Zephaniah 3:18

THE MESSAGE

"The accumulated sorrows of your exile will dissipate. I, your God, will get rid of them for you. You've carried those burdens long enough. At the same time, I'll get rid of all those who've made your life miserable. I'll heal the maimed; I'll bring home the homeless. In the very countries where they were hated they will be venerated. On Judgment Day I'll bring you back home—a great family gathering! You'll be famous and honored all over the world. You'll see it with your own eyes— all those painful partings turned into reunions!" God 's Promise.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
I will gather those who have been drivenfrom the appointed festivals;they will be a tribute from youand a reproach on her.

Hebrew Names Version
Those who are sad for the appointed feasts, I will remove from you. They are a burden and a reproach to you.

King James Version (1611)
I will gather them that are sorrowfull for the solemne assembly, who are of thee, to whom the reproch of it was a burden.

King James Version
I will gather them that are sorrowful for the solemn assembly, who are of thee, to whom the reproach of it was a burden.

English Standard Version
I will gather those of you who mourn for the festival, so that you will no longer suffer reproach.

New American Standard Bible
"I will gather those who are worried about the appointed feasts— They came from you, Zion; The disgrace of exile is a burden on them.

New Century Version
"I will take away the sadness planned for you, which would have made you very ashamed.

Amplified Bible
"I will gather those [Israelites in captivity] who grieve about the appointed feasts— They came from you, [O Zion]; On whom the reproach [of exile] is a burden.

Geneva Bible (1587)
After a certaine time will I gather the afflicted that were of thee, and them that bare the reproch for it.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"I will gather those who grieve about the appointed feasts— They came from you, O Zion; The reproach of exile is a burden on them.

Legacy Standard Bible
I will assemble those who grieve about the appointed feasts—They were from you, O Zion;The reproach of exile is a burden on them.

Berean Standard Bible
"I will gather those among you who grieve over the appointed feasts, so that you will no longer suffer reproach.

Contemporary English Version
The Lord has promised: Your sorrow has ended, and you can celebrate.

Complete Jewish Bible
"I will gather those of yours who grieve over the appointed feasts and bear the burden of reproach [because they cannot keep them].

Darby Translation
I will gather them that sorrow for the solemn assemblies, who were of thee: the reproach of it was a burden [unto them].

Easy-to-Read Version
like people at a party. I will take away your shame. I will make them stop hurting you.

George Lamsa Translation
I will remove from you those who spoke reproach against you.

Good News Translation
as joyful as people at a festival." The Lord says, "I have ended the threat of doom and taken away your disgrace.

Lexham English Bible
I will gather those of you grieving on account of the feast; they were raising against her a reproach.

Literal Translation
I will gather the afflicted ones from the appointed place; they were from you, a lifting up of reproach over her.

American Standard Version
I will gather them that sorrow for the solemn assembly, who were of thee; to whom the burden upon her was a reproach.

Bible in Basic English
I will take away your troubles, lifting up your shame from off you.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
I will gather them that are far from the appointed season, who are of thee, that hast borne the burden of reproach.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
After a certayne time will I gather the afflicted that were of thee, and them that bare the reproche for it.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And I will gather thine afflicted ones. Alas! who has taken up a reproach against her?

English Revised Version
I will gather them that sorrow for the solemn assembly, who were of thee: to whom the burden upon her was a reproach.

World English Bible
Those who are sad for the appointed feasts, I will remove from you. They are a burden and a reproach to you.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Y schal gadere the foolis, ether veyn men, that wenten awei fro the lawe, for thei weren of thee, that thou haue no more schenschipe on hem.

Update Bible Version
I will gather those that sorrow for the solemn assembly, who were of you; [to whom] the burden on her was a reproach.

Webster's Bible Translation
I will gather [them that are] sorrowful for the solemn assembly, [who] are of thee, [to whom] the reproach of it [was] a burden.

New English Translation
"As for those who grieve because they cannot attend the festivals— I took them away from you; they became tribute and were a source of shame to you.

New King James Version
"I will gather those who sorrow over the appointed assembly, Who are among you, To whom its reproach is a burden.

New Living Translation
"I will gather you who mourn for the appointed festivals; you will be disgraced no more.

New Life Bible
I will gather those who have sorrow for the special days, and take away their shame.

New Revised Standard
as on a day of festival. I will remove disaster from you, so that you will not bear reproach for it.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
The sad exiles from the appointed meeting, have I gathered, from thee, had they been! but were a burden on thee - a reproach!

Douay-Rheims Bible
The triflers that were departed from the law, I will gather together, because they were of thee: that thou mayest no more suffer reproach for them.

Revised Standard Version
as on a day of festival. "I will remove disaster from you, so that you will not bear reproach for it.

Young's Literal Translation
Mine afflicted from the appointed place I have gathered, from thee they have been, Bearing for her sake reproach.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Soch as haue bene in heuynesse, wil I gather together, and take out of thy congregacion: as for the shame and reprofe that hath bene layed vpon the, it shal be farre from the.

Contextual Overview

¹⁴So sing, Daughter Zion! Raise the rafters, Israel! Daughter Jerusalem, be happy! celebrate! God has reversed his judgments against you and sent your enemies off chasing their tails. From now on, God is Israel's king, in charge at the center. There's nothing to fear from evil ever again! ¹⁶Jerusalem will be told: "Don't be afraid. Dear Zion, don't despair. Your God is present among you, a strong Warrior there to save you. Happy to have you back, he'll calm you with his love and delight you with his songs. ¹⁸"The accumulated sorrows of your exile will dissipate. I, your God, will get rid of them for you. You've carried those burdens long enough. At the same time, I'll get rid of all those who've made your life miserable. I'll heal the maimed; I'll bring home the homeless. In the very countries where they were hated they will be venerated. On Judgment Day I'll bring you back home—a great family gathering! You'll be famous and honored all over the world. You'll see it with your own eyes— all those painful partings turned into reunions!" God 's Promise.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

gather: Zephaniah 3:20, Jeremiah 23:3, Jeremiah 31:8, Jeremiah 31:9, Ezekiel 34:13, Ezekiel 36:24, Hosea 1:11, Romans 11:25, Romans 11:26

sorrowful: Psalms 42:2-4, Psalms 43:3, Psalms 63:1, Psalms 63:2, Psalms 84:1, Psalms 84:2, Psalms 137:3-6, Lamentations 1:4, Lamentations 1:7, Lamentations 2:6, Lamentations 2:7, Hosea 9:5

the reproach of it was a burden: Heb. the burden upon it was reproach.

Reciprocal: Nehemiah 1:4 - I sat down Isaiah 56:8 - which

Cross-References

Genesis 3:14
God told the serpent: "Because you've done this, you're cursed, cursed beyond all cattle and wild animals, Cursed to slink on your belly and eat dirt all your life. I'm declaring war between you and the Woman, between your offspring and hers. He'll wound your head, you'll wound his heel."

Job 1:21
Naked I came from my mother's womb, naked I'll return to the womb of the earth. God gives, God takes. God's name be ever blessed.

Psalms 90:3
So don't return us to mud, saying, "Back to where you came from!" Patience! You've got all the time in the world—whether a thousand years or a day, it's all the same to you. Are we no more to you than a wispy dream, no more than a blade of grass That springs up gloriously with the rising sun and is cut down without a second thought? Your anger is far and away too much for us; we're at the end of our rope. You keep track of all our sins; every misdeed since we were children is entered in your books. All we can remember is that frown on your face. Is that all we're ever going to get? We live for seventy years or so (with luck we might make it to eighty), And what do we have to show for it? Trouble. Toil and trouble and a marker in the graveyard. Who can make sense of such rage, such anger against the very ones who fear you?

Proverbs 22:5
The perverse travel a dangerous road, potholed and mud-slick; if you know what's good for you, stay clear of it.

Isaiah 7:23
But that's not the end of it. This country that used to be covered with fine vineyards—thousands of them, worth millions!—will revert to a weed patch. Weeds and thornbushes everywhere! Good for nothing except, perhaps, hunting rabbits. Cattle and sheep will forage as best they can in the fields of weeds—but there won't be a trace of all those fertile and well-tended gardens and fields.

Jeremiah 4:3
Here's another Message from God to the people of Judah and Jerusalem: "Plow your unplowed fields, but then don't plant weeds in the soil! Yes, circumcise your lives for God's sake. Plow your unplowed hearts, all you people of Judah and Jerusalem. Prevent fire—the fire of my anger— for once it starts it can't be put out. Your wicked ways are fuel for the fire.

Matthew 13:7
A Harvest Story At about that same time Jesus left the house and sat on the beach. In no time at all a crowd gathered along the shoreline, forcing him to get into a boat. Using the boat as a pulpit, he addressed his congregation, telling stories. "What do you make of this? A farmer planted seed. As he scattered the seed, some of it fell on the road, and birds ate it. Some fell in the gravel; it sprouted quickly but didn't put down roots, so when the sun came up it withered just as quickly. Some fell in the weeds; as it came up, it was strangled by the weeds. Some fell on good earth, and produced a harvest beyond his wildest dreams. "Are you listening to this? Really listening?" The disciples came up and asked, "Why do you tell stories?" He replied, "You've been given insight into God's kingdom. You know how it works. Not everybody has this gift, this insight; it hasn't been given to them. Whenever someone has a ready heart for this, the insights and understandings flow freely. But if there is no readiness, any trace of receptivity soon disappears. That's why I tell stories: to create readiness, to nudge the people toward receptive insight. In their present state they can stare till doomsday and not see it, listen till they're blue in the face and not get it. I don't want Isaiah's forecast repeated all over again: Your ears are open but you don't hear a thing. Your eyes are awake but you don't see a thing. The people are blockheads! They stick their fingers in their ears so they won't have to listen; They screw their eyes shut so they won't have to look, so they won't have to deal with me face-to-face and let me heal them. "But you have God-blessed eyes—eyes that see! And God-blessed ears—ears that hear! A lot of people, prophets and humble believers among them, would have given anything to see what you are seeing, to hear what you are hearing, but never had the chance. "Study this story of the farmer planting seed. When anyone hears news of the kingdom and doesn't take it in, it just remains on the surface, and so the Evil One comes along and plucks it right out of that person's heart. This is the seed the farmer scatters on the road. "The seed cast in the gravel—this is the person who hears and instantly responds with enthusiasm. But there is no soil of character, and so when the emotions wear off and some difficulty arrives, there is nothing to show for it. "The seed cast in the weeds is the person who hears the kingdom news, but weeds of worry and illusions about getting more and wanting everything under the sun strangle what was heard, and nothing comes of it. "The seed cast on good earth is the person who hears and takes in the News, and then produces a harvest beyond his wildest dreams." He told another story. "God's kingdom is like a farmer who planted good seed in his field. That night, while his hired men were asleep, his enemy sowed thistles all through the wheat and slipped away before dawn. When the first green shoots appeared and the grain began to form, the thistles showed up, too. "The farmhands came to the farmer and said, ‘Master, that was clean seed you planted, wasn't it? Where did these thistles come from?' "He answered, ‘Some enemy did this.' "The farmhands asked, ‘Should we weed out the thistles?' "He said, ‘No, if you weed the thistles, you'll pull up the wheat, too. Let them grow together until harvest time. Then I'll instruct the harvesters to pull up the thistles and tie them in bundles for the fire, then gather the wheat and put it in the barn.'" Another story. "God's kingdom is like a pine nut that a farmer plants. It is quite small as seeds go, but in the course of years it grows into a huge pine tree, and eagles build nests in it." Another story. "God's kingdom is like yeast that a woman works into the dough for dozens of loaves of barley bread—and waits while the dough rises." All Jesus did that day was tell stories—a long storytelling afternoon. His storytelling fulfilled the prophecy: I will open my mouth and tell stories; I will bring out into the open things hidden since the world's first day. Jesus dismissed the congregation and went into the house. His disciples came in and said, "Explain to us that story of the thistles in the field." So he explained. "The farmer who sows the pure seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, the pure seeds are subjects of the kingdom, the thistles are subjects of the Devil, and the enemy who sows them is the Devil. The harvest is the end of the age, the curtain of history. The harvest hands are angels. "The picture of thistles pulled up and burned is a scene from the final act. The Son of Man will send his angels, weed out the thistles from his kingdom, pitch them in the trash, and be done with them. They are going to complain to high heaven, but nobody is going to listen. At the same time, ripe, holy lives will mature and adorn the kingdom of their Father. "Are you listening to this? Really listening? "God's kingdom is like a treasure hidden in a field for years and then accidentally found by a trespasser. The finder is ecstatic—what a find!—and proceeds to sell everything he owns to raise money and buy that field. "Or, God's kingdom is like a jewel merchant on the hunt for excellent pearls. Finding one that is flawless, he immediately sells everything and buys it. "Or, God's kingdom is like a fishnet cast into the sea, catching all kinds of fish. When it is full, it is hauled onto the beach. The good fish are picked out and put in a tub; those unfit to eat are thrown away. That's how it will be when the curtain comes down on history. The angels will come and cull the bad fish and throw them in the garbage. There will be a lot of desperate complaining, but it won't do any good." Jesus asked, "Are you starting to get a handle on all this?" They answered, "Yes." He said, "Then you see how every student well-trained in God's kingdom is like the owner of a general store who can put his hands on anything you need, old or new, exactly when you need it." When Jesus finished telling these stories, he left there, returned to his hometown, and gave a lecture in the meetinghouse. He made a real hit, impressing everyone. "We had no idea he was this good!" they said. "How did he get so wise, get such ability?" But in the next breath they were cutting him down: "We've known him since he was a kid; he's the carpenter's son. We know his mother, Mary. We know his brothers James and Joseph, Simon and Judas. All his sisters live here. Who does he think he is?" They got their noses all out of joint. But Jesus said, "A prophet is taken for granted in his hometown and his family." He didn't do many miracles there because of their hostile indifference.

Romans 14:2
For instance, a person who has been around for a while might well be convinced that he can eat anything on the table, while another, with a different background, might assume he should only be a vegetarian and eat accordingly. But since both are guests at Christ's table, wouldn't it be terribly rude if they fell to criticizing what the other ate or didn't eat? God, after all, invited them both to the table. Do you have any business crossing people off the guest list or interfering with God's welcome? If there are corrections to be made or manners to be learned, God can handle that without your help.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

I will gather [them that are] sorrowful for the solemn assembly,.... Who are grieved and troubled, because they cannot meet at the time and place of religious worship, or attend the word and ordinances of the Lord; either through distance of place, or infirmity of body; or through the menaces and persecutions of men: and to be prevented the use of the means of grace, upon any account, is a great concern of mind to truly gracious souls: or who are filled with grief and sorrow "for the appointed time" u; for the time of the Jews' deliverance from their present exile, and return to their own land, which seems to be delayed, and thought long; and so it may seem to some of them in distant parts, after they are converted; and for whose encouragement this is said, that the Lord will in his own due time and way gather such out of all places where they are, into his church, and among his people, to join with them in religious worship, and partake of all the ordinances and privileges of his house; and also gather them into their own land, and comfortably settle them there:

[who] are of thee; belong to the church of Christ; or however have a right to, and meetness for, a place in it; are her true and genuine children, being born again; and which appears by the taste they have for, and their desire after, the word and ordinances:

[to whom] the reproach of it [was] a burden; it being grievous and burdensome to them to hear the enemy reproach them with their exile and dispersion; with their distance from the place of worship, and their want of opportunity of attending to it: this was intolerable, a burden too heavy for them; it was like a sword in their bones, when they were asked, where is your God? and where are the ordinances of divine worship? and when will it ever be that you will attend them? see

Psalms 42:1.

u ממועד "propter tempus, [sub.] diuturnum exsilii", Vatablus; "ex tempore statuto [judiciorum poenarumque]", Burkius.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

I will gather them that are sorrowful - for the solemn assembly, in which they were to “rejoice” Leviticus 23:40; Deuteronomy 12:12, Deuteronomy 12:18; Deuteronomy 16:11; Deuteronomy 27:7 before God and which in their captivity God made to cease. “They were of thee” Lamentations 1:4; Lamentations 2:6, the true Israel who were “grieved for the affliction of Joseph; to whom the reproach of it was a burden” Amos 6:6 (rather , ‘on whom reproach was laid’): for this “reproach of Christ is greater riches than the treasures of Egypt,” and such shall inherit the blessing, “Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you and east out your name as evil, for the Son of Man’s sake; rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy, for, behold your reward is great in heaven” Luke 6:22-23.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Zephaniah 3:18. I will gather - sorrowful — This may refer to those who, during the captivity, mourned for their former religious assemblies; and who were reproached by their enemies, because they could not enjoy their religious solemnities. See Psalms 137:1-9: "By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion. For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song," &c. This very circumstance may be the reference here.