Zephaniah 2:15

This is the rejoicing city that dwelt carelessly, that said in her heart, I am, and there is none beside me: how is she become a desolation, a place for beasts to lie down in! every one that passeth by her shall hiss, and wag his hand.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
rejoicing	הָעַלִּיזָה֙ ha.'a.li.Zah	H5947	exultant · definite article + adjective, feminine singular absolute
city	הָעִ֤יר ha.'Ir	H5892	a city (a place guarded by waking or a watch) in the wi… · definite article + noun, common feminine singular absolute
dwelt	הַיּוֹשֶׁ֣בֶת hai.yo.She.vet	H3427	properly · definite article + verb, qal active participle, feminine singular absolute
carelessly	לָבֶ֔טַח la.Ve.tach	H983	properly · preposition + noun, common masculine singular absolute
said	הָאֹֽמְרָה֙ ha.'o.me.Rah	H559	to say (used with great latitude) · definite article + verb, qal active participle, feminine singular absolute
heart	בִּלְבָבָ֔הּ bil.va.Vah	H3824	the heart (as the most interior organ) · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person feminine singular
beside	וְאַפְסִ֣י ve.'af.Si	H657	cessation · conjunction + noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix
desolation	לְשַׁמָּ֗ה le.sha.Mah	H8047	ruin · preposition + noun, common feminine singular absolute
beasts	לַֽחַיָּ֔ה la.chai.Yah	H2416	alive · preposition with the article + noun, common feminine singular absolute
in	מַרְבֵּץ֙ mar.Betz	H4769	a reclining place · noun, common masculine singular absolute
by	עוֹבֵ֣ר o.Ver	H5674	to cross over · verb, qal active participle, masculine singular absolute
hiss	יִשְׁרֹ֖ק yish.Rok	H8319	properly · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
wag	יָנִ֥יעַ ya.Ni.a'	H5128	to waver · verb, hiphil imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
hand	יָדֽוֹ ya.Do	H3027	a hand (the open one (indicating power · noun, common both genders singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Ezekiel 28:2 Son of man, say unto the prince of Tyrus, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thine heart is lifted up, and thou hast said, I am a God, I sit i…
Isaiah 22:2 Thou that art full of stirs, a tumultuous city, a joyous city: thy slain men are not slain with the sword, nor dead in battle.
Isaiah 47:7-8 And thou saidst, I shall be a lady for ever: so that thou didst not lay these things to thy heart, neither didst remember the latter end of…
Ezekiel 28:9 Wilt thou yet say before him that slayeth thee, I am God? but thou shalt be a man, and no God, in the hand of him that slayeth thee.
Nahum 3:19 There is no healing of thy bruise; thy wound is grievous: all that hear the bruit of thee shall clap the hands over thee: for upon whom hath…
1 Kings 9:7-8 Then will I cut off Israel out of the land which I have given them; and this house, which I have hallowed for my name, will I cast out of my…
Psalms 52:6-7 The righteous also shall see, and fear, and shall laugh at him:
Jeremiah 19:8 And I will make this city desolate, and an hissing; every one that passeth thereby shall be astonished and hiss because of all the plagues t…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Zephaniah 2:12–end

The cup is going round, when Nebuchadnezzar is going on conquering and to conquer; and not only Israel's near neighbours, but those that lay more remote, must be reckoned with for the wrongs they have done to God's people; the Ethiopians and the Assyrians are here taken to task. 1. The Ethiopians, or Arabians, that had sometimes been a terror to Israel (as in Asa's time, Ch2 14:9), must now be reckoned with: They shall be slain by my sword, Zep 2:12. Nebuchadnezzar was God's sword, the instrument in his hand with which these and other enemies were subdued and punished, Psa 17:14. 2. The Assyrians, and Nineveh the head city of their monarchy, are next set to the bar, to receive their doom: He…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Zephaniah 2:15

Nothing then seemed more improbable than that the capital of so vast an empire, a city sixty miles in compass, with walls one hundred feet high, and so thick that three chariots could go abreast on them, and with fifteen hundred towers, should be so totally destroyed that its site is with difficulty discovered. Yet so it is, as the prophet foretold. there is none beside me--This peculiar phrase, expressing self-gratulation as if peerless, is plainly adopted from Isa 47:8. The later prophets, when the spirit of prophecy was on the verge of departing, leaned more on the predictions of their predecessors. hiss--in astonishment at a desolation so great and sudden (Kg1 9:8); also in derision…

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Adam Clarke on Zephaniah 2:15

This is the rejoicing city - The city in which mirth, jocularity, and pleasure, reigned without interruption. And wag his hand - Will point her out as a mark and monument of Divine displeasure.

John Gill on Zephaniah 2:15

This is the rejoicing city that dwelt carelessly,.... Once exceeding populous, and the inhabitants full of mirth and gaiety, abounding with wealth and riches, and indulging themselves in all carnal delights and pleasures; and, being well fortified, thought themselves out of all danger, and were careless and unconcerned, not fearing any enemy that should attack them; imagining their city was impregnable and invincible: these are the words of the prophet, concluding his prophecy concerning the destruction of this city, and having, by a spirit of prophecy, a foresight of its ruin and desolation; or of passengers, and what they should say when they saw it lie in its ruins: that said in her hear…

The Church Fathers

Some from the circle of your friendship go out with a made-up face; they wear a bandeau around their face; they put this black thing over their eyes under pretext of illness; they have numberless rings attached to their handkerchief, and on their belt, fringes that flap behind them, like calves frisking about in an enclosure. Often they bathe quite naked without necessity; they wear soft shoes on their feet—"she went out taking pride in the desires of her soul"—they mince along in the assembly; they accost their friend with a boisterous laugh, like the noise of thorny twigs cracking under a cooking pot. They build themselves alcoves; they adopt customs of the crows and vultures of the world, making themselves comparable to them in their food: dead meat and rotted venison.
— Oresiesis-Heru-sa Ast, INSTRUCTIONS 7:10

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Assyria, Asshur — was a great and powerful country lying on the Tigris, (Genesis 2:14) the capital of which was Nineveh. (Genesis 10:11) etc. It derived its name apparently from Asshur, the son of Shem, (Genesis…
Nahum, Book of — Nahum prophesied, according to some, in the beginning of the reign of Ahaz (B.C. 743). Others, however, think that his prophecies are to be referred to the latter half of the reign of Hezekiah (about…
Nineveh — First mentioned in Gen. 10:11, which is rendered in the Revised Version, “He [i.e., Nimrod] went forth into Assyria and builded Nineveh.” It is not again noticed till the days of Jonah, when it is…
Assyria · Prophecies concerning — Prophecies concerning
B · Habitations of: Deserted cities — Habitations of: Deserted cities
Confidence · FALSE — FALSE
Hands, The · Stretched out in derision — Stretched out in derision
Nineveh · Zephaniah foretells the — Zephaniah foretells the
Pride · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Zephaniah 2:15

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Zephaniah 2:12–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Zephaniah 2:15

Adam Clarke on Zephaniah 2:15

John Gill on Zephaniah 2:15

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Zephaniah 2:15

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Zephaniah 2:12–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Zephaniah 2:15

Adam Clarke on Zephaniah 2:15

John Gill on Zephaniah 2:15

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on Zephaniah 2:15–end

Keil & Delitzsch on Zephaniah 2:12–end

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Zephaniah 2:15

Rashi on Zephaniah 2:15