Zephaniah 3:1-7

Zephaniah 3:1-7

[1] Woe  to her that is filthy  and polluted,  to the oppressing  city!  [2] She obeyed  not the voice;  she received  not correction;  she trusted  not in the LORD;  she drew not near  to her God.  [3] Her princes  within  her are roaring  lions;  her judges  are evening  wolves;  they gnaw not the bones  till the morrow.  [4] Her prophets  are light  and treacherous  persons:  her priests  have polluted  the sanctuary,  they have done violence  to the law.  [5] The just  LORD  is in the midst  thereof; he will not do  iniquity:  every  doth he bring  his judgment  to light,  he faileth  not; but the unjust  knoweth  no shame.  [6] 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.  [7] I said,  Surely thou wilt fear  me, thou wilt receive  instruction;  should not be cut off,  howsoever  I punished  them: but  they rose early,  and corrupted  all their doings. 

What does Zephaniah 3:1-7 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

Having announced that divine judgment would come on the nations around Judah ( Zephaniah 2:4-15), the prophet returned to the subject of Yahweh"s judgment on the Chosen People (cf. Zephaniah 1:4 to Zephaniah 2:3), but this time he focused more particularly on Jerusalem. Though he did not mention Jerusalem by name, it is clearly in view.
"Like Isaiah and Micah , he is a prophet of the city, open-eyed to its faults; unlike them, his focus is almost wholly civic and religious. But he draws the fundamental dividing line in the same place: whatever the basis on which the world is judged, the people of God are judged for turning from revealed truth ( Amos 2:4) and for neglecting proffered spiritual privileges ( Isaiah 65:2).
"Like Amos , Zephaniah uses the rhetorical device of condemning surrounding nations, but all the while-unannounced to his hearers-bringing their own condemnation ever closer." [1]