7 [1] Be silent before e the Lord [2]GOD ! For the day of the Lord is near , For the Lord has prepared a sacrifice , He has consecrated His guests . 8 "Then it will come about on the day of the Lord'S sacrifice That I will punish the princes , the king's sons And all who clothe themselves with foreign garments . 9 "And I will punish on that day all who leap on the temple threshold , Who fill the house of their [3]lord with violence and deceit . 10 "On that day ," declares the Lord , "There will be the sound of a cry from the Fish Gate , A wail from the [4] Second Quarter, And a loud crash from the hills . 11 "Wail , O inhabitants of the [5]Mortar , For all the [6]people of Canaan will be silenced ; All who weigh out silver will be cut off . 12 "It will come about at that time That I will search Jerusalem with lamps , And I will punish the men Who are [7] stagnant in spirit , Who say in their hearts , 'The Lord will not do good or evil !' 13 "Moreover, their wealth will become plunder And their houses desolate ; Yes, they will build houses but not inhabit them, And plant vineyards but not drink their wine ."
14 Near is the great day of the Lord , Near and coming very quickly ; Listen , the day of the Lord ! [8]In it the warrior cries out bitterly . 15 A day of wrath is that day , A day of trouble and distress , A day of destruction and desolation , A day of darkness and gloom , A day of clouds and thick darkness , 16 A day of trumpet and battle cry Against the fortified cities And the high corner towers . 17 I will bring distress on men So that they will walk like the blind , Because they have sinned against the Lord ; And their blood will be poured out like dust And their flesh like dung . 18 Neither e their silver nor their gold Will be able to deliver them On the day of the Lord'S wrath ; And all the earth will be devoured In the fire of His jealousy , For He will make a complete end , Indeed a terrifying one, Of all the inhabitants of the earth .
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Zephaniah 1:7-18
Commentary on Zephaniah 1:7-13
(Read Zephaniah 1:7-13)
God's day is at hand; the punishment of presumptuous sinners is a sacrifice to the justice of God. The Jewish royal family shall be reckoned with for their pride and vanity; and those that leap on the threshold, invading their neighbours' rights, and seizing their possessions. The trading people and the rich merchants are called to account. Secure and careless people are reckoned with. They are secure and easy; they say in their heart, the Lord will not do good, neither will he do evil; that is, they deny his dispensing rewards and punishments. But in the day of the Lord's judgment, it will clearly appear that those who perish, fall a sacrifice to Divine justice for breaking God's law, and because they have no interest by faith in the Redeemer's atoning sacrifice.
Commentary on Zephaniah 1:14-18
(Read Zephaniah 1:14-18)
This warning of approaching destruction, is enough to make the sinners in Zion tremble; it refers to the great day of the Lord, the day in which he will show himself by taking vengeance on them. This day of the Lord is very near; it is a day of God's wrath, wrath to the utmost. It will be a day of trouble and distress to sinners. Let them not be laid asleep by the patience of God. What is a man profited if he gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? And what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? Let us flee from the wrath to come, and choose the good part that shall never be taken from us; then we shall be prepared for every event; nothing shall separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.