Zephaniah 3:6
in Zephaniah 3“I have cut off the nations; their corner towers are destroyed. I have made their streets deserted with no one to pass through. Their cities are laid waste, with no man, no inhabitant.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
I have cut off nations; their battlements are desolate; I have made their streets waste, so that none passeth by; their cities are destroyed, so that there is no man, so that there is no inhabitant.
KJV
I have cut off the nations: their towers are desolate; I made their streets waste, that none passeth by: their cities are destroyed, so that there is no man, that there is none inhabitant.
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This verse in Zephaniah 3
Commentary
8 notes on this verse(Chapter 3, verses 1 onwards) Woe to the provoking and redeemed city: the dove did not hear the voice and did not receive discipline. It did not trust in the Lord and did not approach its God. Its princes are in its midst, like roaring lions. Its judges are wolves of the evening, they do not leave anything for the morning. Its prophets are insane, unfaithful men. Its priests have defiled the holy, they have acted unjustly against the law. The Lord is righteous; he will not do injustice.
This site's exposition
I made their streets waste
on Zephaniah 3:6-7
The Lord points Jerusalem to the very judgments chapter 2 has just pronounced on the nations as a warning already carried out before her eyes, towers desolate and streets so wasted that none passes by, meant to teach the lesson before it had to be applied at home. Verse 7's I said, Surely thou wilt fear me states the purpose plainly, the destruction of others intended as instruction rather than mere entertainment or distant news. But they rose early, and corrupted all their doings answers the intended lesson with its opposite, diligence turned toward corruption rather than correction, the same eagerness Judah shows for evil that a faithful people would show for good.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
I have cut off the nations,....
By way of promise of mercy and grace, which God had yet in reserve for them. Two general heads of promises here are:-- 1. That God would bring in a glorious work of reformation among them, cleanse them from their sins, and bring them home to himself; many promises of this kind here are,
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
I had hoped that My people by My judgments on other nations would be led to amendment; but they are not, so blinded by sin are they. towers--literally, "angles" or "corners"; hence the towers built at the angles of their city walls.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
The just Lord--Why then are ye so unjust? is in the midst thereof--He retorts on them their own boast, "Is not the Lord among us" (Mic 3:11)? True He is, but it is for another end from what ye think [CALVIN]; namely, to lead you by the example of His righteousness to be righteous.
I have cut off the nations - Syria, Israel, and those referred to, Isa 36:18, Isa 36:20. - Newcome.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
I have cut off the nations - God appeals to His judgments on pagan nations, not on any particular nation, as far as we know; but to past history, whether of those, of whose destruction Israel itself had been the instrument, or others.
The words behind it
14 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הִכְרַ֣תִּי | hikhrati | I have cut off | H3772 → | 288 times |
| גוֹיִ֗ם | goyim | nations | H1471 → | 561 times |
| נָשַׁ֙מּוּ֙ | nashamu | they are desolate | H8074 → | |
| פִּנּוֹתָ֔ם | pinotam | corners their | H6438 → | |
| הֶחֱרַ֥בְתִּי | hecheravti | I have made desolate | H2717 → | |
| חֽוּצוֹתָ֖ם | chutzotam | streets their | H2351 → | |
| מִבְּלִ֣י | mibeli | because not | H1097 → | |
| עוֹבֵ֑ר | over | [one who] passes by | H5674 → | 556 times |
| נִצְדּ֧וּ | nitzdu | they have been laid waste | H6658 → | |
| עָרֵיהֶ֛ם | ʾareihem | cities their | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| מִבְּלִי־ | mibeli- | because not | H1097 → | |
| אִ֖ישׁ | ʾish | anyone | H376 → | |
| מֵאֵ֥ין | meein | from not | H369 → | 789 times |
| יוֹשֵֽׁב׃ | yoshev | inhabitant | H3427 → | 1079 times |
הִכְרַ֣תִּיI have cut off
hikhratiH3772 →288 times
גוֹיִ֗םnations
goyimH1471 →561 times
נָשַׁ֙מּוּ֙they are desolate
nashamuH8074 →
פִּנּוֹתָ֔םcorners their
pinotamH6438 →
הֶחֱרַ֥בְתִּיI have made desolate
hecheravtiH2717 →
חֽוּצוֹתָ֖םstreets their
chutzotamH2351 →
מִבְּלִ֣יbecause not
mibeliH1097 →
עוֹבֵ֑ר[one who] passes by
overH5674 →556 times
נִצְדּ֧וּthey have been laid waste
nitzduH6658 →
עָרֵיהֶ֛םcities their
ʾareihemH5892 →1090 times
מִבְּלִי־because not
mibeli-H1097 →
אִ֖ישׁanyone
ʾishH376 →
מֵאֵ֥יןfrom not
meeinH369 →789 times
יוֹשֵֽׁב׃inhabitant
yoshevH3427 →1079 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
1 Corinthians 10:11Now these things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come.
it leads to
- Romans 15:4
For everything that was written in the past was written for our instruction, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures, we might have hope.
- Romans 13:11
And do this, understanding the occasion. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, for our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.
- 1 Corinthians 9:10
Isn’t He actually speaking on our behalf? Indeed, this was written for us, because when the plowman plows and the thresher threshes, they should also expect to share in the harvest.
- 1 John 2:18
Children, it is the last hour; and just as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have appeared. This is how we know it is the last hour.
- Philippians 4:5
Let your gentleness be apparent to all. The Lord is near.
- Romans 15:4
Through
1 Corinthians 10:6These things took place as examples to keep us from craving evil things as they did.
it leads to
- Jude 1:7
In like manner, Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, who indulged in sexual immorality and pursued strange flesh, are on display as an example of those who sustain the punishment of eternal…
- 1 Corinthians 10:11
Now these things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come.
- 2 Peter 2:6
if He condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction, reducing them to ashes as an example of what is coming on the ungodly;
- Jude 1:7
Where this verse is studied
About Zephaniah
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); 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 and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
