New Living Translation
Zephaniah 2:3
3Seek the Lord, all who are humble, and follow his commands. Seek to do what is right and to live humbly. Perhaps even yet the Lord will protect you— protect you from his anger on that day of destruction.
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 together—yes, gather together, you shameless nation. 2Gather before judgment begins, before your time to repent is blown away like chaff. Act now, before the fierce fury of the Lord falls and the terrible day of the Lord’s anger begins. Seek the Lord, all who are humble, and follow his commands. Seek to do what is right and to live humbly. Perhaps even yet the Lord will protect you— protect you from his anger on that day of destruction. 4Gaza and Ashkelon will be abandoned, Ashdod and Ekron torn down. 5And what sorrow awaits you Philistines who live along the coast and in the land of Canaan, for this judgment is against you, too! The Lord will destroy you until not one of you is left.
Read all of Zephaniah 2Zephaniah 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 105:4Search for the Lord and for his strength; continually seek him.
- Isaiah 55:6Seek the Lord while you can find him. Call on him now while he is near.
- Jeremiah 3:13Only acknowledge your guilt. Admit that you rebelled against the Lord your God and committed adultery against him by worshiping idols under every green tree. Confess that you refused to listen to my voice. I, the Lord, have spoken!
- Jeremiah 4:1“O Israel,” says the Lord, “if you wanted to return to me, you could. You could throw away your detestable idols and stray away no more.
- Jeremiah 29:12In those days when you pray, I will listen.
- Hosea 7:10Their arrogance testifies against them, yet they don’t return to the Lord their God or even try to find him.
- Hosea 10:12I said, ‘Plant the good seeds of righteousness, and you will harvest a crop of love. Plow up the hard ground of your hearts, for now is the time to seek the Lord, that he may come and shower righteousness upon you.’
- Amos 5:4Now this is what the Lord says to the family of Israel: “Come back to me and live!
- Matthew 7:7“Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.
- 2 Chronicles 34:27You were sorry and humbled yourself before God when you heard his words against this city and its people. You humbled yourself and tore your clothing in despair and wept before me in repentance. And I have indeed heard you, says the Lord.
- Psalms 22:26The poor will eat and be satisfied. All who seek the Lord will praise him. Their hearts will rejoice with everlasting joy.
- Psalms 25:8The Lord is good and does what is right; he shows the proper path to those who go astray.
- Psalms 76:9You stand up to judge those who do evil, O God, and to rescue the oppressed of the earth. Interlude
- Psalms 149:4For the Lord delights in his people; he crowns the humble with victory.
- Isaiah 61:1The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me, for the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted and to proclaim that captives will be released and prisoners will be freed.
- Jeremiah 22:15But a beautiful cedar palace does not make a great king! Your father, Josiah, also had plenty to eat and drink. But he was just and right in all his dealings. That is why God blessed 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
In the dictionaries
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
New Living Translation — © 1996, 2004, 2015 Tyndale House Foundation
Commentaries