Zephaniah 3 Chapter Introduction

Structure and Formatting

This chapter is the third of the three major parts of the book of Zephaniah. (See the outline in the introduction to the book.) This part begins with a warning to the city of Jerusalem ([verses 1–8](../03/01.md)), and it then describes how Yahweh will restore Jerusalem and bring people from many nations there to worship him ([verses 9–20](../03/09.md)).The ULT sets the lines of this chapter farther to the right on the page than the rest of the text because they are poetry.

Translation Issues in This Chapter

Personification

In [verses 1–5](../03/01.md), Zephaniah speaks of the city of Jerusalem as if it were a person who was acting in certain ways. Zephaniah is actually addressing the people of Jerusalem. If it would be helpful to your readers, you could indicate that in your translation. For example, for the statement “Woe to the one rebelling” in [verse 1](../03/01.md), you might say “Woe to the people of Jerusalem, who are rebelling.”

Translation Issues in This Chapter

Gender of the pronoun for a city

In [verses 1–5](../03/01.md), Zephaniah uses the pronouns “she” and “her” to mean Jerusalem, since it was conventional in his language to use feminine pronouns when speaking about a city. In [verses 11–12](../03/11.md) and [18–19](../03/18.md), Yahweh addresses the city as if it were a person, and he uses the feminine singular form of “you.” Zephaniah does the same in [verses 14–15](../03/14.md), as do the people who speak to Jerusalem in [verses 16–17](../03/16.md). If you decide to show in your translation that all of these speakers are addressing Jerusalem as if the city were a person, you may decide to use the gender of pronoun that is conventional in your own language.

Number of pronouns

The pronoun “you” is singular throughout the chapter except for in v. 20, where it is plural. Use the corresponding forms in your translation if your language marks a distinction between singular and plural “you” and if you decide to retain the references to the city of Jerusalem as if it were a person.