Zephaniah 2

— dry like a wilderness.] Notwithstanding her many waters, (Nahum i. 4,) her situation shall become dry: the artificial channels being obstructed, and the waters of the river returning to their course. See Nahum ii. 8. Abp. Newcome.

Zephaniah 2:2

2. Before the decree bring forth, &c.] Before the command of God bring forth all this heavy judgment upon you: before the day of your captivity come upon you, which is coming on with such speed and violence, as the chaff is driven with a strong wind. Bp. Hall.

Zephaniah 2:4

4. For Gaza shall be forsaken, &c.] The Prophet digresses to foretel the fate of some cities and nations bordering on Judea, and hostile to her: and he then enlarges on the destruction of Nineveh, a city which had carried the ten tribes into captivity, and had often struck Jerusalem with terrour, ver. 4—15. Abp. Newcome.

— at the noon day.] Openly before your eyes. Bp. Hall.

Zephaniah 2:5

5. — Cherethites!] The Philistines, who live upon the coasts of the Mediterranean sea; called in Ezekiel, chap. xxv. 16, as well as here, Cherethites or Cherethims. W. Lowth.

— O Canaan, the land of the Philistines.] The Canaanites, properly so called, are the same with the Philistines, and seated in that part of Palestine: see Josh. xiii. 3. W. Lowth.

Zephaniah 2:6

6. And the sea coast shall be dwellings &c.] A proverbial description of an utter desolation: compare ver. 14, 15; and see the notes on Isa. vii. 25; xiii. 20. W. Lowth.

Zephaniah 2:7

7. — they shall feed thereupon: &c.] These words allude to the foregoing verse. As the cities of Gaza, Ashkelon, &c. were places for the wild Arabs, or other

The judgment of Moab and Ammon, Ethiopia and Assyria. Before CHRIST about 630.

Zephaniah 2:9

9. — the residue of my people shall spoil them.] Judas Maccabeus and his brethren subdued the Ammonites, as appears from 1 Mac. v. 6. W. Lowth.

10. — he will famish all the gods of the earth. He will deprive them of their worship and sacrifices, which the Gentiles thought to be the food of their gods: see Deut. xxxii. 38. W. Lowth. By “the earth” the Jews understood the great continent of all Asia and Africa, to which they had access by land: and by “the isles” they understood the places to which they sailed by sea, particularly all Europe. Sir Isaac Newton.

The Prophet here foretels the gradual fall of idolatry; and its deep, and at length deadly, wound by the spreading of the Gospel. Abp. Newcome.

— every one from his place.] Or, “in his place.” Men shall worship Him every where, and not only in Jerusalem: compare Mal. i. 11; John iv. 21. W. Lowth.

12. — by my sword. By Nebuchadnezzar, who is a sword in my hand, that is, an instrument to execute my vengeance, Ps. xvii. 13. The Ethiopians seem to comprehend the Egyptians, whose confederates they were, and with whom they underwent the same fate, when Nebuchadnezzar conquered Egypt: see Jer. xlvi. 9; Ezek. xxx. 5. 9. W. Lowth.

Zephaniah 2:13

13. — the north.] The Assyrians: so called because they used to invade Palestine through Syria from the north. For the same reason the Babylonians are

and will make Nineveh a desolation, and dry like a wilderness.

Zephaniah 2:14

14. — all the beasts of the nations.] The Chaldee interprets it, “the several kinds of wild beasts:” as if the Hebrew word, rendered “nations,” were to be understood of the several species of wild beasts, as the word is used of several sorts of caterpillars, Joel i. 6. In like manner the ants are called “a people,” Prov. xxx. 25. W. Lowth.

— shall lodge in the upper lintels of it.] Or, according to the marginal reading, the “knops or chapaiers.” Sir John Chardin gives an instance of birds lodging on the capitals of forsaken temples and palaces, in his description of the magnificent pillars at Persepolis. “The storks make their nests on the tops of those columns with great boldness, and in no danger of being disturbed.” Harmer.

— he shall uncover the cedar work.] The fine carved work, or ceilings made of cedar, (see Jer. xxii. 14,) shall be exposed to the injuries of the weather, and so quickly come to ruin. W. Lowth. This reference to the former elegance of the city is finely introduced: and in the next verse the grand and affecting description of her desolate state is beautifully contrasted with her former festivity and pride. Abp. Newcome.

Zephaniah 2:15

15. — how is she become a desolation.] See the note on Nahum iii. 19.

Chap. III. ver. 1. Woe to her &c.] The Prophet here addresses Jerusalem. Abp. Newcome.