the Week of Proper 15 / Ordinary 20
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THE MESSAGE
Zephaniah 2:2
Bible Study Resources
Concordances:
- Nave'sDictionaries:
- BridgewayEncyclopedias:
- InternationalParallel Translations
before the decree takes effectand the day passes like chaff,before the burning of the Lord’s anger overtakes you,before the day of the Lord’s anger overtakes you.
before the appointed time when the day passes as the chaff, before the fierce anger of the LORD comes on you, before the day of the LORD's anger comes on you.
Before the decree bring foorth, before the day passe as the chaffe, before the fierce anger of the Lord come vpon you, before the day of the Lords anger come vpon you.
Before the decree bring forth, before the day pass as the chaff, before the fierce anger of the Lord come upon you, before the day of the Lord 's anger come upon you.
before the decree takes effect —before the day passes away like chaff— before there comes upon you the burning anger of the Lord , before there comes upon you the day of the anger of the Lord .
Before the decree takes effect— The day passes like chaff— Before the burning anger of the LORD comes upon you, Before the day of the LORD'S anger comes upon you.
Do it before it's too late, before you are blown away like chaff, before the Lord 's terrible anger reaches you, before the day of the Lord 's anger comes to you.
Before 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.
Before the decree come foorth, and ye be as chaffe that passeth in a day, and before the fierce wrath of the Lord come vpon you, and before the day of the Lords anger come vpon you.
Before the decree takes effect— The day passes like the chaff— Before the burning anger of the LORD comes upon you, Before the day of the LORD'S anger comes upon you.
Before the decree takes effect—The day passes like the chaff—Before the burning anger of Yahweh comes upon you,Before the day of Yahweh's anger comes upon you.
before the decree takes effect and the day passes like chaff, before the burning anger of the LORD comes upon you, before the Day of the LORD's anger comes upon you.
before it's too late. The Lord has set a time when his fierce anger will strike like a storm and sweep you away.
before the decree takes effect, and the day comes when one passes like chaff; before Adonai 's fierce anger comes on you, before the day of Adonai 's anger comes on you.
before the decree bring forth, [before] the day pass away as chaff, before the fierce anger of Jehovah come upon you, before the day of Jehovah's anger come upon you.
before you become like a dry and dying flower. In the heat of day, a flower will wilt and die. You will be like that when the Lord shows his terrible anger. So change your lives before the Lord shows his anger against you!
Before you become like the chaff which is driven away, before the fierce anger of the LORD comes upon you, before the day of the LORDS anger reaches you.
before you are driven away like chaff blown by the wind, before the burning anger of the Lord comes upon you, before the day when he shows his fury.
Before the birth of the decree, the day flies away like chaff; before the fierce anger of Yahweh overtakes you; before the day of the anger of Yahweh overtakes you.
before the birth of the decree, the day shall pass like the chaff, yet not before the hot anger of Jehovah comes on you, yet not before the day of the anger of Jehovah comes on you.
before the decree bring forth, before the day pass as the chaff, before the fierce anger of Jehovah come upon you, before the day of Jehovah's anger come upon you.
Before the Lord sends you violently away in flight like the waste from the grain; before the burning wrath of the Lord comes on you, before the day of the Lord's wrath comes on you.
Before the decree bring forth the day when one passeth as the chaff, before the fierce anger of the LORD come upon you, before the day of the LORD'S anger come upon you.
Before the decree go foorth that God hath concluded [and ye be] as chaffe that passeth in a day, & before the fearfull wrath of the Lorde come vpon you, & before the day of the Lordes sore displeasure come vpon you.
before ye become as the flower that passes away, before the anger of the Lord come upon you, before the day of the wrath of the Lord come upon you.
before the decree bring forth, before the day pass as the chaff, before the fierce anger of the LORD come upon you, before the day of the LORD'S anger come upon you.
before the appointed time when the day passes as the chaff, before the fierce anger of Yahweh comes on you, before the day of Yahweh's anger comes on you.
bifore that comaundyng brynge forth as dust passyng dai; bifore that wraththe of strong veniaunce of the Lord come on you, bifor that the dai of his indignacioun come on you.
before the decree brings forth, [before] the day passes as the chaff, before the fierce anger of Yahweh comes on you, before the day of Yahweh's anger comes on you.
Before the decree bringeth forth, [before] the day passeth as the chaff, before the fierce anger of the LORD cometh upon you, before the day of the LORD'S anger cometh upon you.
before God's decree becomes reality and the day of opportunity disappears like windblown chaff, before the Lord 's raging anger overtakes you— before the day of the Lord 's angry judgment overtakes you!
Before the decree is issued, Or the day passes like chaff, Before the LORD's fierce anger comes upon you, Before the day of the LORD's anger comes upon you!
Gather 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.
before you are driven away like the waste from the grain. Gather together before the burning anger of the Lord comes upon you, before the day of the Lord's anger.
before you are driven away like the drifting chaff, before there comes upon you the fierce anger of the Lord , before there comes upon you the day of the Lord 's wrath.
Ere yet the decree, have given birth, like chaff, the day, have vanished, - ere yet shall come upon you, the glow of the anger of Yahweh, ere yet shall come upon you, the day of the anger of Yahweh.
Before the decree bring forth the day as dust passing away, before the fierce anger of the Lord come upon you, before the day of the Lord’s indignation come upon you.
before you are driven away like the drifting chaff, before there comes upon you the fierce anger of the LORD, before there comes upon you the day of the wrath of the LORD.
Before the bringing forth of a statute, As chaff hath the day passed on, While yet not come in upon you doth the heat of the anger of Jehovah, While yet not come in upon you doth a day of the anger of Jehovah,
or ye thinge go forth that is concluded, & or the tyme be passed awaye as the dust: or the fearfull wrath of the LORDE come vpon you,
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
the decree: Zephaniah 3:8, 2 Kings 22:16, 2 Kings 22:17, 2 Kings 23:26, 2 Kings 23:27, Ezekiel 12:25, Matthew 24:35, 2 Peter 3:4-10
as: Job 21:18, Psalms 1:4, Isaiah 17:13, Isaiah 41:15, Isaiah 41:16, Hosea 13:3
before the fierce: Zephaniah 1:18, 2 Chronicles 36:16, 2 Chronicles 36:17, Psalms 2:12, Psalms 50:22, Jeremiah 23:20, Lamentations 4:11, Nahum 1:6, Malachi 4:1, Malachi 4:2, Luke 13:24-28
before the day of: Psalms 95:7, Psalms 95:8
Reciprocal: Joshua 7:13 - sanctify 1 Chronicles 16:11 - Seek Psalms 105:4 - Seek Isaiah 13:6 - for the day Jeremiah 4:4 - lest Jeremiah 5:31 - and what Jeremiah 13:24 - as Ezekiel 13:5 - the day Daniel 4:27 - if it Amos 5:13 - an evil Zephaniah 1:15 - is Malachi 3:17 - and I Acts 2:20 - great
Cross-References
God looked over everything he had made; it was so good, so very good! It was evening, it was morning— Day Six.
Then God planted a garden in Eden, in the east. He put the Man he had just made in it. God made all kinds of trees grow from the ground, trees beautiful to look at and good to eat. The Tree-of-Life was in the middle of the garden, also the Tree-of-Knowledge-of-Good-and-Evil.
"Work for six days and rest the seventh so your ox and donkey may rest and your servant and migrant workers may have time to get their needed rest.
"If you watch your step on the Sabbath and don't use my holy day for personal advantage, If you treat the Sabbath as a day of joy, God 's holy day as a celebration, If you honor it by refusing ‘business as usual,' making money, running here and there— Then you'll be free to enjoy God ! Oh, I'll make you ride high and soar above it all. I'll make you feast on the inheritance of your ancestor Jacob." Yes! God says so!
But Jesus defended himself. "My Father is working straight through, even on the Sabbath. So am I."
When the Promises Are Mixed with Faith For as long, then, as that promise of resting in him pulls us on to God's goal for us, we need to be careful that we're not disqualified. We received the same promises as those people in the wilderness, but the promises didn't do them a bit of good because they didn't receive the promises with faith. If we believe, though, we'll experience that state of resting. But not if we don't have faith. Remember that God said, Exasperated, I vowed, "They'll never get where they're going, never be able to sit down and rest." God made that vow, even though he'd finished his part before the foundation of the world. Somewhere it's written, "God rested the seventh day, having completed his work," but in this other text he says, "They'll never be able to sit down and rest." So this promise has not yet been fulfilled. Those earlier ones never did get to the place of rest because they were disobedient. God keeps renewing the promise and setting the date as today, just as he did in David's psalm, centuries later than the original invitation: Today, please listen, don't turn a deaf ear... And so this is still a live promise. It wasn't canceled at the time of Joshua; otherwise, God wouldn't keep renewing the appointment for "today." The promise of "arrival" and "rest" is still there for God's people. God himself is at rest. And at the end of the journey we'll surely rest with God. So let's keep at it and eventually arrive at the place of rest, not drop out through some sort of disobedience. God means what he says. What he says goes. His powerful Word is sharp as a surgeon's scalpel, cutting through everything, whether doubt or defense, laying us open to listen and obey. Nothing and no one is impervious to God's Word. We can't get away from it—no matter what. Now that we know what we have—Jesus, this great High Priest with ready access to God—let's not let it slip through our fingers. We don't have a priest who is out of touch with our reality. He's been through weakness and testing, experienced it all—all but the sin. So let's walk right up to him and get what he is so ready to give. Take the mercy, accept the help.
Gill's Notes on the Bible
Before the decree bring forth, [before] the day pass as the chaff,.... Which was like a woman big with child, ready to be delivered. The decree of God concerning the people of the Jews was pregnant with wrath and ruin for their sins, and just ripe for execution; and therefore, before it was actually executed, they are exhorted as above; not that the decree of God which was gone forth could be frustrated and made void by anything done by them; only that, when it was put into execution, such as repented of their sins might be saved from the general calamity; which they are called upon to do before the day come appointed by the Lord for the execution of this decree; which lingered not, and was not delayed, but slid on as swiftly as chaff before the driving wind. There is some difficulty in the rendering and sense of these words; some thus, "before the day, which passes as chaff, brings forth the decree" e; that is, before the time, which moves swiftly, brings on the execution of the decree, or of the thing decreed in it, it is big with: others, "before the decree brings forth the day that passeth as chaff" f; or in which the chaff shall be separated from the wheat, pass away, be dispersed here and there; that is, before they were scattered about by it as chaff: and to this sense the Septuagint and Arabic versions, "before ye are as a flower"; or, as the Syriac, "as chaff that passeth away"; and so the Targum more fully,
"before the decree of the house of judgment come out upon you, and ye be like chaff which the wind blows away, and like a shadow which passes from before the day.'' See Psalms 1:4.
Before the fierce anger of the Lord come upon you, before the day of the Lord's anger come upon you; these phrases explain the former, and show what the decree was big with, and ready to bring forth, even the judgments of God, in wrath and fierce anger; and what the day is, said to pass as the chaff; the day of God's vengeance fixed by him, which should come upon them, and scatter them like chaff among the nations of the world: or rather the words may be rendered thus, as by Gussetius g, "whilst as yet the decree hath not brought forth, the day passeth away like chaff"; being neglected and spent in an useless and unprofitable manner; for which they are reproved; and therefore are exhorted to be wiser for the future, and redeem precious time; and, before the Lord's anger comes upon them, do what is before exhorted to, and particularly what follows:
e בטרם לדת "antequam dies, quae transit ut palea, pariat decretum", Drusius; so Ben Melech. f "Priusquam decretum Dei pariat deim veluti glumae transeuntis", Grotius. g Ebr. Comment. p. 305.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
Before the decree bring forth - God’s word is full (as it were) of the event which it foretelleth; it contains its own fulfillment in itself, and “travaileth” until it come to pass, giving signs of its coming, yet delaying until the full time. Time is said to bring forth what is wrought in it. “Thou knowest not, what a day shall bring forth.”
Before the day pass as the chaff - Or, parenthetically, “like chaff the day passeth by.” God’s counsels lie wrapt up, as it were, in the womb of time, wherein He hides them, until the moment which He has appointed, and they break forth suddenly to those who look not for them. The mean season is given for repentance, that is, the day of grace, the span of repentance still allowed, which is continually whirling more swiftly by; and woe, if it be fruitless as chaff! Those who profit not by it shall also be as chaff, carried away pitilessly by the whirlwind to destruction. Time, on which eternity hangs, is a slight, uncertain thing, as little to be counted upon, as the light dry particles which are the sport of the wind, driven uncertainly here and there. But when it is “passed,” then “cometh,” not “to” them, but “upon” them, from heaven, overwhelming them, “abiding upon” John 3:36 them, not to pass away, “the heat of the anger of Almighty God.” This warning he twice repeats, to impress the certainty and speed of its conming Genesis 41:32. It is the warning of our Lord, “Take heed, lest that day come upon you unawares” Luke 21:34.
