Zephaniah 3:1 - Exposition.

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 oppressing city, that acts unjustly and cruelly to the weak and poor. So the three sins for which she is here denounced are that she is rebellious against God, defiled with sin in herself, and cruel to others. The Septuagiut and Vulgate translate jonah ("oppressing") "dove," which seems singularly inappropriate here, though some try to explain it as applied to Jerusalem in the sense of "silly" or "stupid" ( Hosea 7:11 )