Texts in Conversation
The Hebrew version of Zephaniah warns that the city will lose its home. The Greek Septuagint read one letter differently, changing “her dwelling” into “her eyes” changing the description of punishment carried out before her eyes.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Zephaniah 3:7
Hebrew Bible
6 “I destroyed nations; their walled cities are in ruins. I turned their streets into ruins; no one passes through them. Their cities are desolate; no one lives there. 7 I thought, ‘Certainly you will respect me! Now you will accept correction!’If she had done so, her home would not be destroyed by all the punishments I have threatened. But they eagerly sinned in everything they did. 8 Therefore you must wait patiently for me,” says the Lord, “for the day when I attack and take plunder. I have decided to gather nations together and assemble kingdoms, so I can pour out my fury on them—all my raging anger. For the whole earth will be consumed by my fiery anger.
LXX Zephaniah 3:7
Septuagint
6 “I pulled down the arrogant in destruction; their corners were removed. I will make their roads completely desolate, so that they might not travel through. Their cities came to an end, because nothing exists or dwells there. 7 I said, ‘However, fear me, and receive instruction, and you will not be utterly destroyed from her eyes, everything for which I punished her. Prepare yourself! Rise early! All their gleaning has been destroyed! 8 On account of this, wait for me,” says the Lord, “for the day of my rising up for a testimony, because my judgment is for the gathering of nations, in order to gather the kings, in order to pour upon them all my angry wrath, because in the fire of my zeal all the earth will be consumed.”
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Notes and References
... Her dwelling. The Masoretic Text me'wnh. Jerusalem is personified as having a dwelling. But Jerusalem represents the people, and thus in a literal sense the dwelling is Jerusalem. The meaning is that the people will lose their city. The Septuagint reads 'from her eyes'—me'ynyh for me'wnh. Accepting this reading, Roberts translates 'And there will not be cut off from her eyes all the punishment that I brought upon her.' But this goes against the apparent intent of the verse, which is to avert the punishment. ...
Berlin, Adele
Zephaniah: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary
(p. 132) Doubleday, 1994
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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