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Selected Verse: Zephaniah 3:14 - King James
Verse |
Translation |
Text |
Zep 3:14 |
King James |
Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel; be glad and rejoice with all the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem. |
Summary Of Commentaries Associated With The Selected Verse
A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882] |
The prophet in mental vision sees the joyful day of Zion present, and bids her rejoice at it. |
Notes on the Bible, by Albert Barnes, [1834] |
Sing, O daughter of Sion; shout, O Israel; be glad and rejoice with all the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem - Very remarkable throughout all these verses is the use of the sacred number three, secretly conveying to the thoughtful soul the thought of Him, Father Son and Holy Spirit, the Holy and Undivided Trinity by whose operation these things shall be. Threefold is the description of their being freed from sins:
(1) they shall "not do iniquity,"
(2) "nor speak lies,"
(3) "neither shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth."
Threefold their blessedness; They shall:
(1) "feed,"
(2) "lie down,"
(3) "none make them afraid."
Threefold the exhortation to joy here. (Rup.): "Sing to God the Father; 'shout' to God the Son; 'be glad and rejoice' in God the Holy Spirit, which Holy Trinity is One God, from whom thou hast received it that thou art:
(1) 'the daughter of Zion'
(2) 'Israel'
(3) 'the daughter of Jerusalem'
'The daughter of Zion' by faith, 'Israel' by hope, 'Jerusalem' by charity." And this hidden teaching of that holy mystery is continued; "The Lord," God the Father, "hath taken away thy judgments; He God" the Son, "hath cast out (cleared quite away) thine enemy; the king of Israel, the Lord," the Holy Spirit, "is in the midst of thee!" Zep 3:15. The promise is threefold:
(1) "thou shalt not see evil anymore"
(2) "fear thou not"
(3) "let not thine hands be slack"
The love of God is threefold:
(1) "He will rejoice over thee with joy"
(2) "He will rest in His love"
(3) "He will joy over thee with singing"
Again the words in these four verses are so framed as to be "ful"- filled in the end. All in this life are but shadows of that fullness. First, whether the Church or the faithful soul, she is summoned by all her names, "daughter of Zion" ("the thirsty" athirst for God) "Israel" ("Prince with God") "Jerusalem" ("City of Peace"). By all she is called to the fullest joy in God with every expression and every feeling. "Sing;" it is the inarticulate, thrilling, trembling burst of joy; "shout;" again the inarticulate yet louder swell of joy, a trumpet-blast; and then too, deep within, "be glad," the calm even joy of the inward soul; "exult," the triumph of the soul which cannot contain itself for joy; and this, "with the whole heart," no corner of it not pervaded with joy. The ground of this is the complete removal of every evil, and the full presence of God. |
Commentary on the Old Testament, by Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch [1857-78] |
"Exult, O daughter Zion; shout, O Israel! rejoice and exult with all the heart, O daughter Jerusalem. Zep 3:15. Jehovah has removed thy judgments, cleared away thine enemy; the King of Israel, Jehovah, is in the midst of thee: thou wilt see evil no more. Zep 3:16. In that day will men say to Jerusalem, Fear not, O Zion; let not thy hands drop. Zep 3:17. Jehovah thy God is in the midst of thee, a hero who helps: He rejoices over thee in delight, He is silent in His love, exults over thee with rejoicing." The daughter Zion, i.e., the reassembled remnant of Israel, is to exult and shout at the fulness of the salvation prepared for it. The fulness is indicated in the heaping up of words for exulting and rejoicing. The greater the exultation, the greater must the object be over which men exult. הריעוּ, to break out into a cry of joy, is a plural, because the Israel addressed is a plurality. The re-establishment of the covenant of grace assigns the reason for the exultation. God has removed the judgments, and cleared away the enemies, who served as the executors of His judgments. Pinnâh, piel, to put in order (sc., a house), by clearing away what is lying about in disorder (Gen 24:31; Lev 14:36), hence to sweep away or remove. 'Oyēbh: with indefinite generality, every enemy. Now is Jehovah once more in the midst of the daughter Zion as King of Israel, whereas, so long as Israel was given up to the power of the enemy, He had ceased to be its King. Yehōvâh is in apposition to melekj Yisrâ'ēl, which is placed first for the sake of emphasis, and not a predicate. The predicate is merely בּקרבּך (in the midst of thee). The accent lies upon the fact that Jehovah is in the midst of His congregation as King of Israel (cf. Zep 3:17). Because this is the case, she will no more see, i.e., experience, evil (ראה as in Jer 5:12; Isa 44:16, etc.), and need not therefore any longer fear and despair. This is stated in Zep 3:16 : They will say to Jerusalem, Fear not. She will have so little fear, that men will be able to call her the fearless one. ציּון is a vocative of address. It is simpler to assume this than to supply ל from the previous clause. The falling of the hands is a sign of despair through alarm and anxiety (cf. Isa 13:7). This thought is still further explained in Zep 3:17. Jehovah, the God of Zion, is within her, and is a hero who helps or saves; He has inward joy in His rescued and blessed people (cf. Isa 62:5; Isa 65:19). יחרישׁ בּאחבתו appears unsuitable, since we cannot think of it as indicating silence as to sins that may occur (cf. Psa 50:21; Isa 22:14), inasmuch as, according to Zep 3:13, the remnant of Israel commits no sin. Ewald and Hitzig would therefore read yachădı̄sh; and Ewald renders it "he will grow young again," which Hitzig rejects as at variance with the language, because we should then have יתחדּשׁ. He therefore takes yachădı̄sh as synonymous with יעשׂה חדשׁות, he will do a new thing (Isa 43:19). But this rendering cannot be justified by the usage of the language, and does not even yield a thought in harmony with the context. Silence in His love is an expression used to denote love deeply felt, which is absorbed in its object with thoughtfulness and admiration,
(Note: "He assumes the person of a mortal man, because, unless He stammers in this manner, He cannot sufficiently show how much He loves us. Thy God will therefore be quiet in His love, i.e., this will be the greatest delight of thy God, this His chief pleasure, when He shall cherish thee. As a man caresses his dearest wife, so will God then quietly repose in thy love." - Calvin.)
and forms the correlate to rejoicing with exultation, i.e., to the loud demonstration of one's love. The two clauses contain simply a description, drawn from man's mode of showing love, and transferred to God, to set forth the great satisfaction which the Lord has in His redeemed people, and are merely a poetical filling up of the expression, "He will rejoice over thee with joy." This joy of His love will the Lord extend to all who are troubled and pine in misery. |
Adam Clarke Commentary on the Whole Bible - Published 1810-1826 |
Sing, O daughter of Zion - Here is not only a gracious prophetic promise of their restoration from captivity, but of their conversion to God through Christ. |
15 The LORD hath taken away thy judgments, he hath cast out thine enemy: the king of Israel, even the LORD, is in the midst of thee: thou shalt not see evil any more.
19 Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.
13 The remnant of Israel shall not do iniquity, nor speak lies; neither shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth: for they shall feed and lie down, and none shall make them afraid.
14 And it was revealed in mine ears by the LORD of hosts, Surely this iniquity shall not be purged from you till ye die, saith the Lord GOD of hosts.
21 These things hast thou done, and I kept silence; thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as thyself: but I will reprove thee, and set them in order before thine eyes.
19 And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people: and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying.
5 For as a young man marrieth a virgin, so shall thy sons marry thee: and as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee.
17 The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.
7 Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man's heart shall melt:
16 In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem, Fear thou not: and to Zion, Let not thine hands be slack.
16 He burneth part thereof in the fire; with part thereof he eateth flesh; he roasteth roast, and is satisfied: yea, he warmeth himself, and saith, Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire:
12 They have belied the LORD, and said, It is not he; neither shall evil come upon us; neither shall we see sword nor famine:
17 The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.
36 Then the priest shall command that they empty the house, before the priest go into it to see the plague, that all that is in the house be not made unclean: and afterward the priest shall go in to see the house:
31 And he said, Come in, thou blessed of the LORD; wherefore standest thou without? for I have prepared the house, and room for the camels.
17 The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.
16 In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem, Fear thou not: and to Zion, Let not thine hands be slack.
15 The LORD hath taken away thy judgments, he hath cast out thine enemy: the king of Israel, even the LORD, is in the midst of thee: thou shalt not see evil any more.