John Gill Commentary Zephaniah 3

Woe to her that is filthy, and polluted
Meaning the city of Jerusalem, and its inhabitants; not as before the Babylonish captivity, but after their return from it, under the second temple, as Abarbinel owns; and even as in the times before and at the coming of Christ, and the preaching of his apostles among them; as the whole series of the prophecy, and the connection of the several parts of it, show; and there are such plain intimations of the conversion of the Gentiles, and of such a happy state of the Jews, in which they shall see evil no more, as can agree with no other times than the times of the Gospel, both the beginning and latter part of them. The character of this city, and its inhabitants, is, that it was "filthy", and polluted with murders, adulteries, oppression, rapine, and other sins: our Lord often calls them a wicked and an adulterous generation; and yet they pretended to great purity of life and manners; and they were pure in their own eyes, though not washed from their filthiness; they took much pains to make clean the outside of the cup, but within were full of impurity, (Matthew 23:25–28) .

In the margin it is, "woe to her that is gluttonous". The word is used for the craw or crop of a fowl, (Leviticus 1:16) hence some render it ^F20 "woe to the craw"; to the city that is all craw, to which Jerusalem is compared for its devouring the wealth and substance of others. The Scribes and Pharisees in Christ's time are said to devour widows' houses, (Matthew 23:14) and this seems to be the sin with which they were defiled, and here charged with. Some think the word signifies one that is publicly, infamous; either made a public example of, or openly exposed, as sometimes filthy harlots are; or rather one "that has made herself infamous" ^F21 ; by her sins and vices: to the oppressing city !
that oppressed the poor, the widow, and the fatherless.

This may have respect to the inhabitants of Jerusalem stoning the prophets of the Lord sent unto them; to the discouragements they laid the followers of Christ under, by not suffering such to come to hear him that were inclined; threatening to cast them out of their synagogues if they professed him, which passed into a law; and to their killing the Lord of life and glory; and the persecution of his apostles, ministers, and people: see (Matthew 23:13Matthew 23:37) (John 9:22) (1 Thessalonians 2:14–16) .

Some render it, "to the city a dove" ^F23 ; being like a silly dove without heart, as in (Hosea 7:11) . R. Azariah ^F24 thinks Jerusalem is so called because in its works it was like Babylon, which *has* for its military sign on its standard a dove; (See Gill on Jeremiah 25:38) (See Gill on Jeremiah 46:16) (See Gill on Hosea 11:11) but the former sense is best.

FOOTNOTES:

• F20: (harwm ywh) "vae ingluviei", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator.
• F21: (ouav th paradeigmatizomhnh) "vae huic quae infamatur", L'Empereur Not. in Mosis Kimchii (oidopozia) "ad scientiam", p. 174. so Drusius and Tarnovius.
• F23: (hnwyh ryex) (poliv h peristera) , Sept.; "civitas columba", V. L.; so Syr. Ar. Jarchi, and other Jewish interpreters.
• F24: Meor Enayin, c. 21. fol. 90. 1.

She obeyed not the voice of his servants the prophets, as the Targum, by way of explanation, adds, who warned her of her sins and of her ruin. The inhabitants of Jerusalem hearkened not to the voice of John the Baptist, the forerunner of Christ, who gave notice of his coming; nor to the voice of Christ himself, who stretched out his hand all the day to a disobedient and gainsaying people; nor to the voice of his apostles, whose doctrines they contradicted and blasphemed; and put away the word of God from them, thereby judging themselves unworthy of eternal life:

she received not correction by the rod, by the judgments of God upon her: or "instruction" ^F25; by the Gospel preached to her inhabitants. So the Targum interprets it, ``she received not doctrine;'' the doctrine of baptism, repentance, and remission of sins, preached by John; but rejected the counsel of God by him against themselves, (Luke 7:31) nor the doctrine and instruction of Christ and his apostles, though of more worth than gold and silver; but, on the contrary, slighted and despised it, and rejected it with the utmost contempt:

she trusted not in the Lord; not in the Word of the Lord, as the Targum; the essential Word, Christ Jesus; the Word made flesh, and dwelling among them; they trusted in the law of Moses, and in their obedience to it; in their rites and ceremonies, and in the observance of them, and the traditions of their elders; they trusted in the flesh, in their carnal privileges; in their own legal righteousness, and in themselves, that they were righteous, and despised others; and particularly the righteousness of Christ they submitted not unto; they trusted not in him, nor in that; though they were told, that, if they believed not that he was the Messiah, they should die in their sins:

she drew not near to her God; Immanuel, God manifest in the flesh, who was promised to the Jews, and sent unto them, whom their fathers expected, and whose God he was, and theirs also; being in his human nature of them, and God over all blessed for ever; so far were they from drawing near to him, and embracing, him, that they hid, as it were, their faces from him; they would not come to him for life and light, for grace, righteousness, and salvation; nor even to hear him preach, nor suffer others to do the same; but, as much as in them lay, hindered them from attending his ministry, word, and ordinances. The Targum is, ``she drew not nigh to the worship of her God.''

FOOTNOTES:

• F25: (rowm) "institutionem", Drusius, Tarnovius.

Her princes within her [are] roaring lions Or, "as roaring lions"; there being a defect of the note of similitude; which is supplied by the Targum, Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, Syriac, and Arabic versions. This is to be understood, not of the princes of the blood; but of civil magistrates in common; the members of the grand sanhedrim; the princes of the Jewish world, that crucified the Lord of glory; and who gaped upon him with their mouths like ravening and roaring lions, as is foretold they should, (Psalms 22:12Psalms 22:13) and who breathed out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of Christ; and by their menaces endeavoured to frighten and deter them from preaching in his name, and from a profession of him; see (1 Corinthians 2:8) (Acts 4:5Acts 4:6Acts 4:18) (Acts 5:27Acts 5:28) :

her judges [are] evening wolves ; or, like them, cruel, voracious, never satisfied; especially are very ravenous in the evening, having had no food all day; not daring to go abroad in the daytime to seek their prey; see (Jeremiah 5:6) . The Septuagint and Arabic versions read "wolves of Arabia"; but wrongly; (See Gill on Habakkuk 1:8) such rapacious covetous judges were there in Christ's time; who gives us an instance in one, by which we may judge of the rest, who feared not God, nor regarded men, (Luke 18:2) such as these were hungry and greedy after gifts and bribes to pervert judgment, and to devour the poor, the widow, and the fatherless, on whom they had no mercy:

they gnaw not the bones till the morrow ; or rather, "in the morning"^F26; that is, either they leave not the bones till the morning, as Jarchi and Kimchi interpret it; they are so hungry, that they eat up bones and all at once, and reserve nothing for the next day; which expresses both the greediness of these judges, and the total consumption of the estates of men made by them:

Or else the sense is, that not having gnawn any bones in the morning, or eaten anything that day, hence they are so greedy in the evening; and so this last clause gives a reason why evening wolves are so voracious; for which such cruel judges are compared to them.

FOOTNOTES:

• F26: (rqbl) "in mane", Pagninus, Montanus, Drusius; "matutino", Cocceius.

Her prophets [are] light [and treacherous persons
The false prophets, as the Targum and Kimchi explain it: these seem to design the lawyers spoken of in the New Testament, whose business it was to interpret the law to the people. These were "light" men, good for nothing, of no worth and value. They were light in knowledge, as Kimchi gives the sense of the word; men of no brains; empty headed men, that had no substantial knowledge. They were giddy, unstable, and inconstant, and compliant with the humours and vices of the people; men of no gravity in their countenance, speech, and conversation. Schultens ^F1 , from the use of the word in the Arabic language, renders it "proud", as these men were, proud boasters. For, though they had but a superficial knowledge of things, they boasted of much, and carried it with a haughty and insolent air to the common people. And they were "treacherous" to God, and to his truths, and to the souls of men, and took away the key of knowledge from them; and particularly were so to Christ, of whom they were the betrayers and murderers, delivering him up into the hands of the Gentiles to be scourged and crucified, (Matthew 20:18Matthew 20:19).

her priests have polluted the sanctuary
the temple; by selling, or suffering to be sold in it, various things, whereby it became a den of thieves, which once was called a house of prayer, (Matthew 21:12Matthew 21:13). They also polluted our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the sanctuary or temple was a type, by denying, blaspheming, and reproaching him, and by shedding his blood.

they have done violence to the law
by not teaching it as they should; and by their false glosses, senses, and interpretations of it; and by the traditions of the elders they preferred unto it, and whereby they made it void; see (Matthew 5:1–48) and (Matthew 15:1–39) .

FOOTNOTES:

• F1: Animadv. Philol. in Job, p. 144.

The just Lord [is] in the midst thereof
In the midst of the city of Jerusalem, where those princes, judges, prophets and priests, were, that behaved so ill, and saw and observed all their evil actions; and yet they were not deterred from them by his presence, even though he is the "just" and Holy One, who loves righteousness, and hates iniquity, and will punish for it; nor were they directed and allured to do what is righteous and good by his example.

This character of the just Lord well agrees with Christ, who is perfectly righteous in both his natures, and in the execution of his offices; and is the author of righteousness to his people; and this is to be understood of his incarnation and personal presence in human nature in Jerusalem, and in the temple, where he taught his doctrine, and wrought his miracles: he will not do iniquity ;
Christ was holy in his nature, harmless in his life; he knew no sin; he did not commit any; no violence was done by him, or guile found in him; he was not guilty of sin against God, nor of doing any injury to men; and should have been imitated by the men of the age in which he lived, as well as by others; and should have been valued and esteemed, and not traduced and vilified as he was, as if he had been the worst of men:

every morning doth he bring his judgment to light ;
the doctrine of the Gospel, which he set in the clearest light, and preached with the greatest constancy, day after day, morning by morning, and very early in the morning, when the people came to hear him in the temple; and he continued in it all the day; he waking morning by morning to this service, as was predicted of him, (Isaiah 1:4) see (Luke 21:37Luke 21:38) : he faileth not ;
in this work of preaching the word, with the greatest evidence and assiduity:

but the unjust knoweth no shame :
those unjust persons, who aspersed the character of Christ, and traduced his doctrine and miracles; though there was nothing in his life, nor in his ministry, that could be justly blamed, yet they blushed not at their sin and wickedness; and though they were sharply reproved by him, and their errors in principle, and sins in practice, were exposed by him, yet they were not ashamed; such were the hardness and obduracy of their hearts.