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Easter Season · Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary · Year B

Zephaniah 3:14-18a

The King in Your Midst

May 31, 2027

The Dance of King David before the Ark of the Covenant, Zanobi Strozzi
The Dance of King David before the Ark of the Covenant, Zanobi Strozzi, c. 1447Web Gallery of Art
A Florentine panel by a pupil of Fra Angelico. David dances in front of the ark with his arms up while the procession crowds in behind.Sing aloud, O daughter Zion; rejoice and exult with all your heart: Zephaniah ends with God rejoicing over his people with singing, and this is the one scene in scripture where somebody actually dances.Zanobi StrozziA Florentine painter and manuscript illuminator, a pupil and close follower of Fra Angelico.Web Gallery of ArtAn online archive rather than a building; the painting's present owner is not recorded with the image.Web Gallery of Art
Roman Lectionary
GospelLuke 1:39-56Lk 1:39-56
Second ReadingRom. 12:9-16bRom 12:9-16b
First ReadingZeph. 3:14-18aZep 3:14-18a
Responsorial PsalmIsa. 12:2-3, 4bcd, 5-6Is 12:2-3, 4bcd, 5-6

Overview & Insights

“The King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst.” (Zephaniah 3:15)

Zephaniah is almost entirely an oracle of the day of the Lord, a day of wrath and thick darkness (1:15), and these verses are the surprise at the end of it. The summons to shout is addressed to Jerusalem under feminine names, daughter Zion and daughter Jerusalem, and the grounds follow as a series of completed acts: judgments taken away, the enemy removed, the King of Israel in your midst (vv. 15 and 16). Verse 17 reverses the direction of the singing, since it is God who now rejoices over the city with gladness, an image with few parallels among the prophets. The Greek translation of that verse differs from the Hebrew, reading renewal in love where the Hebrew has silence in love. Read at the Visitation, the phrase in your midst is heard of a presence carried rather than enthroned.

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Commentary

Commentary on Zephaniah 3:14-20Commentary on Zep 3:14-20 Working Preacher

Lectionary commentary on the prophet's call to rejoice because the Lord is in your midst.

Zephaniah 3 CommentaryZep 3 Commentary Enduring Word

Verse-by-verse commentary on the Lord's restoration and rejoicing over Zion.

Zephaniah 3:14-20 CommentaryZep 3:14-20 Commentary Center for Excellence in Preaching

Reformed preaching commentary on the shift from judgment to jubilant restoration.

Zephaniah 3 CommentaryZep 3 Commentary Precept Austin

Verse-by-verse study notes on the Lord's singing over his restored people.

Sophonias 3 - Haydock Commentary Online Haydock

Catholic verse-by-verse commentary on the passage under its Douay-Rheims name, Sophonias.

Background & Word Study

Zephaniah 3Zep 3 Sefaria

Hebrew text with classical Jewish commentary on the prophet's closing oracle.

Zephaniah 3 parallel commentariesZep 3 parallel commentaries BibleHub

Aggregated interlinear and commentary tools for word-level study of the chapter.

Study Hub

Barnes' Notes on Zephaniah 3Barnes' Notes on Zep 3 StudyLight

Classic verse-by-verse notes on the chapter, useful for close reading.

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