This is the joyous city that lived carelessly, that said in her heart, “I am, and there is no one besides me.” How she has become a desolation, a place for animals to lie down in! Everyone who passes by her will hiss, and shake their fists.
Parallel Translations
-
This is the joyous city that lived carelessly, that said in her heart, “I am, and there is no one besides me.” How she has become a desolation, a place for animals to lie down in! Everyone who passes by her will hiss, and shake their fists.
-
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.
-
This is the joyous city that dwelt without care, that said in her heart: 'I am, and there is none else 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.
Cross-references (19)
Passages linked to Zephaniah 2:15 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Ezekiel 28:2 “Son of man, tell the prince of Tyre, ‘The Lord Yahweh says: “Because your heart is lifted up, and you have said, ‘I am a god, I sit in the seat of God, in the middle of the seas;’ yet you are man, and not God, though you set your heart as the heart of God—
- Isaiah 22:2 You that are full of shouting, a tumultuous city, a joyous town; your slain are not slain with the sword, neither are they dead in battle.
- Isaiah 47:7-8 You said, ‘I will be a princess forever,’ so that you didn’t lay these things to your heart, nor did you remember the results. “Now therefore hear this, you who are given to pleasures, who sit securely, who say in your heart, ‘I am, and there is no one else besides me. I won’t sit as a widow, neither will I know the loss of children.’
- Ezekiel 28:9 Will you yet say before him who kills you, ‘I am God’? But you are man, and not God, in the hand of him who wounds you.
- Nahum 3:19 There is no healing your wound, for your injury is fatal. All who hear the report of you clap their hands over you; for who hasn’t felt your endless cruelty?
- 1 Kings 9:7-8 then I will cut off Israel out of the land which I have given them; and I will cast this house, which I have made holy for my name, out of my sight; and Israel will be a proverb and a byword among all peoples. Though this house is so high, yet everyone who passes by it will be astonished and hiss; and they will say, ‘Why has Yahweh done this to this land, and to this house?’
- Psalms 52:6-7 The righteous also will see it, and fear, and laugh at him, saying, “Behold, this is the man who didn’t make God his strength, but trusted in the abundance of his riches, and strengthened himself in his wickedness.”
- Jeremiah 19:8 I will make this city an astonishment and a hissing. Everyone who passes by it will be astonished and hiss because of all its plagues.
- Lamentations 1:1 How the city sits solitary, that was full of people! She has become as a widow, who was great among the nations! She who was a princess among the provinces has become a slave!
- Lamentations 2:15 All that pass by clap their hands at you. They hiss and wag their head at the daughter of Jerusalem, saying, “Is this the city that men called ‘The perfection of beauty, the joy of the whole earth’?”
- Job 27:23 Men will clap their hands at him, and will hiss him out of his place.
- Isaiah 10:12-14 Therefore it will happen that when the Lord has performed his whole work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, I will punish the fruit of the willful proud heart of the king of Assyria, and the insolence of his arrogant looks. For he has said, “By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom; for I have understanding. I have removed the boundaries of the peoples, and have robbed their treasures. Like a valiant man I have brought down their rulers. My hand has found the riches of the peoples like a nest, and like one gathers eggs that are abandoned, I have gathered all the earth. There was no one who moved their wing, or that opened their mouth, or chirped.”
- Isaiah 14:4-5 that you will take up this parable against the king of Babylon, and say, “How the oppressor has ceased! The golden city has ceased!” Yahweh has broken the staff of the wicked, the scepter of the rulers,
- Isaiah 32:9 Rise up, you women who are at ease! Hear my voice! You careless daughters, give ear to my speech!
- Lamentations 2:1 How has the Lord covered the daughter of Zion with a cloud in his anger! He has cast the beauty of Israel down from heaven to the earth, and hasn’t remembered his footstool in the day of his anger.
- Ezekiel 27:36 The merchants among the peoples hiss at you. You have become a terror, and you will be no more.” ’ ”
- Ezekiel 29:3 Speak and say, ‘The Lord Yahweh says: “Behold, I am against you, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great monster that lies in the middle of his rivers, that has said, ‘My river is my own, and I have made it for myself.’
- Matthew 27:39 Those who passed by blasphemed him, wagging their heads,
- Revelation 18:7-19 However much she glorified herself, and grew wanton, so much give her of torment and mourning. For she says in her heart, ‘I sit a queen, and am no widow, and will in no way see mourning.’ Therefore in one day her plagues will come: death, mourning, and famine; and she will be utterly burned with fire; for the Lord God who has judged her is strong. The kings of the earth who committed sexual immorality and lived wantonly with her will weep and wail over her, when they look at the smoke of her burning, standing far away for the fear of her torment, saying, ‘Woe, woe, the great city, Babylon, the strong city! For your judgment has come in one hour.’ The merchants of the earth weep and mourn over her, for no one buys their merchandise any more: merchandise of gold, silver, precious stones, pearls, fine linen, purple, silk, scarlet, all expensive wood, every vessel of ivory, every vessel made of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble; and cinnamon, incense, perfume, frankincense, wine, olive oil, fine flour, wheat, sheep, horses, chariots, and people’s bodies and souls. The fruits which your soul lusted after have been lost to you. All things that were dainty and sumptuous have perished from you, and you will find them no more at all. The merchants of these things, who were made rich by her, will stand far away for the fear of her torment, weeping and mourning, saying, ‘Woe, woe, the great city, she who was dressed in fine linen, purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls! For in an hour such great riches are made desolate.’ Every ship master, and everyone who sails anywhere, and mariners, and as many as gain their living by sea, stood far away, and cried out as they looked at the smoke of her burning, saying, ‘What is like the great city?’ They cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and mourning, saying, ‘Woe, woe, the great city, in which all who had their ships in the sea were made rich by reason of her great wealth!’ For she is made desolate in one hour.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (16 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
Private notes
Saved on this device only — never synced or sent anywhere.
John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain He seems to have added this by way of…
He seems to have added this by way of anticipation, lest the magnificent splendor of the city Nineveh should frighten the Jews, as though it were exempt from all danger. The Prophet therefore reminds them here, that though Nineveh was thus proud of its wealth, it could not yet escape the hand of God; nay, he shows that the greatness, on account of which Nineveh extolled itself, would be the cause of its ruin; for it would cast itself down by its own pride: as a wall, when it swells, will not long stand; so also men, when they inwardly swell, and vent their own boastings, burst; and though no one pushes them down, they fall of themselves. Such a destruction the Prophet denounces on the Ninevites and the Assyrians.
This, he says, is the exulting city, which sat in confidence. Isaiah reprobates in nearly the same words the pride of Babylon: but what Isaiah said of Babylon our Prophet justly transfers here to Nineveh. But he no doubt had respect to the Jews, and exhibits Nineveh in its state of ruin, lest the power of that city should dazzle their eyes; for we are seized with wonder, when anything grand and splendid presents itself to us. Here then Zephaniah makes a representation of Nineveh and sets it before the Jews: Behold, he says, ye see this city full of exultation; ye also see that it rests as in a state of safety; for it is conscious of no fear; it regards itself exempt from the common lot of men, as though it was built in the clouds. This city, he says, is above all others celebrated; but let not frail and evanescent splendor terrify you; for God will doubtless in his own time overthrow it and reduce it to nothing.
Read full note →
Let us also in the meantime observe what I have lately referred to,—that the cause of the ruin of Nineveh is described, which was, that it had promised to itself a perpetuity in the world. But let us remember, that in this city is presented to us an example, which belongs in common to all nations,—that God cannot endure the presumption of men, when inflated by their own greatness and power, they do not think themselves to be men, nor humble themselves in a way suitable to the condition of men, but forget themselves, as though they could exalt themselves above the heavens.
But it is necessary to examine the words: Nineveh said in her heart, I, and besides me no other. By these words the Prophet means, that Nineveh was so blinded by its splendor that it now defied every change of fortune. Had Babylon spoken thus, it would have been no wonder, for it had taken from Nineveh its sovereignty. But we see that the same pride infatuates people as well as superior kings; for each thinks himself to be great alone, and when he compares himself with others, he looks on them as far below him, as though they were placed beneath his feet. Thus then the Prophet shows in few words what was the cause of the ruin of Nineveh: it thought that its condition on the earth was fixed and perpetual. If then we desire to be protected by God’s hand, let us bear in mind what our condition is, and daily, yea, hourly prepare ourselves for a change, except God be pleased to sustain us. Our stability is to depend only on the aid of God, and from consciousness of our infirmity, to tremble in ourselves, lest a forgetfulness of our state should creep in.
He afterwards adds, How has it become a desolation? The Prophet accommodates his words to the capacities of men: for the ruin of Nineveh might have appeared incredible. Hence the Prophet by a question rouses the minds of the faithful, that they might not doubt the truth of what God declared, for he would work in an extraordinary manner. This how then intimates, that the Jews ought not to be incredulous, while thinking that Nineveh was on all sides fortified, so as to prevent the occurrence of anything disastrous: for God would, in a wonderful manner and beyond what is usual, overthrow it. How, then, has it become a desolation, a resting-place for beasts?
He then subjoins, Every one who passes by will hiss and shake his hand. The Prophet seems to point out the future reproach of Nineveh, and to confirm also by a different mode of speaking what he had before said, that its ruin would be wonderful; for the shaking of the hand and hissing are marks of reproach: Behold Nineveh, which so much flattered itself! we now see only its sad ruins. The Prophet, I have no doubt, means here by hissing and the shaking of the hind, that Nineveh would become an ignominious spectacle to all people: and the same mode of speaking often occurs in the Prophets. All shall hiss at thee; that is, I will make thee a reproach and a disgrace. Then the Prophet, as I have already said, still declares the same truths that the ruin of Nineveh would be like a miracle; for all those who pass by would be amazed; as though he had said, Behold, they will hiss—What is this? and then they will shake the hand—What can be firm in this world? We see the principal seat of empire demolished, and differing nothing from a desert. We now perceive the meaning of the Prophet.
As this doctrine is also necessary for us at this day, we must notice the circumstances to which we have referred. If, then, our enemies triumph now, and their haughtiness is intolerable, let us know, that the sooner the vengeance of God will overtake them; if they are become insensible in their prosperity, and secure, and despise all dangers, they thus provoke God’s wrath, and especially if to their pride and hardness they add cruelty, so as basely to persecute the Church of God, to spoil, to plunder, and to slay his people, as we see them doing. Since then our enemies are so wanton, we may see as in a mirror their near destruction, such as is foretold by the Prophet: for he spoke not only of his own age, but designed to teach us, by the prophetic spirit, how dear to God is the safety of his Church; and the future lot of the ungodly till the end of the world will no doubt be such as Nineveh is described here to have been that though they swell with pride for a time, and promise themselves every success against the innocent, God will yet put a stop to their insolence and check their cruelty, when the proper time shall come. I shall not today begin the third chapter, for it contains a new subject.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Meaning, Nineveh, which rejoicing so much of her strength…
Meaning, Nineveh, which rejoicing so much of her strength and prosperity, should be thus made waste, and God’s people delivered.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Zep 2:15 This [is] the rejoicing city that dwelt…
Zep 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.
Ver. 15. This is the rejoicing city] Exultabunda, that could stand on no ground, but was ready to leap out of her skin as it were; her inhabitants were mere mirthmongers altogether set upon the merry pin; like the people of Tombutum in Africa, who spend their whole time in singing and dancing. Now the case is altered, and the Church, out of zeal for God’s glory, thus insulteth over them.
Read full note →
That dwelt carelessly] As if situated in the clouds, above all fear; and altogether insuperable. Security ushereth in destruction. See Jer 49:31-32.
That said in her heart, I am, and there is none besides me] This was a proud word indeed. I am is one of God Almighty’s names, Exo 3:14, and there is none besides me is one of his titles, Isa 45:5; Isa 45:21; Isa 48:12. Thus empty man would be something (the toad would swell to the size of an ox), though man be born like a wild ass’s colt, Job 11:12, and man being in honour, understandeth not that he is, or shortly shall be, like the beasts that perish: that die of the murrain, and so become carrion, good for nothing. {Psa 49:20, pecoribus morticinis. Tremel.}
“ Unde superbit homo cuius conceptio turpis,
Nasci poena, labor vita, necesse mori? ”
“Whence will man show his pride, whose conception is shameful,
to be born a penalty, life of work, and needs die”
How is she become a desolation] Here the prophet, Nineven in Theatre statuit, et traducit apud Iudaeos (saith Calvin), setteth Nineveh upon the stage, and showeth his Jews the tragic end of her; how she should wonderfully be brought down beyond all expectation. God delighteth to make himself marvellous; he is the only true Thaumaturgus.
Every one that passeth by her shall hiss, and wag his hand] In scorn, horror, and disdain; and why, see Nah 3:19 Lam 2:15; Lam 2:17 1Ki 9:8 Eze 27:36 Mic 6:16. {See Trapp on "Nah 3:19"} Surely God scorneth the scorners, Pro 3:34, and maketh that the merciless find no mercy, Jas 2:13.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain This is the rejoicing city: we may suppose the…
This is the rejoicing city: we may suppose the prophet, or the Jews, or all passengers, standing still and wondering, nay, upbraiding Nineveh, all mirth and jollity once, but now all sorrow and grief.
That dwelt carelessly; in so great confidence and security, as if it had been impossible she should ever have fallen from her glory.
Read full note →
That said in her heart; persuaded herself into an opinion very ill becoming any but God himself.
There is none beside me; none that can contend with me, that will be so hardy as to attempt against me, none able to overthrow me. Somewhat like Tyre, Eze 28:12, &o.
How is she become a desolation! she thought none was like her in glory, power, and wealth. now there is none like her indeed, but it is for misery and desolations. It may be either the speech of one that laments and wonders at it, or of one that rejoiceth at it.
A place for beasts to lie down in: where palaces for princes stood, now are places for beasts; where nobles dwelt, now do ignoble cattle couch.
Shall hiss and wag his hand; deride their arrogancy, and condemn their ungodly pride and security, yet with some pity toward this desolate city.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain This is the rejoicing city that dwelt carelessly Once…
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 heart, I [am], and [there is] none besides me; or, "is there any besides me?" F20 there is none, no city in the world to be compared to it for the largeness of the place, the strength of its walls, the number of its inhabitants, its wealth and riches: at least so she thought within herself, and was elated with these things; and concluded it would never be otherwise with her; "I am", and shall always continue so: how is she become a desolation! what a desolate place is this! its walls broken down, its houses demolished, its wealth and riches plundered, its inhabitants destroyed; and now the hold and habitation of beasts of prey, and hateful birds: a place for beasts to lie down in! and not for men to dwell in: this is said, either as wondering, or as rejoicing at it, as follows: everyone that passeth by her; and sees her in this ruinous condition: shall hiss, [and] wag his hand; in scorn and derision, as pleased with the sight, and having no pity and compassion for her, remembering her cruelty to and oppression of others, when in her prosperity; see ( Nahum 3:19 ) . FOOTNOTES: F20 (rze yopaw yna) "et praeter me adhuc quiequam est?" Cocceius.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain This - So the prophet triumphs over her. There…
This - So the prophet triumphs over her. There is none - None like me, or that can contend with me.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 15. This is the rejoicing city] The city…
Verse 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.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Zep 2:15. This is the rejoicing city — This…
Zep 2:15. This is the rejoicing city — This is supposed to be said by those who should pass by it after its desolation; that said in her heart, I am, and there is none besides me — Its inhabitants indulged themselves in their ease and pleasures; and they arrived at that degree of presumption, as to fancy that no strength or power could bring them down from the height of grandeur at which they were arrived. Babylon is charged with the same degree of pride and carnal security, Isa 47:8. Every one that passeth by her shall hiss, &c. — In astonishment at the condition to which she is reduced: see a like topic, of a great city laid waste, pursued in a train of images full of sublimity and terror, Isa 34:11-17.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain This utter desolation is “the rejoicing city” (so unlike…
This utter desolation is “the rejoicing city” (so unlike is it, that there is need to point out that it is the same); this is she, who was full of joy, exulting exceedingly, but in herself, not in God; “that dwelt carelessly,” literally, “securely,” and so carelessly; saying “Peace and safety” 1Th 5:3, as though no evil would come upon her, and so perishing more certainly and miserably (see Jdg 18:27) “That said in her heart,” this was her inmost feeling, the moving cause of all her deeds; “I am and there is none beside me;” literally , “and there is no I beside,” claiming the very attribute of God (as the world does) of self-existence, as if it alone were “I,” and others, in respect of her, were as nothing. Pantheism, which denies the being of God, as Author of the world, and claims the life in the material world to be God, and each living being to be a part of God, is only this self-idolatry, reflected upon and carried out in words. All the pride of the world, all self-indulgence which says, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die,” all covetousness which ends in this world, speaks this by its acts, “I and no I beside.”
How is she become a desolation - Has passed wholly into it, exists only as a desolation, “a place for beasts to lie down in,” a mere den for “the wild beasts. Every one that passeth by her shall hiss” in derision, “and wag” (or wave) “his hand” in detestation, as though putting the hand between them and it, so as not to look at it, or, as it were, motioning it away. The action is different from that of “clapping the hands in exultation” Nah 3:19.
Read full note →
“It is not difficult,” Jerome says, “to explain this of the world, that when the Lord hath stretched forth His Hand over the north and destroyed the Assyrian, the Prince of this world, the world also perishes together with its Princes, and is brought to utter desolation, and is pitied by none, but all hiss and shake their hands at its ruin. But of the Church it seems, at first sight, blasphemous to say that it shall be a pathless desert, and wild beasts shall dwell in her, and that afterward it shall be said insultingly over her; ‘This is the city given up to ill, which “dwelt carelessly and said in her heart, I and none beside.”’ But whoso should consider that of the Apostle, wherein he says, “in the last days perilous times shall come” 2Ti 3:1-5, and what is written in the Gospel, that “because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold” Mat 24:12, so that then shall that be fulfilled, “When the Son of Man cometh, shall He find the faith on the earth?” he will not marvel at the extreme desolation of the Church, that, in the reign of antichrist, it shall be reduced to a desolation and given over to beasts, and shall suffer whatever the prophet now describes.
For if for unbelief “God spared not the natural branches,” but “brake them off,” and “turned rivers into a wilderness and the water-springs into a dry ground,” and “a fruitful land into barrenness, for the iniquity of them that dwell therein,” why not as to those of whom He had said, “He turneth the wilderness into a standing water, and dry ground into water-springs, and there He maketh the hungry to dwell” Psa 107:33-36; and as to those whom “out of the wild olive He hath grafted into the good olive tree,” why, if forgetful of this benefit, they depart from their Maker and worship the Assyrian, should He not undo them and bring them to the same thirst wherein they were before? Which, whereas it may be understood generally of the coming of antichrist or of the end of the world, yet it may, day by day, be understood of those who feign to be of the Church of God, and “in works deny it, are hearers of the word not doers,” who in vain boast in an outward show, whereas herds that is, troops of vices dwell in them, and brute animals serving the body, and all the beasts of the field which devour their hearts (and pelicans, that is, gluttons , whose ‘god is their belly’) and hedgehogs, a prickly animal full of spikes which pricketh whatever it toucheth.
After which it is subjoined, that the Church shall therefore suffer this, or hath suffered it, because it lifted itself up proudly and raised its head like a cedar, given up to evil works, and yet promising itself future blessedness, and despising others in its heart, nor thinking that there is any other beside itself, and saying, “I am, and there is no other beside me,” how is it become a solitude, a lair of beasts! For where before, dwelt the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and Angels presided over its ministries, there shall beasts dwell. And if we understand that, every one that passeth by shall hiss, we shall explain it thus; when Angels shall pass through her, and not remain in her, as was their wont, they shall be amazed and marvel, and shall not support and bear her up with their hand, when falling, but shall lift up the hands and shall pass by. Or they shall make a sound as those who mourn. But if we understand this of the devil and his angels, who destroyed the vine also that was brought out of Egypt, we shall say, that through the soul, which before was the temple of God and hath ceased so to be, the serpent passeth, and hisseth and spitteth forth the venom of his malice in her, and not this only, but setteth in motion his works which figuratively are called hands.”
Rup.: “The earlier and partial fulfillment of prophecy does not destroy, it rather confirms, the entire fulfillment to come. For whoso heareth of the destruction of mighty cities, is constrained to believe the truth of the Gospel, that the fashion of this world passeth away, and that, after the likeness of Nineveh and Babylon, the Lord will in the end judge the whole world also.”
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Beside, or equal. This was true, Jonas i. 2.…
Beside, or equal. This was true, Jonas i. 2. (Calmet) --- The founder intended that no city should ever equal it. (Diodorus ii.) St. Jerome applies what is here said of Ninive to the Church in the times of antichrist, (Rondet.) or to a fallen soul. Any nation may abandon the faith: but the whole Church cannot fail. [Matthew 16:18] (Haydock)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain Nothing then seemed more improbable than that the capital…
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.
Read full note →
hiss--in astonishment at a desolation so great and sudden (Kg1 9:8); also in derision (Job 27:23; Lam 2:15; Eze 27:36).
Next: Zephaniah Chapter 3
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 15. A ḳinah or elegy on Nineveh.
15. A ḳinah or elegy on Nineveh.
the rejoicing city] R.V. the joyous city.
Read full note →
there is none beside me] there is none else. She felt unique in her power and splendour. The same words are used of herself by Babylon, Isa_47:8.
shall hiss, and wag his hand] Expressions of scorn and hatred. Eze_27:36; Lam_2:15-16; Job_27:23; Nah_3:19.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (15) The earlier part of this verse is doubtless…
(15) The earlier part of this verse is doubtless based on Isa_47:8, “Hear now this, thou that art given to pleasures, that dwellest carelessly, that sayest in thine heart, I am and none else beside me.” (See also Isa_23:7, and compare the language in Rev_18:7.) The remainder of the verse reminds us of Jer_50:23; Nah_3:19.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain This is the rejoicing city. Such is the fate…
This is the rejoicing city. Such is the fate of this once exulting city, that dwelt carelessly, secure, with no fear of danger at hand. (Isa_47:8, on which this passage is founded) I am, and there is none beside me. Thus, in effect, Nineveh claimed for himself the attributes of Almighty God. She stands alone, mistress of nations, a type of the powers of this world, which deify themselves and defy the Lord. Septuagint, Ouk esti met eme eti , "There is no more any after me." Shall hiss. In scorn. (Job_27:23 Jer_19:8 Mic_6:16) Wag his hand. He shall shake or wave his hand with the gesture of dismissal, as if saying, "Away with thee! get thee gone! a rehearsal of the awful "Depart ye!" in the final judgment. (comp. Nah_3:19)
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 General Information:
General Information:
In Zep 2:4-15, Yahweh announces his judgment on the nations that surround Judah.
Read full note →
the exultant city
"the city that is proud of itself." This refers to the city of Nineveh, about whom Yahweh began to speak in Zephaniah 2:13.
said in her heart
This idiom means "said to herself" or "she thought." The city is spoken of as if it were a person that could speak. It represents the people who live in that city. (See: Idiom and Personification and Metonymy)
I am, and nothing is my equal
It may be necessary to supply an object for "I am." AT: "I am the greatest city, and no other city is equal to me" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
a horror
"a horrible place to see"
hiss and shake his fist
A hiss is an angry sound. This phrase indicates extreme anger of the people toward Nineveh.
translationWords
exult
life
heart
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 2:15 utter ruin: The doom was so certain and…
2:15 utter ruin: The doom was so certain and irreversible (see Nah 1:14; 2:13; 3:19) that Zephaniah saw no future for Assyria or its capital. So complete was Nineveh’s devastation that the Greek historian Xenophon once passed by its ruins unaware that it was there. • laugh . . . shake a defiant fist: Those who suffered under Assyria’s cruel empire would be glad seeing its demise.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.