Zephaniah 2:3
in Zephaniah 2Seek the LORD, all you humble of the earth who carry out His justice. Seek righteousness; seek humility. Perhaps you will be sheltered on the day of the LORD’s anger.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Seek ye Jehovah, all ye meek of the earth, that have kept his ordinances; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye will be hid in the day of Jehovah’s anger.
KJV
Seek ye the Lord, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the Lord’s anger.
⋯
This verse in Zephaniah 2
Commentary
10 notes on this verse(Verse 3, 4) Seek the Lord, all you meek of the earth, who have practiced His judgment; seek justice, seek meekness, perhaps you shall be hidden in the day of the Lord's fury. For Gaza shall be deserted, and Ashkelon shall become a desolation. Ashdod shall be driven out at noon, and Ekron shall be uprooted. LXX: Seek the Lord, all you lowly of the earth; do justice, seek righteousness, and answer it, that you may be protected in the day of the Lord's wrath.
This site's exposition
O shameful nation
on Zephaniah 2:1-3
The call to "gather together" goes to the "shameful nation", summoning it to repentance "before the decree takes effect." Verse 3 closes on "Perhaps you will be sheltered," from the root of the name Zephaniah, the LORD hides. The seeking is commanded while the shelter stays a possibility.
This site's exposition
Seek the LORD, all you humble of the earth
The call to seek comes three times, for the LORD, for righteousness and for humility, and goes to the humble who already keep His justice. It offers shelter with no guarantee. Albert Barnes reads the verse as a call to the faithful to persevere.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
), and this inferred from the revelation of God's wrath against them in the foregoing chapter. A denunciation of the judgments of God against several of the neighbouring nations that had assisted, or rejoiced in, the calamity of Israel.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
Seek - Fear, worship, depend on him alone. Ye meek - Ye humble ones. Wrought his judgment - Obeyed his precepts.
Seek ye the Lord, all ye meek of the earth,.... Or "of the land", of the land of Judea.
(2.) They must seek righteousness. "Seek to God for the performance of his promises to you, and see to it that you abound yet more in duty to him; seek for the righteousness of Christ to be imputed to you, for the graces of God's Spirit to be implanted in you; hunger and thirst after them." (3.) They must seek meekness.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Seek ye the Lord - He had exhorted sinners to penitence; he now calls the righteous to persevere and increase more and more. He bids them “seek diligently” , and that with a three-fold call, to seek Him from whom they received daily the three-fold blessing Num 6:23-26, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, as he had just before threatened God’s impending judgment with the same use of the mysterious number, three.
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
The meek are not to regard what the multitudes do, but seek God at once. his judgment--that is, law. The true way of "seeking the Lord" is to "work judgment," not merely to be zealous about outward ordinances. seek meekness--not perversely murmuring against God's dealings, but patiently submitting to them, and composedly waiting for deliverance. it may be ye shall be hid-- (Isa 26:20;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
Ye meek of the earth - ענוי anavey, ye oppressed and humbled of the land. It may be ye shall be hid - The sword has not a commission against you. Ask God, and he will be a refuge to you from the storm and from the tempest.
The words behind it
18 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| בַּקְּשׁ֤וּ | bakeshu | seek | H1245 → | 225 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| יְהוָה֙ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | O all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| עַנְוֵ֣י | ʾanvei | [the] humble [people] of | H6035 → | |
| הָאָ֔רֶץ | haaretz | the land | H776 → | 2504 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | who | H834 → | 5497 times |
| מִשְׁפָּט֖וֹ | mishpato | judgment his | H4941 → | 422 times |
| פָּעָ֑לוּ | paalu | they have done | H6466 → | |
| בַּקְּשׁוּ־ | bakeshu- | seek | H1245 → | 225 times |
| צֶ֙דֶק֙ | tzedek | righteousness | H6664 → | |
| בַּקְּשׁ֣וּ | bakeshu | seek | H1245 → | 225 times |
| עֲנָוָ֔ה | ʾanavah | humility | H6038 → | |
| אוּלַי֙ | ʾulai | perhaps | H194 → | |
| תִּסָּ֣תְר֔וּ | tisateru | you will be hidden | H5641 → | |
| בְּי֖וֹם | beyom | on [the] day of | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| אַף־ | ʾaf- | [the] anger of | H639 → | 276 times |
| יְהוָֽה׃ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
בַּקְּשׁ֤וּseek
bakeshuH1245 →225 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
יְהוָה֙Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
כָּל־O all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
עַנְוֵ֣י[the] humble [people] of
ʾanveiH6035 →
הָאָ֔רֶץthe land
haaretzH776 →2504 times
אֲשֶׁ֥רwho
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
מִשְׁפָּט֖וֹjudgment his
mishpatoH4941 →422 times
פָּעָ֑לוּthey have done
paaluH6466 →
בַּקְּשׁוּ־seek
bakeshu-H1245 →225 times
צֶ֙דֶק֙righteousness
tzedekH6664 →
בַּקְּשׁ֣וּseek
bakeshuH1245 →225 times
עֲנָוָ֔הhumility
ʾanavahH6038 →
אוּלַי֙perhaps
ʾulaiH194 →
תִּסָּ֣תְר֔וּyou will be hidden
tisateruH5641 →
בְּי֖וֹםon [the] day of
beyomH3117 →2304 times
אַף־[the] anger of
ʾaf-H639 →276 times
יְהוָֽה׃Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 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
Psalms 22:26The poor will eat and be satisfied; those who seek the LORD will praise Him. May your hearts live forever!
it leads to
- Psalms 69:32
The humble will see and rejoice. You who seek God, let your hearts be revived!
- Psalms 40:16
May all who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; may those who love Your salvation always say, “The LORD be magnified!”
- Isaiah 65:13
Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: “My servants will eat, but you will go hungry; My servants will drink, but you will go thirsty; My servants will rejoice, but you will be…
- Psalms 105:3–4
Glory in His holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice.
- Psalms 107:9
For He satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.
- Psalms 69:32
Through
Psalms 76:9when God rose up to judge, to save all the lowly of the earth. Selah
it leads to
- Matthew 5:5
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
- Psalms 9:7–9
But the LORD abides forever; He has established His throne for judgment.
- Isaiah 11:4
but with righteousness He will judge the poor, and with equity He will decide for the lowly of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth and slay the…
- Matthew 5:5
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Zephaniah
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Edward Bouverie Pusey, The Minor Prophets: A Commentary; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Zephaniah; John Calvin, Commentaries on the Twelve Minor Prophets; 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.