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LXX Zephaniah

Septuagint

About this book
Chapter 3

1 Alas the glorious and ransomed city, the dove. 2 She did not listen to the voice; she did not receive correction; she did not trust in the Lord, and she did not draw near to her God. 3 Her princes within her were as roaring lions, her judges as the wolves of Arabia; they did not remain till the morning. 4 Her prophets are light and scornful men: her priests profane the holy things, and sinfully transgress the law. 5 But the just Lord is in the midst of her, and he will never do an unjust thing: morning by morning he will bring out his judgment to the light, and it is not hidden, and he does not know injustice by extortion, nor injustice in strife. 6 I have brought down the proud with destruction; their corners are destroyed: I will make their ways completely waste, so that none shall go through: their cities have come to an end, by reason of no man living or dwelling in them. 7 I said, But fear me, and receive instruction, and you shall not be cut off from her eyes⁠ for all the vengeance I have brought upon her: prepare yourself, rise early: all their produce is spoiled. 8 Therefore wait upon me, says the Lord, until the day when I rise up for a witness:⁠ because my judgment shall be on the gatherings of the nations, to draw to me kings, to pour out upon them all my fierce anger: for the whole earth shall be consumed with the fire of my jealousy. 9 For then I will turn to the peoples a tongue for her generation, that all may call on the name of the Lord, to serve him under one yoke. 10 From the boundaries of the rivers of Ethiopia they shall offer sacrifices to me. 11 In that day you shall not be ashamed of all your practices, in which you have transgressed against me: for then I will take away from you your disdainful pride, and you shall no more magnify yourself upon my holy mountain. 12 And I will leave in you a meek and lowly people; and they shall fear the name of the Lord, 13 the remnant of Israel, and they shall do no iniquity, neither shall they speak vanity; neither shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth: for they shall feed, and lie down, and there shall be none to terrify them. 14 Rejoice greatly, daughter of Zion; cry aloud, daughter of Jerusalem; rejoice and delight yourself with all your heart, daughter of Jerusalem. 15 The Lord has taken away your iniquities, he has ransomed you from the hand of your enemies: the Lord, the King of Israel, is in the midst of you: you shall not see evil any more. 16 At that time the Lord shall say to Jerusalem, Be of good courage, Zion; do not let your hands be slack. 17 The Lord your God is in you; the Mighty One shall save you: he shall bring joy upon you, and shall refresh you with his love; and he shall rejoice over you with delight as in a day of feasting. 18 And I will gather the crushed. Alas! who has taken up a reproach against her?⁠ 19 Look, I will work in you for your sake at that time, says the Lord: and I will save her that was oppressed, and receive her that was rejected; and I will make them a praise, and honored in all the earth. 20 And their enemies shall be ashamed at that time, when I shall deal well with you, and at the time when I shall receive you: for I will make you honored and a praise among all the nations of the earth, when I turn back your captivity before you, says the Lord.

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Compare Zephaniah 3:18 and LXX Zephaniah 3:18

Hebrew Bible · Septuagint

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Summary

The Hebrew version of Zephaniah is so broken that ancient translations never agreed on it. The Greek Septuagint rearranges the letters, changing language about people kept from festivals into God gathering the crushed and asking who shamed the city.

Passages

Zephaniah 3:18

Hebrew Bible
17 The Lord your God is in your midst; he is a warrior who can deliver. He takes great delight in you; he renews you by his love; he shouts for joy over you.” 18 “As for those who grieve because they cannot attend the festivals—I took them away from you; they became tribute and were a source of shame to you. 19 Look, at that time I will deal with those who mistreated you. I will rescue the lame sheep and gather together the scattered sheep. I will take away their humiliation and make the whole earth admire and respect them.
600–501 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Zephaniah

LXX Zephaniah 3:18

Septuagint
17 The Lord your God is in you; the Mighty One shall save you: he shall bring joy upon you, and shall refresh you with his love; and he shall rejoice over you with delight as in a day of feasting. 18 And I will gather the crushed. Alas! who has taken up a reproach against her? 19 Look, I will work in you for your sake at that time, says the Lord: and I will save her that was oppressed, and receive her that was rejected; and I will make them a praise, and honored in all the earth.
100–1 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in LXX Zephaniah

References

... Out of all the other versions, the Septuagint indicates the most serious struggle, which is reflected in the wrong division, in 'woe', and in an interrogative sentence, none attested in the Masoretic Text. Moving 'festival' to verse 17, it reads, 'And I shall gather the broken ones. Woe! Who carried upon her disgrace?' ... The Vulgate, as well, carries a question, 'how is there disgrace upon her?' but no interjection. Its division follows the Masoretic Text. The attempts of the Witnesses to give the verse some sense confirm its endurance at least since the third century BCE. This is also attested in MurXII. ...
Ahuva Ho, The Targum of Zephaniah: Manuscripts and Commentary, SAIS 7 (Leiden: Brill, 2009), 402–403.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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