Zephaniah 3:7 Of Jerusalem I thought, 'Surely you will fear me and accept correction!' Then her place of refuge would not be destroyed, nor all my punishments come upon her. But they were still eager to act corruptly in all they did.

◄ Zephaniah 3:7 ►

Parallel Verses

New International Version
Of Jerusalem I thought, 'Surely you will fear me and accept correction!' Then her place of refuge would not be destroyed, nor all my punishments come upon her. But they were still eager to act corruptly in all they did.

English Standard Version
I said, ‘Surely you will fear me; you will accept correction. Then your dwelling would not be cut off according to all that I have appointed against you.’ But all the more they were eager to make all their deeds corrupt.

New American Standard Bible
"I said, 'Surely you will revere Me, Accept instruction.' So her dwelling will not be cut off According to all that I have appointed concerning her. But they were eager to corrupt all their deeds.

King James Bible
I said, Surely thou wilt fear me, thou wilt receive instruction; so their dwelling should not be cut off, howsoever I punished them: but they rose early, and corrupted all their doings.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
I thought: You will certainly fear Me and accept correction. Then her dwelling place would not be cut off based on all that I had allocated to her. However, they became more corrupt in all their actions.

International Standard Version
I have said, 'If only you would fear me, if only you would take my instructions to heart.' Then their houses would not have been torn down. I have chastened them, but they were eager to corrupt everything they were doing."

American Standard Version
I said, Only fear thou me; receive correction; so her dwelling shall not be cut off, according to all that I have appointed concerning her: but they rose early and corrupted all their doings.

Douay-Rheims Bible
I said: Surely thou wilt fear me, thou wilt receive correction: and her dwelling shall not perish, for all things wherein I have visited her: but they rose early and corrupted all their thoughts.

Darby Bible Translation
I said, Only fear me, receive correction; so her dwelling shall not be cut off, howsoever I may punish her. But they rose early, they corrupted all their doings.

Young's Literal Translation
I have said: Only, ye do fear Me, Ye do accept instruction, And her habitation is not cut off, All that I have appointed for her, But they have risen early, They have corrupted all their doings.

Cross References

1 Timothy 1:5
Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned:

Job 36:10
He opens also their ear to discipline, and commands that they return from iniquity.

Psalm 32:8
I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you shall go: I will guide you with my eye.

Jeremiah 7:7
Then will I cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers, for ever and ever.

Hosea 9:9
They have deeply corrupted themselves, as in the days of Gibeah: therefore he will remember their iniquity, he will visit their sins.

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Commentaries

Matthew Henry's Commentary

3:1-7 The holy God hates sin most in those nearest to him. A sinful state is, and will be, a woful state. Yet they had the tokens of God's presence, and all the advantages of knowing his will, with the strongest reasons to do it; still they persisted in disobedience. Alas, that men often are more active in doing wickedness than believers are in doing good.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown

7. I said, Surely, &c.—God speaks after the manner of men in condescension to man's infirmity; not as though God was ignorant of the future contingency, but in their sense, Surely one might have expected ye would under such circumstances repent: but no!

thou—at least, O Jerusalem! Compare "thou, even thou, at least in this thy day" (Lu 19:42).

their dwelling—the sanctuary [Buxtorf]. Or, the city. Compare Jesus' words (Lu 13:35), "Behold, your house is left unto you desolate" (Le 26:31, 32; Ps 69:25); and used as to the temple (Mic 3:12). "Their" is used instead of "thy"; this change of person implies that God puts them to a greater distance.

howsoever I punished them—Howsoever I might have punished them, I would not have cut off their dwelling. Calvin, "Howsoever I had marked them out for punishment" because of their provocations, still, if even then they had repented, taught by My corrections, I was ready to have pardoned them. Maurer, "Altogether in accordance with what I had long ago decreed (ordained) concerning you" (De 28:1-14, and, on the other hand, De 28:15-68; 27:15-26). English Version, or Calvin's view, is better.

rose early, and corrupted, &c.—Early morning is in the East the best time for transacting serious business, before the relaxing heat of midday comes on. Thus it means, With the greatest earnestness they set themselves to "corrupt all their doings" (Ge 6:12; Isa 5:11; Jer 11:7; 25:3).