Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Zephaniah 3:19
Behold, at that time I will undo all that afflict thee: and I will save her that halteth, and gather her that was driven out; and I will get them praise and fame in every land where they have been put to shame.
19. I will undo all that afflict thee ] As R.V., I will deal with all.
I will save her that halteth ] The people are spoken of under the metaphor of a flock, in which are some that are lame, and to which belong some that have been driven away. Hence the use of the fem. gender. Comp. Eze 34:16, “I will seek that which was lost, and will bring back again that which was driven away.” Mic 4:6-7.
I will get them praise ] As R.V., I will make them (to be) a praise and a name. Jer 33:9, “and this city shall be to me for a name of joy, for a praise and for a glory before all the nations of the earth, which shall hear all the good that I do unto them.” Cf. Jer 13:11. The precise sense is not clear. In the passages in Jer. the people, being righteous and blessed, are the source of praise and renown to Jehovah, whose people they are. But the meaning might be that the people themselves are the object of praise by the nations; Isa 61:9; Isa 62:7. Both ideas are elsewhere expressed; Jehovah bestows His glory on Israel (Isa 60:2), and this glory is reflected back upon Him, and He is glorified in Israel (Isa 44:23; Isa 49:3; Isa 60:21; Isa 61:3).
In every land put to shame ] A.V. marg., Heb. (every land) of their shame. R.V. renders: whose shame hath been in all the earth. Both renderings are possible, but both are unnatural. R.V. lays an unnatural emphasis upon the pronoun: “I will make them a praise and a name, whose shame,” &c., whereas “them” seems rather to refer back to “her that halteth” and “her that was driven away,” or, to the people generally. On the other hand, the construction assumed by A.V. is ungrammatical, although occasional instances of it appear. The Sept. rightly felt that the natural sense of the passage was: and I will make them a praise and a name in all the earth ( Zep 3:20), and so rendered. The Heb. word their shame, still remaining undisposed of in this rendering, the Sept. attached to the next verse: and they shall be ashamed at that time. This is quite unsatisfactory. But the analogy of Zep 3:20, a name and a praise among all the peoples of the earth, suggests that the expression their shame is not original.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Behold, at that time I will undo – (Literally, I deal with . While God punisheth not, He seemeth to sit still Isa 18:4, be silent Hab 1:13, asleep Psa 44:23. Then He shall act, He shall deal according to their deserts with all, evil men or devils, that afflict thee, His Church. The prophecy looked for a larger fulfillment than the destruction of Jerusalem, since the Romans who, in Gods Hands, avenged the blood of His saints, themselves were among those who afflicted her. And will save her, the flock or sheep that halteth (see Mic 4:6-7), Dionysius: imperfect in virtue and with trembling faith, and gather, like a good and tender shepherd, her that was driven out (see Isa 40:11); scattered and dispersed through persecutions. All infirmities within shall be healed; all troubles without, removed.
And I will get them praise and fame – (Literally, I will make them a praise and a name) in every land where they have been put to shame. . Throughout the whole world have they been the offscourings of all things 1Co 4:13; throughout the whole world should their praise be, as it is said, Thou shalt make them princes in all lands Psa 45:16. One of themselves saith, Ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; and base things of this world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are 1Co 1:26-28. Rup.: These He maketh a praise and a name there, where they were without name and dispraised, confounding by them and bringing to nought those wise and strong and mighty, in whose sight they were contemptible.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 19. I will undo all that afflict thee] They who have persecuted you shall be punished for it. It shows much malignity and baseness of mind, to afflict or reproach those who are lying under the chastising hand of God. This was the conduct of the Edomites, Moabites, and Ammonites, when the Jews were in adversity; and how severely did the Lord punish them for it! And he gave this as the reason for the severity of the punishment.
The first clause here is translated thus by Abp. Newcome: “Behold I will work with thee for thy sake at that time.” The original is obscure; and it may bear the above sense.
I will save her that halteth] See Mic 4:6, where there is a parallel place.
And gather her that was driven out] By captivity. The reference may be to renewing the covenant with the Jews, who were considered as an unfaithful spouse divorced by her husband. I will bring her back to my house.
I will get them praise and fame in every land] They shall become a great, a good, and a useful people. And as they are now a proverb of reproach, full of base wiles and degrading selfishness, they shall lose this character, and be totally changed; and they shall be as eminent for excellence, as they were before for baseness, in those countries where they had sojourned.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Behold; mark well.
I will undo; I will deal with them, do their work for them, as we say, I will break their power and dissolve their kingdom.
All that afflict thee; Babylonians who afflicted the Jews. and who were undone by Cyrus and his Persians.
I will save her that halteth; who is in great trouble and ready to fall, as Psa 38:16,17; who is under greatest distress, and hath least strength to bear, or get out.
Driven out; by force of the enemy, carried away captives, and scattered into far remote countries.
Get them praise and fame; vindicate them, as a people that are not rejected of their God, as the people of the great God of heaven and earth, as Psa 121:2.
In every land; among all people with whom they dwelt as strangers.
Where they have been put to shame; were scorned and reproached as slaves and abjects, whose God could not, or would not, help them, or had cast them off, and none other would take care of them. But now, gathered together by the Lord, they shall appear to be still his peculiar people and his delight.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
19. undoMAURERtranslates, “I will deal with,” that is, as they deserve.Compare Eze 23:25, where theHebrew is similarly translated. The destruction of Israel’sfoes precedes Israel’s restoration (Isa 66:15;Isa 66:16).
her that haltethallthat are helpless. Their weakness will be no barrier in the way of Myrestoring them. So in Ps 35:15,Margin, “halting” is used for adversity. AlsoEze 34:16; Mic 4:6;Mic 4:7.
I will get them praise,&c.literally, “I will make them (to become) a praise anda name,” &c.
shame (Eze34:29).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Behold, at that time I will undo all that afflict thee,…. Or, “I will do” w; their business for them; “slay” them, as the Vulgate Latin version; and make an entire destruction of them, as the Targum; bring them to utter ruin. This must be understood of antichrist, both eastern and western, the Turk and Pope, and all the antichristian states that have afflicted the Jews, or shall attempt to distress them at the time of their conversion; and will be fulfilled at the time of the pouring out of the seven vials of God’s wrath upon them, which will issue in the entire undoing and ruin of them, especially the seventh and last of them; which, when poured out, will clear the world of all the enemies of Christ, his church and people; and because this will be a wonderful event, and of great moment and importance, hence the word “behold” is prefixed to it, as exciting attention, as well as a note of admiration and asseveration: “and I will save her that halteth”, that has sinned, and is weak in faith, and cannot walk, at least but haltingly; which is like a lame and maimed sheep, of which there is danger of its being left behind and lost; but the Lord here promises he will take care of such, and save them from all their sins, and out of the hands of all their enemies; and bring them through all difficulties and discouragements into his church, and to their own land; they shall none of them be lost, even the meanest and weakest of them, any more than the healthful and strong:
and gather her that was driven out; even everyone that was scattered abroad in each of the nations of the world; [See comments on Mic 4:6] [See comments on Mic 4:7]:
and I will get them praise and fame in every land, where they have been put to shame; being converted, they shall be spoke well of everywhere; they shall be praised for their ingenuous acknowledgment of their sins; for their sincere repentance of them; and for their faith in Christ, and for their ready submission to his Gospel and ordinances; and the fame of their conversion shall be spread everywhere; and they shall be in great credit and esteem in all Christian countries, where their name has been used for a taunt and a proverb; and so, “instead of their shame”, as R. Moses interprets it, they shall have glory and honour in all places.
w “agam”, Tigurine version; “conficiam”, Castalio; “ego conficiens”, Calvin; “ego faciens, [vel] facio”, Burkius.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
He confirms here what I have referred to in the last verse that God would overcome all obstacles, when his purpose was to restore his people. On this the Prophet, as we have said, dwells, that the Jews might in their exile sustain themselves with the hope of deliverance. As, then, they could not instantly conceive what was so incredible according to the perceptions of the flesh, he testifies that there is sufficient power in God to subdue all enemies.
At that time, he says, he repeats what had been stated before—that his people must wait as long as God pleases to exercise them under the cross; for if their option had been given to the Jews, they would have willingly continued at their ease; and we know how men are wont to exempt themselves from every trouble, fear, and sorrow. As therefore men naturally desire rest and immunity from all evil, the Prophet here exhorts the faithful to patience, and shows, that it cannot be that God will become their deliverer, except they submit to his chastisement; at that time then. It is ever to be observed, that the Prophet condemns that extreme haste which usually takes hold of men when God chastises them. However slowly then and gradually God proceeds in the work of delivering his own, the Prophet shows here, that there was no reason for them to despair, or to be broken down in their spirits. (124)
He then subjoins, that he would save the halting, and restore the driven away. By these words he means, that though the Church would be maimed and torn, there would yet be nothing that could hinder God to restore her: for by the halting and the driven away he understands none other than one so stripped of power as wholly to fail in himself. He therefore compares the Church of God to a person, who, with relaxed limbs, is nearly dead. Hence, when we are useless as to any work, what else is our life but a languor like to death? But the Prophet declares here, that the seasonable time would come when God would relieve his own people: though they were to become prostrate and fallen, though they were to be scattered here and there, like a torn body of man, an arm here and a leg there, every limb separated; yet he declares that nothing could possibly prevent God to gather his Church and restore it to its full vigor and strength. In short, he means that the restoration of the Church would be a kind of resurrection; for the Lord would humble his people until they became almost lifeless, so as not to be able to breathe: but he would at length gather them, and so gather them that they would not only breathe but be replenished with such new vigor as though they had received no loss. I cannot finish the whole today.
(124) The first clause in this verse is amended by Newcome and some other in conformity with the Septuagint: but this is a very unsafe process. Henderson’s version is—Behold, I will deal with all thine oppressors at that time. “Deal,” [ עשה ]; “ interficiam —I will slay,” Vulg.; “ conficiam —I will make an end,” Drusius; but to “deal with,” or “act against,” is the literal rendering. More is implied than what is expressed, which is often the case with words used in every language.— Ed.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(19) I will undo.Better, I will deal with, as in Eze. 23:25. The clauses following are based on Mic. 4:6; Deu. 26:19.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
Zep 3:19. I will undo, &c. I will oppress. Houbigant; who observes, that from the 13th verse to the end of the chapter, the prophet speaks of the last return and restoration of the Jews; as the former part respected the rising church of the Christians; for Sion and Jerusalem point out the Jewish nation, which shall not see evil any more, as they saw it in the last destruction of their city and state by the Romans. Instead of before your eyes, in the next verse, it should be read before their eyes; that is, the eyes of the people of all the earth.
REFLECTIONS.1st, Jerusalem again is the burthen of this prophesy: where God might justly have expected all obedience, there nothing is found but abomination.
1. The whole city is full of wickedness. Woe to her that is filthy and polluted with complicated sins; to the oppressing city, where lawless violence prevailed. She obeyed not the voice; disobedient to God’s will, and paying no regard to his law: she received not correction; neither the admonitions of the prophets, nor the rod of afflictive providences, produced any good effect. She trusted not in the Lord, but in her idols and heathen allies: she drew not near to her God; breaking the covenant, forsaking the God of her mercies, and restraining prayer before him; which some particularly apply to the Pharisees in the days of Christ, who were full of uncleanness, trusted in themselves, and came not to Jesus for pardon, righteousness, and salvation.
2. The leading men are chief in transgression. The nobles and judges are rapacious and cruel as roaring lions and evening wolves, when, driven by hunger, they sally forth in search of prey; they gnaw not the bones till the morrow, or in the morning; eating up on the spot even the very bones of the prey which falls into their hands. Her prophets are light and treacherous; their vain conduct gave the lie to their pretensions, and their word tended to betray the interests of religion, and to ruin the souls of men. Note; Levity in a minister must render him a discredit to his profession. Her priests were faithless; they polluted the sanctuary by their sins, which they should have adorned by the purity of their lives: and did violence to the law; perverted it by false glosses, or contradicted what it taught by their bad examples: these, therefore, shall receive greater damnation.
3. Their sins were aggravated by many considerations:
[1.] God’s presence was eminently with them. The just Lord is in the midst of thee; his Shechinah dwelt among them; he beheld all their ways, which could not but provoke the eyes of his holiness. He will not do iniquity; nor can he suffer it in others with impunity. Every morning doth he bring his judgment to light; sending his prophets to warn men of the evil and danger of their ways. He faileth not, with long patience and constant admonitions to call them to repentance: but the unjust knoweth no shame: never blushing at their guilt or their ingratitude; and they who are past shame are past cure.
[2.] He had executed judgments on other nations, that they might take warning; destroying their cities, and leaving their land desolate without inhabitants. I said, Surely thou wilt fear me; affected with the sufferings of others, and not daring to provoke a jealous God. Thou wilt receive instruction, by their sad case; so their dwelling should not be cut off, howsoever I punished them; his visitations being designed to rescue them from destruction, if they heard the rod, and who had appointed it. But,
[3.] They rose early, and corrupted all their doings; grew worse and worse, filling up the measure of their iniquities; and wilfully rushed on their ruin. Note; Damned souls will to eternity have only their own obstinacy and folly to blame. How oft would I have gathered you, and ye would not.
2ndly, Amidst all the desolations determined, the prospect of the days of the Messiah gives some reviving hopes to the pious, who are commanded to wait still upon God, and expect his salvation.
1. He will rise up to avenge himself, and seize the prey; for which purpose he assembles the nations of the ungodly, to pour out upon them his wrath, who refuse to submit to the proffers of his grace, and obey not his Gospel. Or the sense may be, He will assemble the kingdoms, the Roman army collected from them, to pour upon them, the Jewish people, mine indignation, for rejecting their Messiah; and their whole country shall be devoured with the fire of my jealously.
2. He will set up and establish the gospel kingdom throughout the world, and bring the nations to the obedience of the faith, particularly in the latter days, which are here more particularly referred to: For then will I turn to the people a pure language; the converting grace of God effectually changing the conversation; so that renewed souls speak a different language from what they used to do, telling now of the things which God hath done for their souls, and with one mind and one mouth glorifying him: and the pious among all nations shall have one common tongue, and join in the same blessed service of prayer and praise, calling upon the name of the Lord, and serving him with one consent. And thus God’s dispersed people, now brought to humble supplicants, from Egypt and all the places of their dispersion, shall come, bringing their offering, even their bodies, souls, and spirits, a living sacrifice to God. Prayer is the immediate voice of the humbled sinner; and every true supplicant, not only in words but in deed, presents himself to God, to glorify him, not only in his lips but in his life. In that day, in those last days especially, their shame shall be done away, their sins being forgiven, and the power of them subdued. The proud and self-righteous, the hypocrites, such as were the Scribes and Pharisees who trusted in their services at the temple, and on their works and doings, shall then be destroyed, nothing being more offensive to God, than that high conceit which such miserable sinners entertain of their own formal services and imperfect duties. I will also leave in the midst of thee an afflicted and poor people; as when the Chaldeans carried all the nobles captives, and left the poor of the land for husbandmen and vine-dressers. And God’s people are in general a poor people, afflicted frequently with temptations and persecution; poor, generally in worldly goods, always in spirit; sensible of their own wants, and beggars at the door of mercy for the bread of life: and they shall trust in the name of the Lord, in his infinite merit, as the only ground of their acceptance before God. The remnant of Israel, these poor afflicted faithful souls, shall not do iniquity, but by the grace of God shall be enabled to walk in all holy conversation and godliness; nor speak lies, truth stamping all their words; being obedient to the doctrines of the Gospel, and holding the truth in the light and love of it: neither shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth; for they shall feed, as the sheep of Christ’s pasture, on the ordinances, and lie down in peace under the protection of their great Shepherd; and none shall make them afraid; none of their enemies, spiritual or temporal, shall be able to terrify or to destroy them; for their heart standeth fast, and trusteth in the Lord.
3rdly, The promises made in the latter part of this chapter have a most immediate respect to the restoration of the Jews in the last days; for though they had some fulfilment in their deliverance from Babylon, yet after that they saw evil again, and are now lying under the longest and heaviest of all their afflictions; but when God shall fulfil this word, they shall not see evil any more.
Zion is called upon to rejoice and shout for joy in the prospect of her approaching glorious restoration; and she is enjoined no longer to fear or be dispirited in the view of the greatness or number of her foes, because God promises,
1. To remove all judgments from her; all temporal judgments, such as exile, dispersion, poverty, contempt; all spiritual judgments, such as blindness, unbelief, and hardness of heart. All her enemies shall be cast out, that now possess the land of Israel: and he will undo all that afflict them. Though weak, feeble, and halting, their captivity shall be brought back, never to be repeated; for thou shalt not see evil any more, their troubles now being for ever at an end.
2. God promises to be in the midst of them, as their king, Messiah, to save them from the power of all evil. He is mighty, yea, Almighty, able to save to the uttermost, and to fulfil all the promises of his word in defiance of whatever opposition may be raised from Satan, sin, death, or hell; and willing as he is able, he will save his faithful people. He will rejoice over thee with joy and singing, the conversion of sinners being the delight of the Redeemer; and he sees then in them the travail of his soul, and is satisfied. He will rest in his love; he will himself feel the highest complacence in the expressions of his favour vouchsafed to his dear and faithful people.
3. They shall again enjoy the ordinances which have been so long interrupted, and after which they mourned during their dispersion. I will gather them that are sorrowful for the solemn assembly, who weep over the desolations of Zion, who are of thee, the true children of the Jerusalem which is above, the mother of us all; to whom the reproach of it was a burden, deeply affected with the insults of their enemies, which was the case of the pious Jews in Babylon, who were, in God’s appointed time, restored to their temple and worship at Jerusalem. The Jews in their present dispersion lament also the sad interruption of the service of the sanctuary; and those, who are converted from among them long for the day of their brethren’s restoration, when they may be gathered into the church of Christ, and be collected together in their own land, and serve God literally in his holy mountain at Jerusalem, and their reproach be for ever rolled away.
4. They shall become honourable and respected, as they have been contemned and insulted. I will get them praise and fame in every land where they have been put to shame, for their rejection of the Messiah: but now, being turned unto the Lord, all Christian lands will praise them for their obedience to the faith; and the fame of their conversion will spread a general joy; they shall then be a name and a praise among all people of the earth; for which happy event all gracious souls should unite their fervent supplications, that the Lord would be pleased to hasten it in his time.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Zep 3:19 Behold, at that time I will undo all that afflict thee: and I will save her that halteth, and gather her that was driven out; and I will get them praise and fame in every land where they have been put to shame.
Ver. 19. Behold, at that time I will undo all that afflict thee ] Heb. Behold me; look not to thyself as unworthy or unlikely to inherit such precious promises; for, “not for your sakes do this, saith the Lord God, be it known unto you; but for mine own holy name’s sake,” Eze 36:22 ; Eze 36:32 : your unworthiness shall serve for a foil to set forth the freeness of my love; your unlikeliness the greatness of my power; “my grace is sufficient for thee, my strength is perfected in thy weakness,” 2Co 12:9 . Again, look not to thine enemies, how many and mighty they are, how witty and wealthy, how active and combined ( loricatus incedit Satan et cataphractus, saith Luther), let thine eyes be upon me, as Jehoshaphat’s were, when he knew not whither else to look, 2Ch 20:12 ; let thine heart be lift up in my ways, as his was, 2Ch 17:6 ; behold me, behold me, Isa 65:1 . Look not downward on the rushing and roaring streams of miseries and troubles which run so swiftly under thee, for then thou wilt be giddy; but look upward, and steadfastly fasten on my power and promise; believe in the Lord thy God, so shalt thou be established; believe his prophets, so shalt thou prosper, 2Ch 20:20 ; thine enemies also shall be found liars unto thee, and thou shalt tread upon their high places, Deu 33:29 . I will undo them, saith God here; Heb. I will do them ( per antiphrasin ); or, I will bruise them and break them in pieces, as R. David rendereth it, by comparing Eze 23:3 ; Eze 23:21 . I will not only repress them, but root them out. Those that offer violence to the Church, like blind Samson, they lay hands upon their pillars, to pluck the house upon their own heads.
And I will save her that halteth
And I will get them praise and fame in every land, &c.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Behold. Figure of speech Asterismos. App-6.
undo = deal with.
gather = gather out, bring together what has been dispersed. Hebrew. kabaz, as in Zep 3:20. Not the same word as in verses: Zep 8:18, or as in Zep 2:1. Reference to Pentateuch (Deu 30:3, Deu 30:4). App-92.
I will get them, &c. Reference to Pentateuch (Deu 26:19).
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
I will undo: Zep 3:15, Isa 25:9-12, Isa 26:11, Isa 41:11-16, Isa 43:14-17, Isa 49:25, Isa 49:26, Isa 51:22, Isa 51:23, Isa 66:14-16, Jer 30:16, Jer 46:28, Jer 51:35, Jer 51:36, Eze 39:17-22, Joe 3:2-9, Mic 7:10, Nah 1:11-14, Zec 2:8, Zec 2:9, Zec 12:3, Zec 12:4, Zec 14:2, Zec 14:3, Rev 19:17-21, Rev 20:9
and I will save: Jer 31:8, Eze 34:16, Mic 4:6, Mic 4:7, Heb 12:13
and I will: Isa 60:14, Isa 61:7, Isa 62:7, Jer 33:9, Eze 39:26
get them praise: Heb. set them for a praise
where they have been put to shame: Heb. of their shame
Reciprocal: Deu 26:19 – high above Deu 30:4 – unto Est 9:4 – his fame Isa 35:2 – the excellency Jer 12:14 – and pluck Jer 23:3 – General Jer 30:19 – I will Jer 31:10 – He Eze 28:25 – When Eze 34:13 – I will bring Eze 36:15 – men Eze 39:13 – a renown Dan 7:27 – the kingdom and Joe 3:1 – in those Zep 3:11 – shalt thou Zep 3:20 – for Zec 10:6 – I will strengthen Mal 3:12 – all
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Zep 3:19. Undo all that afflict thee denotes the overthrow of the heathen who had oppressed Israel. Her that halteth refers to the nation of God that had been held back by the chastisement from proceeding in the regular services of Jerusalem.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
3:19 Behold, at that time I will undo all that afflict thee: and I will {p} save her that halteth, and gather her that was driven out; and I will get them praise and fame in every {q} land where they have been put to shame.
(p) I will deliver the Church, which now is afflicted, as in Mic 4:6 .
(q) As among the Assyrians and Chaldaeans, who mocked them and put them to shame.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Having dealt with the Jews’ oppressors (cf. Zep 3:8-15; Zep 2:4-15; Gen 12:3), the Lord will deliver even the weak and dispersed of His people and give them a worldwide reputation for goodness (cf. Deu 26:19). He will regather them in their land and give them a good reputation when He restores their fortunes (cf. Zep 3:15; Gen 12:1-7; Gen 13:14-17; Gen 15:7-21; Gen 17:7-8; 2Sa 7:16; Psa 89:3-4; Isa 9:6-7; Dan 7:27).
Zephaniah concluded his book by affirming that such was Yahweh’s declaration. He would indeed restore His people.
"The whole message of Zephaniah is finally united in one grand inclusio, in that it begins and ends with Yahweh, Israel’s just but caring covenant God, whose word (Zep 1:1) is spoken (Zep 3:20)." [Note: Baker, p. 88.]
An inclusio is a repetition of key elements, either words or motifs, at the beginning and end of a literary unit.
Eight times in Zep 3:18-20, in the NASB, the Lord said, "I will," "I am going to," or "When I." The future restoration and blessing of Israel in the world will be something that Yahweh Himself will accomplish "in that day" (i.e., the day of the LORD). No one but He could ever accomplish it, and no one but He would.