John Calvin Commentary Zephaniah 1:18

"Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of Jehovah`s wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he will make an end, yea, a terrible end, of all them that dwell in the land." — Zephaniah 1:18 (ASV)

He repeats what he has already said—that the resources the Jews hoped would be ready to prevent God’s vengeance would be vain. For though people dare not openly resist God, they still hope by some indirect methods to find a way to avert His judgment.

So, as the Jews, trusting in their wealth and in their fortified cities, became insolent toward God, the Prophet here declares that neither gold nor silver would be a help to them. Let them accumulate wealth, he says; though by the mass of their gold and silver they form high mountains for themselves, yet they will not be able to turn aside the hand of God, nor be able to deliver themselves—and why?

He repeats the same thing again: that it would be the day of wrath. Indeed, we know that the most savage enemies are sometimes pacified by money, for avarice mitigates their cruelty. But the Prophet declares here that since God would be the ruler in that war, there would be no redemption, and therefore money would be useless, for God could by no means receive them into favor unless they repented and truly humbled themselves before Him.

He therefore adds that the land would be devoured by the fire of God’s jealousy, or indignation. He compares God’s wrath to fire, for no agreement can be made when fire rages; instead, the more materials there are, the more there will be to fuel the fire.

So the Prophet then excludes the Jews from any hope of deliverance unless they reconciled themselves to God by true and sincere repentance. For a consummation, he says, He will bring it about for all the inhabitants of the land, and one indeed very quick or speedy.

In short, he means that since the Jews had hardened themselves against every instruction, they would find God’s vengeance to be such that it would wholly consume them, as they would not forestall it but, on the contrary, intensify it by their pride and stupidity, and even mock it.

Now follows—