Easter Season · A Tenth Reading Easter Vigil · Year A

Zephaniah 3:14-20

The Future of Jerusalem

April 5, 2026

A Russian icon of the prophet holding an open scroll, painted in the Yaroslavl manner with elongated proportions and flat strong colour.The Lord, your God, is in your midst, a warrior who gives victory; he will rejoice over you with gladness, he will exult over you with loud singing.Anonymous Russian icon painterUnnamed, as Russian icon painters generally were; the work belongs to a workshop tradition rather than an individual.Yaroslavl school, private collection (PD-Russia-expired)In private hands; an icon of the Yaroslavl tradition on the upper Volga.Yaroslavl school, private collection (PD-Russia-expired)

Revised Common Lectionary

Old TestamentZeph. 3:14-20Zep 3:14-20

PsalterPs. 98Ps 98

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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Take it further: Zephaniah 3:14-20

Commentary

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

Working Preacher's commentary on this exact passage, most often read on the Third Sunday of Advent.

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

The Center for Excellence in Preaching traces the shift from judgment to God singing over Zion with joy.

Zephaniah 3 CommentariesZep 3 Commentaries BibleHub

Aggregates classic commentators such as Pulpit Commentary and Cambridge Bible on this closing oracle.

Gill's Exposition on Zephaniah 3Gill's Exposition on Zep 3 StudyLight

John Gill's exposition explains God rejoicing over Zion with singing, verse by verse.

Zephaniah 3:14-20Zep 3:14-20 Enduring Word · David Guzik

An accessible verse-by-verse commentary, widely used across evangelical churches.

Background & Word Study

Zephaniah 3 (Hebrew and English)Zep 3 (Hebrew and English) Sefaria

Gives the Hebrew text so readers can see the repeated calls to sing and rejoice in the original.

Zephaniah 3 InterlinearZep 3 Interlinear BibleHub

Shows the Hebrew of each line with parsing, useful for the piled-up verbs of joy.

ZephaniahZep BibleProject

An animated overview of the whole book, helpful for seeing how judgment turns to this closing hope.

The Church Fathers

Catena on Zephaniah 3Catena on Zep 3 Catena

Collects patristic comment on God rejoicing over his people with singing.

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