Zephaniah 3:1-2 NIV

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

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

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Zephaniah 3:1

Verse 1 The Prophet speaks here again against Jerusalem; for first, the Jews ought ever to have been severely reproved, as they were given to many sins; and secondly, because there was always there some seed which needed consolation: and this has been the way pursued, as we have hitherto seen, by all the Prophets. But we must also bear in mind, that the books now extant were made up of prophetic addresses, that we might understand what was the sum of the doctrine delivered. The Prophet here... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Zephaniah 3:1

Woe to her! This is addressed to Jerusalem, as is seen by Zephaniah 3:2-4 . Filthy ; rather, rebellious, i.e. against God. The LXX ; mistaking the word, renders ἐπιφανής , "notable." So the Syriac. Jerome has provocatrix. The true sense is seen by the expansion of the term in Zephaniah 3:2 . polluted by her many sins. Jerome, following the Septuagint ἀπολευτρωμένη , "ransomed," has, redempta, which he explains, "Captivitatibus traditia, et rursum redempta." The... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Zephaniah 3:1-5

§ 6. The prophet turns to Jerusalem, and warns her that, if God punishes the heathen, he will not spare the hardened sinners in Judah. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Zephaniah 3:1-5

"Woe to her that is filthy and polluted, to the oppressing city! She obeyed not the voice; she received not correction; she trusted not in the Lord; she drew not near to her God," etc. "To give still greater emphasis to his exhortation to repentance, the prophet turns to Jerusalem again, that he may once more hold up before the hardened sinners the abominations of this city in which Jehovah daily proclaims his right, and shows the necessity for the judgment, as the only way that is left by... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Zephaniah 3:1-8

Having taken a mental survey of the surrounding heathen nations, the seer returns again in thought to his own people. It was, indeed, in their interest that he had been led to take this wide review of God's dealings with men. He desired to make very real to them the Divine law that sin cannot go unpunished, and that national guilt must inevitably be followed by chastisement; yea, more, that if this law operated in heathen lands, much more might they expect to come under it who had enjoyed the... read more

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

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

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

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

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

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Zephaniah 3:1

The Pulpit Commentary - Zephaniah 3:1

The Pulpit Commentary - Zephaniah 3:1-5

The Pulpit Commentary - Zephaniah 3:1-5

The Pulpit Commentary - Zephaniah 3:1-8

Group of Brands