Advent · Third Sunday in Advent · Year C
Zephaniah 3:14-20
The Future of Jerusalem
December 12, 2027
Overview & Insights
“The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save.” (Zephaniah 3:17)
The main part of this section comprises four declarations about different nations. They vary considerably in form and thus look like prophecies of separate origin that have been brought together here to form a sequence. As a result, they offer a survey of the surrounding nations, like the surveys found in Isaiah and Amos, but briefer. Zephaniah began with the world as a whole (1:2–3a) and then moved to the implications for Judah (1:3b–18). He follows the same logic here as he turns to specific nations, Judah’s neighbors and the more distant great powers (2:4–15). Thus Philistia covers the people to the west of Judah and Moab and Ammon the area to the east. The Cushites or Sudanese are the people who had ruled Egypt to the south, so that the term can refer to Egypt. Assyria is the great power to the north (in terms of the direction one travels).
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Commentary
Zephaniah 3:14-20 Working Preacher
The Lutheran home voice on this exact Advent 3 Old Testament passage.
Zephaniah 3:14-20 Center for Excellence in Preaching
A Reformed preaching commentary on the strong note of joy that closes the book of Zephaniah.
Zephaniah 3 Enduring Word · David Guzik
A verse by verse evangelical commentary on judgment turning to restoration and song.
Zephaniah 3 Commentary Precept Austin
A deep study page gathering word studies and many expositors on Zephaniah 3.
Classic commentaries on Zephaniah 3:14 BibleHub
A classic aggregator stacking Barnes, Gill, and other historic commentators on this verse.
Background & Word Study
Zephaniah 3 interlinear BibleHub
The Hebrew text of Zephaniah 3 word by word with parsing and Strong's numbers.
Zephaniah 3:14-20 Sefaria
The Hebrew text of the closing song of joy alongside an English translation.
Zephaniah BibleProject
An animated overview of Zephaniah's turn from the day of the Lord's judgment to its joy.
The Church Fathers
Questions preachers ask
How does Zephaniah end?
After warnings of judgment the prophet turns to joy, calling Zion to sing because the Lord is in her midst, gathering the outcast and rejoicing over her with gladness.
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