Zephaniah 2:3

Zephaniah 2:3 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Seek ye the Lord, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the Lord’s anger.
• New International Version (NIV)Seek the Lord, all you humble of the land, you who do what he commands. Seek righteousness, seek humility; perhaps you will be sheltered on the day of the Lord’s anger.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Seek the Lord, all you humble of the land, who do his just commands; seek righteousness; seek humility; perhaps you may be hidden on the day of the anger of the Lord.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Seek the Lord, all you meek of the earth, Who have upheld His justice. Seek righteousness, seek humility. It may be that you will be hidden In the day of the Lord’s anger.

Context of Zephaniah 2:3

1Gather yourselves together [in repentance], yes, gather [in submission], O nation without shame, 2Before the decree takes effect [and the time for repentance is lost]— The day passes like the chaff [whirled by the wind]— Before the burning and fierce anger of the Lord comes upon you, Before the day of the wrath of the Lord comes upon you. Seek the Lord [search diligently for Him and regard Him as the foremost necessity of your life], All you humble of the land Who have practiced His ordinances and have kept His commandments; Seek righteousness, seek humility [regard them as vital]. Perhaps you will be hidden [and pardoned and rescued] In the day of the Lord’s anger. 4For [this is the fate of the Philistines:] Gaza will be abandoned And Ashkelon a desolation; [The people of] Ashdod will be driven out at noon [in broad daylight] And Ekron will be uprooted and destroyed. 5Woe (judgment is coming) to the inhabitants of the seacoast, The nation of the Cherethites [in Philistia]! The word of the Lord is against you, O Canaan, land of the Philistines; I will destroy you So that no inhabitant will be left.

Zephaniah 2:3 word by word

בַּקְּשׁ֤וּ אֶת־יְהוָה֙ כָּל־עַנְוֵ֣י הָאָ֔רֶץ אֲשֶׁ֥ר מִשְׁפָּט֖וֹ פָּעָ֑לוּ בַּקְּשׁוּ־צֶ֙דֶק֙ בַּקְּשׁ֣וּ עֲנָוָ֔ה אוּלַי֙ תִּסָּ֣תְר֔וּ בְּי֖וֹם אַף־יְהוָֽה׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Seekבָּקַשׁbâqash · to seekH1245
• ye the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• all ye meekעָנָו‛ânâv ‛ânâyv · poorH6035
• of the earthאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
• which have wroughtפָּעַלpâ‛al · to workH6466
• his judgmentמִשְׁפָּטmishpâţ · justiceH4941
• righteousnessצֶ֫דֶקtsedeq · righteousnessH6664
• meeknessעֲנָוָה‛ănâvâh · humilityH6038
• it may beאוּלַי'ûlay 'ûlay · perhapsH194
• ye shall be hidסָתַרsâthar · to hideH5641
• in the dayיוֹםyôm · dayH3117
• angerאַף'aph · face: angerH639

Cross-references for Zephaniah 2:3

• Psalms 105:4Seek and deeply long for the Lord and His strength [His power, His might]; Seek and deeply long for His face and His presence continually.
• Isaiah 55:6Seek the Lord while He may be found; Call on Him [for salvation] while He is near.
• Jeremiah 3:13Only understand fully and acknowledge your wickedness and guilt, That you have rebelled (transgressed) against the Lord your God And have scattered your favors among strangers under every green tree, And you have not obeyed My voice,’ says the Lord.
• Jeremiah 4:1“If you will return, O Israel,” says the Lord, “If you will return to Me, And if you will put away your detestable things and remove your man-made gods from My sight, And not stray or waver,
• Jeremiah 29:12Then you will call on Me and you will come and pray to Me, and I will hear [your voice] and I will listen to you.
• Hosea 7:10Though the pride of Israel testifies against him, Yet they do not return [in repentance] to the Lord their God, Nor seek nor search for nor desire Him [as essential] in spite of all this.
• Hosea 10:12Sow with a view to righteousness [that righteousness, like seed, may germinate]; Reap in accordance with mercy and lovingkindness. Break up your uncultivated ground, For it is time to seek and search diligently for the Lord [and to long for His blessing] Until He comes to rain righteousness and His gift of salvation on you.
• Amos 5:4For thus says the Lord to the house of Israel, “Seek Me [search diligently for Me and regard Me as more essential than food] so that you may live.
• Matthew 7:7“ Ask and keep on asking and it will be given to you; seek and keep on seeking and you will find; knock and keep on knocking and the door will be opened to you.
• 2 Chronicles 34:27“Because your heart was gentle and penitent and you humbled yourself before God when you heard His words against this place and its inhabitants, and humbled yourself before Me, and tore your clothes and wept before Me, I also have heard you,” declares the Lord.
• Psalms 22:26The afflicted will eat and be satisfied; Those who [diligently] seek Him and require Him [as their greatest need] will praise the Lord. May your hearts live forever!
• Psalms 25:8Good and upright is the Lord; Therefore He instructs sinners in the way.
• Psalms 76:9When God arose to [establish] judgment, To save all the humble of the earth. Selah.
• Psalms 149:4For the Lord takes pleasure in His people; He will beautify the humble with salvation.
• Isaiah 61:1The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, Because the Lord has anointed and commissioned me To bring good news to the humble and afflicted; He has sent me to bind up [the wounds of] the brokenhearted, To proclaim release [from confinement and condemnation] to the [physical and spiritual] captives And freedom to prisoners,
• Jeremiah 22:15Do you think that you become a king because you have much more cedar [in your palace than Solomon]? Did not your father [Josiah], as he ate and drank, Do just and righteous acts [being upright and in right standing with God]? Then all was well with him.

Commentaries on Zephaniah 2:3

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 3Ye meek of the earth - ענוי anavey, ye oppressed and humbled of the land. It may be ye shall be hid - The sword has not a commission against you. Ask God, and he will be a refuge to you from the storm and from the tempest.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 3Seek ye the Lord - He had exhorted sinners to penitence; he now calls the righteous to persevere and increase more and more. He bids them “seek diligently”, and that with a three-fold call, to seek Him from whom they received daily the three-fold blessing Numbers 6:23-26, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, as he had just before threatened God‘s impending judgment with the same use of the mysterious number, three. They, whom he calls, were already, by the grace…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3all you humble: True humility means submitting to and depending on God (Psalms 18:25–27; 119:142–144; Proverbs 15:33; 18:12; 22:4).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 33. As in Zep 2:1 (compare Note, see on Zep 1:12) he had warned the hardened among the people to humble themselves, so now he admonishes "the meek" to proceed in their right course, that so they may escape the general calamity (Psa 76:9). The meek bow themselves under God's chastisements to God's will, whereas the ungodly become only the more hardened by them. Seek ye the Lord--in contrast to those that "sought not the Lord" (Zep 1:6). The meek are not to…Read the comment

Topics related to Zephaniah 2:3

• Day
• Holiness
• Meekness
• Prayer
• Seekers

In the dictionaries

• Cottage
• Meekness
• Thereupon
• Josiah
• Poor
• Zephaniah, Book of

Commentaries on Zephaniah 2

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings