Zephaniah 2:1-15

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Zephaniah 2:1-3

Here we see what the prophet meant in that terrible description of the approaching judgments which we had in the foregoing chapter. From first to last his design was, not to drive the people to despair, but to drive them to God and to their duty?not to frighten them out of their wits, but to frighten them out of their sins. In pursuance of that he here calls them to repentance, national repentance, as the only way to prevent national ruin. Observe, I. The summons given them to a national... read more

Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Zephaniah 2:4-7

The prophet here comes to foretel what share the neighbouring nations should have in the destruction made upon those parts of the world by Nebuchadnezzar and his victorious Chaldees, as others of the prophets did at that time, which is designed, 1. To awaken the people of the Jews, by making them sensible how strong, how deep, how large, the inundation of calamities should be, that the day of the Lord, which was near, might appear the more dreadful, and they might thereby be quickened to... read more

Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Zephaniah 2:8-11

The Moabites and Ammonites were both of the posterity of Lot; their countries joined, and, both adjoining to Israel, they are here put together in the prophecy against them. I. They are both charged with the same crime, and that was reproaching and reviling the people of God and triumphing in their calamities (Zeph. 2:8): They have reproached my people; while God's people kept close to their duty it is probable that they reproached them for the singularities of their religion; and now that... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Zephaniah 2:1

Gather yourselves together ,.... This is said to the people of the Jews in general; that whereas the judgments of God were coming upon them, as predicted in the preceding chapter Zephaniah 1:1 , it was high time for them to get together, and consider what was to be done at such a juncture; it was right to call a solemn assembly, to gather the people, priests, and elders, together, to some one place, as Joel directs, Joel 1:14 the inhabitants of Jerusalem to the temple, and the people of... read more

John Gill

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

Before the decree bring forth, before the day pass as the chaff ,.... Which was like a woman big with child, ready to be delivered. The decree of God concerning the people of the Jews was pregnant with wrath and ruin for their sins, and just ripe for execution; and therefore, before it was actually executed, they are exhorted as above; not that the decree of God which was gone forth could be frustrated and made void by anything done by them; only that, when it was put into execution, such... read more

John Gill

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

Seek ye the Lord, all ye meek of the earth ,.... Or "of the land", of the land of Judea. In this time of great apostasy, there was a remnant according to the election of grace, whom the Lord reserved for himself, and bestowed his grace upon; and it is for the sake of these that the general exhortations to repentance and reformation are given out, to whom alone they were to be useful, that they might be protected and preserved from the general ruin; for such as are here described are persons... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Zephaniah 2:4

For Gaza shall be forsaken ,.... Therefore seek the Lord; and not to the Philistines, since they would be destroyed, to whom Gaza, and the other cities later mentioned, belonged; so Aben Ezra connects the words, suggesting that it would be in vain to flee thither for shelter, or seek for refuge there; though others think that this and what follows is subjoined, either to assure the Jews of their certain ruin, since this would be the case of the nations about them; or to alleviate their... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Zephaniah 2:5

Woe unto the inhabitants of the sea coasts, the nation of the Cherethites ,.... Which is a name of the Philistines in general, as Kimchi and Ben Melech; or these were a particular tribe belonging to them, that inhabited the southern part of their country; see 1 Samuel 30:14 those on the sea coast, the coast of the Mediterranean sea, and so lay between that and Judea: out of this nation, in the times of David and Solomon, were some choice soldiers selected, called the Cherethites and... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Zephaniah 2:6

And the sea coast shall be dwellings and cottages for shepherds ,.... That tract of land which lay on the coast of the Mediterranean sea, inhabited by the Philistines, should now become so desolate, that instead of towns and cities full of merchants and sea faring persons, and houses full of inhabitants, and warehouses full of goods, there should now only be seen a few huts and cottages for shepherds to dwell in, to shelter them from the heat by day, and where they watched their flocks by... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Zephaniah 2:7

And the coast shall be for the remnant of the house of Judah ,.... The same tract of land become so desolate through the Chaldeans, should in future time, when those that remained of the Jews were returned from their captivity in Babylon, be inhabited by them. This was fulfilled in the times of the Maccabees, when the cities of Palestine, being rebuilt, were subdued by the Jews, and fell into their hands; and it is plain that in the times of the apostles those places were inhabited by the... read more

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