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Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Zephaniah 3:1-7

One would wonder that Jerusalem, the holy city, where God was known, and his name was great, should be the city of which this black character is here given, that a place which enjoyed such abundance of the means of grace should become so very corrupt and vicious, and that God should permit it to be so; yet so it is, to show that the law made nothing perfect; but if this be the true character of Jerusalem, as no doubt it is (for God's judgments will make none worse than they are), it is no... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Zephaniah 3:1

Woe to her that is filthy, and polluted ,.... Meaning the city of Jerusalem, and its inhabitants; not as before the Babylonish captivity, but after their return from it, under the second temple, as Abarbinel owns; and even as in the times before and at the coming of Christ, and the preaching of his apostles among them; as the whole series of the prophecy, and the connection of the several parts of it, show; and there are such plain intimations of the conversion of the Gentiles, and of such a... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Zephaniah 3:2

She obeyed not the voice ,.... Of his servants the prophets, as the Targum, by way of explanation, adds, who warned her of her sins and of her ruin. The inhabitants of Jerusalem hearkened not to the voice of John the Baptist, the forerunner of Christ, who gave notice of his coming; nor to the voice of Christ himself, who stretched out his hand all the day to a disobedient and gainsaying people; nor to the voice of his apostles, whose doctrines they contradicted and blasphemed; and put away... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Zephaniah 3:3

Her princes within her are roaring lions ,.... Or, "as roaring lions"; there being a defect of the note of similitude; which is supplied by the Targum, Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, Syriac, and Arabic versions. This is to be understood, not of the princes of the blood; but of civil magistrates in common; the members of the grand sanhedrim; the princes of the Jewish world, that crucified the Lord of glory; and who gaped upon him with their mouths like ravening and roaring lions, as is foretold... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Zephaniah 3:4

Her prophets are light and treacherous persons ,.... The false prophets, as the Targum and Kimchi explain it: these seem to design the lawyers spoken of in the New Testament, whose business it was to interpret the law to the people; these were "light" men, good for nothing, of no worth and value; light in knowledge, as Kimchi gives the sense of the word; men of no brains; empty headed men, that had no substantial knowledge; giddy, unstable, and inconstant, and compliant with the humours... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Zephaniah 3:5

The just Lord is in the midst thereof ,.... In the midst of the city of Jerusalem, where those princes, judges, prophets and priests, were, that behaved so ill, and saw and observed all their evil actions; and yet they were not deterred from them by his presence, even though he is the "just" and Holy One, who loves righteousness, and hates iniquity, and will punish for it; nor were they directed and allured to do what is righteous and good by his example. This character of the just Lord... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Zephaniah 3:1

Wo to her that is filthy - This is a denunciation of Divine judgment against Jerusalem. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Zephaniah 3:2

She obeyed not the voice - Of conscience, of God, and of his prophets. She received not correction - Did not profit by his chastisements; was uneasy and ill-tempered under her afflictions, and derived no manner of good from these chastisements. She trusted not in the Lord - Did not consider him as the Fountain whence all help and salvation should come; and rather sought for support from man and herself, than from God. She drew not near to her God - Did not worship him; did not... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Zephaniah 3:3

Her princes - are roaring lions - Tearing all to pieces without shadow of law, except their own despotic power. Her judges are evening wolves - Being a little afraid of the lion-like princes, they practice their unjust dealings from evening to morning, and take the day to find their rest. They gnaw not the bones till the morrow - They devour the flesh in the night, and gnaw the bones and extract the marrow afterwards. They use all violence and predatory oppression, like wild beasts;... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Zephaniah 3:4

Her prophets are light and treacherous persons - They have no seriousness, no deep conviction of the awful nature of their office, no concern for the immortal souls of the people. Treacherous persons - they betray the souls of the people for the sake of worldly honor, pleasure, and profit. Even in our own enlightened country we find prophets who prefer hunting the hare or the fox, and pursuing the partridge and pheasant, to visiting the sick, and going after the strayed, lost sheep of the... read more

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