isaiah 26:1
Through
Amos 9:15I will firmly plant them in their own land, never again to be uprooted from the land that I have given them,” says the LORD your God.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 24:6
I will keep My eyes on them for good and will return them to this land. I will build them up and not tear them down; I will plant them and not uproot them.
- Ezekiel 37:25
They will live in the land that I gave to My servant Jacob, where your fathers lived. They will live there forever with their children and grandchildren, and My servant David will be their…
- Isaiah 60:21
Then all your people will be righteous; they will possess the land forever; they are the branch of My planting, the work of My hands, so that I may be glorified.
- Jeremiah 24:6
Through
Zephaniah 3:5The LORD within her is righteous; He does no wrong. He applies His justice morning by morning; He does not fail at dawn, yet the unjust know no shame.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 32:4
He is the Rock, His work is perfect; all His ways are just. A God of faithfulness without injustice, righteous and upright is He.
- Deuteronomy 32:4
Through
Genesis 30:23and she conceived and gave birth to a son. “God has taken away my shame,” she said.
it leads to
- Luke 1:25
“The Lord has done this for me. In these days He has shown me favor and taken away my disgrace among the people.”
- Luke 1:25
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies3
On this verse
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About Zephaniah
This page draws on 13 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Carl Friedrich Keil, The Twelve Minor Prophets; Cosmas Indicopleustes, The Christian Topography, Book 5; Cyril of Alexandria, COMMENTARY ON ZEPHANIAH 43; Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lecture 3:16; Edward Bouverie Pusey, The Minor Prophets: A Commentary; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Zephaniah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Theodore of Mopsuestia, COMMENTARY ON ZEPHANIAH 3:11-15.