Woe to her that is rebellious and polluted! to the oppressing city!
She obeyed not the voice; she received not {Or, instruction}correction; she trusted not in Jehovah; she drew not near to her God.
Her princes in the midst of her are roaring lions; her judges are evening wolves; they {Or, gnaw not the bones on the morrow}leave nothing till the morrow.
Her prophets are light and treacherous persons; her priests have profaned the sanctuary, they have done violence to the law.
Jehovah in the midst of her is righteous; he will not do iniquity; {Hebrew: morning by morning.}every morning doth he bring his justice to light, he faileth not; but the unjust knoweth no shame.
I have cut off nations; their {Or, corner towers}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.
I said, Only fear thou me; receive {Or, instruction}correction; so her dwelling shall not be cut off, {Or, however I have punished her}according to all that I have appointed concerning her: but they rose early and corrupted all their doings.
Therefore wait ye for me, saith Jehovah, until the day that I rise up to the prey; for my {Hebrew: judgement.}determination is to gather the nations, that I may assemble the kingdoms, to pour upon them mine indignation, even all my fierce anger; for all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of my jealousy.
For then will I turn to the peoples of a pure {Hebrew: lip.}language, that they may all call upon the name of Jehovah, to serve him with one {Hebrew: shoulder.}consent.
From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia {Or, shall they bring my suppliants, even the daughter of my dispersed, for an offering unto me}my suppliants, even the daughter of my dispersed, shall bring mine offering.
In that day shalt thou not be put to shame for all thy doings, wherein thou hast transgressed against me; for then I will take away out of the midst of thee {Or, them that exult in thy majesty}thy proudly exulting ones, and thou shalt no more be haughty in my holy mountain.
But I will leave in the midst of thee an afflicted and poor people, and they shall take refuge in the name of Jehovah.
The remnant of Israel shall not do iniquity, nor speak lies; neither shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth; for they shall feed and lie down, and none shall make them afraid.
Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel; be glad and rejoice with all the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem.
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 {Another reading is see.}fear evil any more.
In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem, Fear thou not; {Or, and to Zion}O Zion, let not thy hands be slack.
Jehovah thy God is in the midst of thee, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will {Hebrew: be silent.}rest in his love; he will joy over thee with singing.
{Or, They have been sorrowful for the solemn assembly which I took away from thee, for the lifting up of reproach against her}I will gather them that sorrow for the solemn assembly, who were of thee; to whom the burden upon {According to another reading, thee.}her was a reproach.
Behold, at that time I will deal with all them that afflict thee; and I will save that which is lame, and gather that which was driven away; and I will make them a praise and a name, whose shame hath been in all the earth.
At that time I will bring you in, and at that time I will gather you; for I will make you a name and a praise among all the peoples of the earth, when I {Or, return to}bring back your captivity before your eyes, saith Jehovah.
Querverweise zu Zephanja 3,3 Zeph 3,3
According as I have seen, they that plow iniquity,And sow {Or, mischief}trouble, reap the same.
By the breath of God they perish,And by the blast of his anger are they consumed.
The roaring of the lion, and the voice of the fierce lion,And the teeth of the young lions, are broken.
The old lion perisheth for lack of prey,And the whelps of the lioness are scattered abroad.
Wherefore a lion out of the forest shall slay them, a wolf of the {Or, deserts}evenings shall destroy them, a leopard shall watch against their cities; every one that goeth out thence shall be torn in pieces; because their transgressions are many, and their backslidings are increased.
He sitteth in the lurking-places of the villages;In the secret places doth he murder the innocent;His eyes are privily set against the {Or, hapless}helpless.
He lurketh in secret as a lion in his covert;He lieth in wait to catch the poor:He doth catch the poor, when he draweth him in his net.
{Another reading is, And being crushed.}He croucheth, he boweth down,And the {Or, hapless}helpless fall by his strong ones.
Their horses also are swifter than leopards, and are more fierce than the evening wolves; and their horsemen {Or, spread themselves}press proudly on: yea, their horsemen come from far; they fly as an eagle that hasteth to devour.
As a roaring lion, and a ranging bear,So is a wicked ruler over a poor people.
Thy princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves; every one loveth bribes, and followeth after rewards: they judge not the fatherless, neither doth the cause of the widow come unto them.
But thine eyes and thy heart are not but for thy {Or, dishonest gain}covetousness, and for shedding innocent blood, and for oppression, and for violence, to do it.
Behold, the princes of Israel, every one according to his {Hebrew: arm.}power, have been in thee to shed blood.
There is a conspiracy of her prophets in the midst thereof, like a roaring lion ravening the prey: they have devoured souls; they take treasure and precious things; they have made her widows many in the midst thereof.
Her priests have done violence to my law, and have profaned my holy things: they have made no distinction between the holy and the common, neither have they caused men to discern between the unclean and the clean, and have hid their eyes from my sabbaths, and I am profaned among them.
Her princes in the midst thereof are like wolves ravening the prey, to shed blood, and to destroy souls, that they may get dishonest gain.
And I said, Hear, I pray you, ye heads of Jacob, and rulers of the house of Israel: is it not for you to know justice?
ye who hate the good, and love the evil; who pluck off their skin from off them, and their flesh from off their bones;
who also eat the flesh of my people, and flay their skin from off them, and break their bones, and chop them in pieces, as for the pot, and as flesh within the caldron.
Then shall they cry unto Jehovah, but he will not answer them; yea, he will hide his face from them at that time, according as they have wrought evil in their doings.
Hear this, I pray you, ye heads of the house of Jacob, and rulers of the house of Israel, that abhor justice, and pervert all equity.
They build up Zion with blood, and Jerusalem with iniquity.
The heads thereof judge for reward, and the priests thereof teach for hire, and the prophets thereof divine for money: yet they lean upon Jehovah, and say, Is not Jehovah in the midst of us? no evil shall come upon us.