Zephaniah 3:1
Woe to the city of oppressors, rebellious and defiled!
2 She heeded no voice; she accepted no correction. She does not trust in the LORD; she has not drawn near to her God.
3 Her princes are roaring lions; her judges are evening wolves, leaving nothing for the morning.
This was said to Israel at a particular time, so it is wise to read it together with the surrounding text. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.
Compare
- BSB
- Woe to the city of oppressors, rebellious and defiled!
- KJV
- Woe to her that is filthy and polluted, to the oppressing city!
- WEB
- Woe to her who is rebellious and polluted, the oppressing city!
- ASV
- Woe to her that is rebellious and polluted! to the oppressing city!
- DARBY
- Woe to her that is rebellious and corrupted, to the oppressing city!
- BLB
- Woe [to] her who is rebellious and defiled, the oppressing city!
- ÅB
- Ve den gjenstridige og urene, staden som er full av vold!
- OTB
- Ve den opprørske og urene,
Den undertrykkende byen! - B1930
- Ve den gjenstridige og urene, staden som er full av vold!
Study notes (Tyndale)
Original text and word study
Cross references
Jeremiah 6:6
For this is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Cut down the trees and raise a siege ramp against Jerusalem. This city must be punished; there is nothing but oppression in her midst.
Read in contextIsaiah 59:13
rebelling and denying the LORD, turning away from our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering lies from the heart.
Read in contextIsaiah 30:12
Therefore this is what the Holy One of Israel says: “Because you have rejected this message, trusting in oppression and relying on deceit,
Read in contextMalachi 3:5
“Then I will draw near to you for judgment. And I will be a swift witness against sorcerers and adulterers and perjurers, against oppressors of the widowed and fatherless, and against those who defraud laborers of their wages and deny justice to the foreigner but do not fear Me,” says the LORD of Hosts.
Read in contextZechariah 7:10
Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. And do not plot evil in your hearts against one another.’
Read in contextEzekiel 22:7
Father and mother are treated with contempt. Within your walls the foreign resident is exploited, the fatherless and the widow are oppressed.
Read in contextJeremiah 22:17
“But your eyes and heart are set on nothing except your own dishonest gain, on shedding innocent blood, on practicing extortion and oppression.”
Read in contextMicah 2:2
They covet fields and seize them; they take away houses. They deprive a man of his home, a fellow man of his inheritance.
Read in context