Zephaniah 2:3 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Zephaniah 2:3
Seek ye the LORD, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the LORD’s anger.
the earth (at large · definite article + noun, common feminine singular absolute
wrought
פָּעָ֑לוּpa.'A.lu
H6466
to do or make (systematically and habitually) · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person common plural
judgment
מִשְׁפָּט֖וֹmish.pa.To
H4941
properly · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
seek
בַּקְּשׁוּba.ke.shu-
H1245
to search out (by any method · verb, piel imperative, 2nd person masculine plural
righteousness
צֶ֙דֶק֙tze.dek
H6664
the right (natural · noun, common masculine singular absolute
seek
בַּקְּשׁ֣וּba.ke.Shu
H1245
to search out (by any method · verb, piel imperative, 2nd person masculine plural
meekness
עֲנָוָ֔ה'a.na.Vah
H6038
condescension · noun, common feminine singular absolute
be
אוּלַי֙'u.Lai
H194
if not · adverb
hid
תִּסָּ֣תְר֔וּti.Sa.te.Ru
H5641
to hide (by covering) · verb, niphal imperfect, 2nd person masculine plural
day
בְּי֖וֹםbe.Yom
H3117
a day (as the warm hours) · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct
LORD’s
יְהוָֽהYah.weh
H3068
Jehovah · proper noun, a title
anger
אַף'af-
H639
properly · noun, common masculine singular construct
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
Amos 5:14-15 Seek good, and not evil, that ye may live: and so the LORD, the God of hosts, shall be with you, as ye have spoken.
Isaiah 26:20-21 Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indigna…
Psalms 76:9 When God arose to judgment, to save all the meek of the earth. Selah.
Jeremiah 29:12-13 Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you.
Psalms 22:26 The meek shall eat and be satisfied: they shall praise the LORD that seek him: your heart shall live for ever.
Jonah 3:9 Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not?
Psalms 105:4 Seek the LORD, and his strength: seek his face evermore.
Isaiah 55:6-7 Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Zephaniah 2:1-3
Here we see what the prophet meant in that terrible description of the approaching judgments which we had in the foregoing chapter. From first to last his design was, not to drive the people to despair, but to drive them to God and to their duty - not to frighten them out of their wits, but to frighten them out of their sins. In pursuance of that he here calls them to repentance, national repentance, as the only way to prevent national ruin. Observe,
I. The summons given them to a national assembly (Zep 2:1): Gather yourselves together. He had told them, in the last words of the foregoing chapter, that God would make a speedy riddance of all that dwelt in the land, upon which, one would thin…
As in Zep 2:1 (compare Note, see on Zep 1:12) he had warned the hardened among the people to humble themselves, so now he admonishes "the meek" to proceed in their right course, that so they may escape the general calamity (Psa 76:9). The meek bow themselves under God's chastisements to God's will, whereas the ungodly become only the more hardened by them.
Seek ye the Lord--in contrast to those that "sought not the Lord" (Zep 1:6). The meek are not to regard what the multitudes do, but seek God at once.
his judgment--that is, law. The true way of "seeking the Lord" is to "work judgment," not merely to be zealous about outward ordinances.
seek meekness--not perversely murmuring against…
Ye meek of the earth - ענוי anavey, ye oppressed and humbled of the land.
It may be ye shall be hid - The sword has not a commission against you. Ask God, and he will be a refuge to you from the storm and from the tempest.
John Gill on Zephaniah 2:3
Seek ye the Lord, all ye meek of the earth,.... Or "of the land", of the land of Judea. In this time of great apostasy, there was a remnant according to the election of grace, whom the Lord reserved for himself, and bestowed his grace upon; and it is for the sake of these that the general exhortations to repentance and reformation are given out, to whom alone they were to be useful, that they might be protected and preserved from the general ruin; for such as are here described are persons the Lord takes great notice of; he gives them more grace; he lifts them up when bowed down; he beautifies them with salvation; he feeds them to full satisfaction; he teaches them his ways, his mind and wil…
The Church Fathers
(Verse 3, 4) Seek the Lord, all you meek of the earth, who have practiced His judgment; seek justice, seek meekness, perhaps you shall be hidden in the day of the Lord's fury. For Gaza shall be deserted, and Ashkelon shall become a desolation. Ashdod shall be driven out at noon, and Ekron shall be uprooted. LXX: Seek the Lord, all you lowly of the earth; do justice, seek righteousness, and answer it, that you may be protected in the day of the Lord's wrath. For Gaza shall be plundered, and Ashkelon shall become a desolation; and Ashdod shall be cast out at noon, and Ekron shall be uprooted. He is called humble of the earth, who, not by humility, which signifies virtue, but by sins, has been humiliated, and cannot say with Christ: Learn from me, for I am gentle and humble of heart (Matt. XI, 29). For everyone who humbles himself will be exalted. And in another place, a sermon is directed to the saint: the greater you are, the more humble yourself, and you will find favor before God (Eccl. III). But he who is humiliated by sins, and burdened with the consciousness of offenses, and says: Like a heavy burden, burdens are upon me (Psalm XXXVII, 5), must hear: Come to me all you who labor and are burdened, and I will refresh you (Matt. XI, 28). Let this saying be in the beginning according to the 70 interpreters. However, according to the Hebrew, there is another sense. For it is said to the saints: O you, who keep my commandments, who are placed in the land, and knowing that everyone who humbles himself will be exalted, you have imitated my meekness, and you have acted in judgment, seek the Lord in your meekness. And if you want to know who this Lord is, seek the just, seek the meek: For the Father has given all judgment to the Son (John 5:22), who will judge justly. And since you are gentle, seek a gentle one, so that whatever is lacking in your gentleness may be fulfilled by the one who is the source of gentleness. But I say this to you: If you hide on the day of the Lord's fury, that is, if you are able to escape the wrath of the coming day and the captivity that is to be inflicted by either Nebuchadnezzar or the Romans on the people of Judah, because you have sought the Lord and have acted justly. But if they doubt (others say) who have made his judgments, saying (others say). If you wonder how you will hide on the day of the Lord's wrath, what will happen…
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
Meekness — A calm temper of mind, not easily provoked (James 3:13). Peculiar promises are made to the meek (Matt. 5:5; Isa. 66:2). The cultivation of this spirit is enjoined (Col. 3:12; 1 Tim. 6:11; Zeph. 2:3),…
Day · Times of adversity — Times of adversity
Holiness · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Meekness · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Righteousness · Saints: Should seek — Saints: Should seek
Seekers · 5:4-6,8,14;8:12; — 5:4-6,8,14;8:12;
Seeking God · Saints: Specially exhorted to — Saints: Specially exhorted to
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 2:3
3. Seek ye the Lord, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the Lord's anger.
3. Quaerite Jehovam omnes mansueti terrae, qui judicium ejus fecerunt (pro fecistis;) quaerite justitiam, quaerite mansuetudinem, si forte abscondamini in die irae Jehovae.
Here the Prophet turns his discourse to a small number, for he saw that he could produce no effect on the promiscuous multitude. For had his doctrine been addressed in common to the whole people, there were very few who would have attended. We would therefore have been discouraged had he not believed that some seed remained among the…
Call to conversion. - Zep 2:1. "Gather yourselves together, and gather together, O nation that dost not grow pale. Zep 2:2. Before the decree bring forth (the day passes away like chaff), before the burning wrath of Jehovah come upon you, before the day of Jehovah's wrath come upon you. Zep 2:3. Seek Jehovah, all ye humble of the land, who have wrought His right; seek righteousness, seek humility, perhaps ye will be hidden in the day of Jehovah's wrath." The summons in Zep 2:1 is addressed to the whole of Judah or Israel. The verb qōshēsh, possibly a denom. from qash, signifies to gather stubble (Exo 5:7, Exo 5:12), then generally to gather together or collect, e.g., branches of wood (Num…
all who are humble: True humility involves submission to and dependence on God (Pss 18:25-27; 119:142-144; Prov 15:33; 18:12; 22:4).
Rashi on Zephaniah 2:2
before the decree is born Before the arrival of the decree.
as chaff that passes... the sun This is an ellipsis for, “As chaff that passes from before the wind, and as smoke that passes from before the sun.” This is the translation of עָבַר יוֹם, that passes the sun. In this manner, Jonathan renders: And you shall be like the chaff that the wind blows, like smoke that passes from before the sun. Another version: and like the shadow that passes, etc.; this is an expression of a shadow.
