How forgotten is the book of Zephaniah? Who is Zephaniah and when was Zephaniah a prophet? Listen as Your Church Friends dive deep into the Forgotten Book of Zephaniah and unpack all these questions.
Breakdown of the Forgotten Book of Zephaniah:
Judgment against Judah (Zephaniah 1:1-2:3)
Judgment against the nations (Zephaniah 2:4-15)
The future of Jerusalem (Zephaniah 3:1-20)
Zephaniah & The Bible:
1:2 “I will utterly sweep”—cf. Jer 8:13.
1:3 “I will sweep away humans and animals … the birds of the sky and the fish of the sea”—cf. Hos 4:3.
1:7 “Hush before the Lord”—cf. Hab 2:20.
1:7 “The Lord has prepared a sacrifice”—cf. Isa 34:6; Jer 46:10.
1:9 “Fill their master’s house with lawlessness”—cf. Amos 3:10.
1:12 “Congealing on their dregs”—cf. Jer 48:11.
1:13 “They shall build houses but not inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards but not drink their wine”—cf. Deut 28:30; Amos 5:11; Jer 29:5–7 and passim.
1:15 “A day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and dense fog”—cf. Joel 2:2.
1:18 “Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to save them on the day of the wrath of the Lord”—cf. Ezek 7:19.
2:2 “Fleeting like chaff”—cf. Isa 17:13–14.
2:3 “Seek righteousness, seek humility”—cf. Mic 6:8.
2:8, 10 “I have heard the taunts of Moab … This is what they get for their pride”—cf. Jer 48:29.
2:9 “Moab shall be like Sodom … a permanent wasteland”—cf. Jer 49:18.
2:14 “In it herds shall lie down, every nation’s beasts. Both the jackdaw and the owl shall roost on its capitals, a voice shall shriek from the window”—cf. Isa 13:21–22; 34:13–15.
2:15 “This is the joyful city, dwelling secure, telling itself”—cf. Isa 23:7; 47:8.
2:15 “Anyone who passes by hisses, shakes his hand”—cf. 1 Kgs 9:8; Jer 19:8; 49:17; 50:13.
3:3 “Wolves of the evening”—cf. Hab 1:8.
3:4 “Profane the holy, corrupt the teaching”—cf. Ezek 22:26.
3:10 “From beyond the rivers of Cush … will bring my offering”—cf. Isa 18:7.
3:11 “Elated with pridefulness”—cf. Isa 13:3.
3:14 “Sing, Fair Zion … be glad and exult”—cf. Isa 44:23; 54:1; Joel 2:23.
3:17 “He rejoices over you with gladness”—cf. Deut 30:9; Jer 32:41.
3:19 “I will rescue the lame, and the strayed I will gather in”—cf. Mic 4:6–7.
The poem Dies irae (“Day of Wrath”), often attributed to Thomas of Celano (c. AD 1185–1260), which was chanted for many centuries in the Western church as part of requiem masses, was likely the most prominent representation of a part of Zephaniah (1:14–18).
THAT day of wrath, that dreadful day,
shall heaven and earth in ashes lay,
as David and the Sybil say.
What horror must invade the mind
when the approaching Judge shall find
and sift the deeds of all mankind!
The mighty trumpet's wondrous tone
shall rend each tomb's sepulchral stone
and summon all before the Throne.
Now death and nature with surprise
behold the trembling sinners rise
to meet the Judge's searching eyes.
Then shall with universal dread
the Book of Consciences be read
to judge the lives of all the dead.
For now before the Judge severe
all hidden things must plain appear;
no crime can pass unpunished here.
O what shall I, so guilty plead?
and who for me will intercede?
when even Saints shall comfort need?
O King of dreadful majesty!
grace and mercy You grant free;
as Fount of Kindness, save me!
Recall, dear Jesus, for my sake
you did our suffering nature take
then do not now my soul forsake!
In weariness You sought for me,
and suffering upon the tree!
let not in vain such labor be.
O Judge of justice, hear, I pray,
for pity take my sins away
before the dreadful reckoning day.
Your gracious face, O Lord, I seek;
deep shame and grief are on my cheek;
in sighs and tears my sorrows speak.
You Who did Mary's guilt unbind,
and mercy for the robber find,
have filled with hope my anxious mind.
How worthless are my prayers I know,
yet, Lord forbid that I should go
into the fires of endless woe.
Divorced from the accursed band,
o make me with Your sheep to stand,
as child of grace, at Your right Hand.
When the doomed can no more flee
from the fires of misery
with the chosen call me.
Before You, humbled, Lord, I lie,
my heart like ashes, crushed and dry,
assist me when I die.
Full of tears and full of dread
is that day that wakes the dead,
calling all, with solemn blast
to be judged for all their past.
Lord, have mercy, Jesus blest,
grant them all Your Light and Rest. Amen.
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