Zephaniah 3:18

The Holy Bible, Berean Study Bible

Contextual Overview

¹⁴Sing for joy, O daughter of Zion; shout aloud, O Israel! Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem! ¹⁵The LORD has taken away your punishment; He has turned back your enemy. Israel's King, the LORD, is among you; no longer will you fear any harm. ¹⁶On that day they will say to Jerusalem: "Do not fear, O Zion; do not let your hands fall limp. ¹⁷The LORD your God is among you; He is mighty to save. He will rejoice over you with gladness; He will quiet you with His love; He will rejoice over you with singing." ¹⁸"I will gather those among you who grieve over the appointed feasts, so that you will no longer suffer reproach.¹⁹Behold, at that time, I will deal with all who afflict you. I will save the lame and gather the scattered; and I will appoint praise and fame for the disgraced throughout the earth. ²⁰At that time I will bring you in; yes, at that time I will gather you. For I will give you fame and praise among all the peoples of the earth when I restore your fortunes before your eyes," says the LORD.

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
So the LORD God said to the serpent: "Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and every beast of the field! On your belly will you go, and dust you will eat, all the days of your life.

Genesis 3:15
And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed. He will crush your head, and you will strike his heel."

Joshua 23:13
know for sure that the LORD your God will no longer drive out these nations before you. Instead, they will become for you a snare and a trap, a scourge for your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good land that the LORD your God has given you.

Job 1:21
saying: "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I shall return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away. Blessed be the name of the LORD."

Job 5:5
The hungry consume his harvest, taking it even from the thorns; and the thirsty pant after his wealth.

Job 31:40
then let briers grow instead of wheat and stinkweed instead of barley." Thus conclude the words of Job.

Psalms 90:3
You return man to dust, saying, "Return, O sons of mortals."

Psalms 104:2
He wraps Himself in light as with a garment; He stretches out the heavens like a tent,

Proverbs 22:5
Thorns and snares lie on the path of the perverse; he who guards his soul stays far from them.

Proverbs 24:31
Thorns had grown up everywhere, thistles had covered the ground, and the stone wall was broken down.

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.