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We now return to Jerusalem, and must again hear what God has to say to her, I. By way of reproof and threatening, for the abundance of wickedness that was found in her, of which divers instances are given, with the aggravations of them (Zep 3:1-7). II. By way of promise of mercy and grace, which God had yet in reserve for them. Two general heads of promises here are: - 1. That God would bring in a glorious work of reformation among them, cleanse them from their sins, and bring them home to himself; many promises of this kind here are (Zep 3:8-13). 2. That he would bring about a glorious work of salvation for them, when he had thus prepared them for it (Zep 3:14-20). Thus the "Redeemer shall come to Zion," and to clear his own way, shall "turn away ungodliness from Jacob." These promises were to have their full accomplishment in gospel-times and gospel-graces.

She obeyed not the voice Of his servants the prophets, as the Targum, by way of explanation, adds, who warned her of her sins and of her ruin. The inhabitants of Jerusalem hearkened not to the voice of John the Baptist, the forerunner of Christ, who gave notice of his coming; nor to the voice of Christ himself, who stretched out his hand all the day to a disobedient and gainsaying people; nor to the voice of his apostles, whose doctrines they contradicted and blasphemed; and put away the word of God from them, thereby judging themselves unworthy of eternal life: she received not correction; by the rod, by the judgments of God upon her: or "instruction" F25; by the Gospel preached to her inhabitants. So the Targum interprets it, ``she received not doctrine;'' the doctrine of baptism, repentance, and remission of sins, preached by John; but rejected the counsel of God by him against themselves, ( Luke 7:31 ) nor the doctrine and instruction of Christ and his apostles, though of more worth than gold and silver; but, on the contrary, slighted and despised it, and rejected it with the utmost contempt: she trusted not in the Lord; not in the Word of the Lord, as the Targum; the essential Word, Christ Jesus; the Word made flesh, and dwelling among them; they trusted in the law of Moses, and in their obedience to it; in their rites and ceremonies, and in the observance of them, and the traditions of their elders; they trusted in the flesh, in their carnal privileges; in their own legal righteousness, and in themselves, that they were righteous, and despised others; and particularly the righteousness of Christ they submitted not unto; they trusted not in him, nor in that; though they were told, that, if they believed not that he was the Messiah, they should die in their sins: she drew not near to her God; Immanuel, God manifest in the flesh, who was promised to the Jews, and sent unto them, whom their fathers expected, and whose God he was, and theirs also; being in his human nature of them, and God over all blessed for ever; so far were they from drawing near to him, and embracing, him, that they hid, as it were, their faces from him; they would not come to him for life and light, for grace, righteousness, and salvation; nor even to hear him preach, nor suffer others to do the same; but, as much as in them lay, hindered them from attending his ministry, word, and ordinances. The Targum is, ``she drew not nigh to the worship of her God.'' FOOTNOTES: F25 (rowm) "institutionem", Drusius, Tarnovius.

(Chapter 3, verses 1 onwards) Woe to the provoking and redeemed city: the dove did not hear the voice and did not receive discipline. It did not trust in the Lord and did not approach its God. Its princes are in its midst, like roaring lions. Its judges are wolves of the evening, they do not leave anything for the morning. Its prophets are insane, unfaithful men. Its priests have defiled the holy, they have acted unjustly against the law. The Lord is righteous; he will not do injustice. Every morning he brings his justice to light; it does not fail. But the wicked know no shame. I have cut off nations; their battlements are in ruins. I laid waste their streets, so that no one walks in them; their cities have been made desolate, without a man, without an inhabitant. 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. However, rising at dawn, they corrupted all their thoughts. LXX: O illustrious and redeemed city, the dove did not hear a voice, nor receive discipline: it did not trust in the Lord, nor did it approach its Lord. Its princes in it are like roaring lions; its judges are like Arabian wolves, not leaving anything until morning; its prophets are men who carry the spirit, contemptible men; its priests defile the holy things and act impiously against the law: but the Lord is righteous in its midst, and will not do iniquity. In the morning, it will give its judgment in the light, and it is not hidden, and it does not know iniquity in its demands, nor eternal injustice: I have removed the proud, their corners are scattered: I have destroyed their paths so that they may not pass: their cities have failed, because no one remains, nor does anybody dwell. I have said, nevertheless you will fear me, and you will receive discipline, and you will not perish from my sight in all the ways in which I have taken vengeance upon her. Prepare, rise early in the morning: all their buds have been destroyed. Many people think that because of the context of the discourse, it is said against Nineveh, about which it was said above: And he will destroy Assyria, and make Nineveh a wasteland. But the Scripture never called Nineveh a dove: although in Jeremiah, some think that what was said about the doves fleeing from the face of the sword of Nebuchadnezzar (Jer. 15) can refer to Nineveh. But it should be known that others assert the opposite, that instead of dove, it could be understood as Greece, so that the meaning is, from the face of the sword of Jonah, that is, from the face of the sword of Greece: for Jonah signifies both a dove and Greece. And to this day the Greeks still call it the Ionian sea, and the Hebrews retain their ancient word. And even the Roman emperors, when dealing with foreign nations, retain the ancient title of Caesar. So all talk about Jerusalem is: Alas for that city which was once a dove, always sinning and handed over to captivity, but redeemed again by the Lord. Alas for that provocative city, which in Hebrew is more significantly called Mara, meaning 'bitterness', which we can interpret as making God bitter, that is, turning a sweet and merciful Lord into bitterness because of your fault, so that he who desires to show mercy is compelled to punish. She did not hear the command of the Lord, and she refused to accept discipline; she also trusted in the Lord her God in times of distress; she did not walk after His back; and when He said, 'I am the approaching Lord, not from afar' (Jer. XXIII, 23), she wanted to approach Him. Her princes, judges, prophets, and priests are also described, so that in the city we may consider them as the people, and in the names of these dignities that I have mentioned, we may take them as princes. Therefore, his princes were like lions always prowling in the prey and shedding the blood of their subjects. His judges were rapacious, not leaving anything for others to plunder. His prophets raved or were stunned, which in Hebrew is called 'Phoezim', and Aquila translated it as 'astonishing'. They spoke as if from the mouth of the Lord, and they proclaimed everything against the Lord. The priests in the holy place committed sacrilege, and while acting against the law, they offered sacrifices according to the law. Therefore, because they acted unjustly, the Lord, who is just, will not do iniquity; but he will restore to the wicked city what it deserves. Morning, morning, that is, clearly and without any ambiguity, he will pass judgment on it, and there will be nothing that can be hidden from him. And the Lord will do this so that the reformed city may turn to better ways. But the wicked people of Israel did not recognize their own confusion, nor did they understand the punishments inflicted upon them, in order to repent. I have avenged you, he said afterwards, on the nations, and I have destroyed their empires, so that those who did not feel me through blows might at least recognize me through favors. Or certainly it should be understood thus: I have scattered all your cities, O Judah, and all the towns and tribes subject to you, and the diverse borders, and there was such a vast number of people that there was no one to dwell in your cities; and after I did this, I sent my prophets, rising early and calling for repentance, and I said: I have indeed done these things to you, O Jerusalem, but I have done it so that you might fear me and accept discipline, and so that your dwelling place, that is, the temple, might not perish because of all the crimes you have committed. On the contrary, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, provoked by me to repentance, intentionally and competitively rose early in the morning, so that they could fulfill all their thoughts and demonstrate in action what they had conceived in their minds. This is according to the Hebrew. Furthermore, the illustrious and redeemed city of Christ by blood is clearly understood as the Church, which is also called a dove, because of the simplicity of the multitude of believers in it. She did not hear the voice of the Lord, nor was she willing to receive discipline, nor did she trust in the Lord, because she did not want to draw near to her Lord God, in order to deserve forgiveness of sins. For in vain does anyone say that they hear the voice of their Lord God, and trust in the Lord, when they destroy faith with their actions, and are more joined to money than to their Lord God, and approach Him with a double heart, believing they can serve two masters, the world and God. The leaders of this [country] are like roaring lions. We have no doubt about the roar of the lions and the actions: when we see its leaders thundering against the subjected people, and crushing the commoners with tyrannical voices and raging insults, you would think they are barking like lions among little sheep. Its judges too, like Arabian wolves, prey in the evening and leave nothing in the morning: not looking towards the rising sun, but always lingering in darkness, and turning the possessions of the Church and the things that are contributed to God's gifts into their own profit, so that the poor have nothing to eat in the morning, who, like in the night and with no one watching, plunder everything; and like wolves, they snatched away everything, not even leaving small meals for the needy. Even the prophets, that is, the teachers who think they can teach the people and speak about the Scriptures, are carriers of the spirit, or spiritual (and this should be read ironically): they are men of contempt. For it is fitting for them to act in the Church, not to destroy words with deeds. However, when you teach someone else and you yourself do not do it, you are to be called not a teacher, but a despiser, as is written in Habakkuk: See, you scoffers, be astounded and perish (Habakkuk 1:5). Moreover, the priests who serve the Eucharist and distribute the blood of the Lord to his people act impiously against the law of Christ. They think that the words of the one who offers the Eucharist are more important than a virtuous life, and they believe that only a solemn prayer is necessary, not the merits of the priests. As it is said: 'And the priest who has a blemish shall not come near to offer the oblations to the Lord' (Leviticus 21, according to the Septuagint). Despite the fact that the princes, judges, prophets, and priests of Jerusalem do these things, the Lord remains merciful and just. Clement, in that he does not depart from his Church: just, in that he renders to everyone what they deserve. For when the morning comes, and the night of this age passes away, he will give his judgement in the light, and he will not hide himself or his judgement. And when he begins to demand the money that he entrusted to each person, he will not be unjust, nor will he allow injustice to prevail forever; but he will remove the proud rulers, whom God opposes, from their thrones, and from the heights they held, and their angles, that is, their wicked desires, will be dispersed, and they will deviate from the right path, on which the Pharisees always used to pray, with the cornerstone rejected. But I think that it is advantageous for the proud to be detracted from their arrogance, and for their narrow and winding paths to be scattered, so that afterwards they may walk on a straight path. Finally, it follows: And I will make their ways deserted, because there is no one who will pass through them; according to what is written in the first psalm: And the way of the wicked will perish (Psalm 1:6). Likewise, in Hosea, where it is said about Jerusalem fornicating: Behold, I will close her paths with thorns, and obstruct her ways, and she will not find her path, and she will pursue her lovers, and will not apprehend them, and she will seek them, and will not find them; and she will say: I will go and return to my former husband, for it was better for me then than now (Hosea 2:6-7). Note that unless the roads had been closed, and the paths blocked, and unless the Lord had destroyed their ways, the adulterous soul would never have been able to say: I will go and return to my former husband. Therefore, let the paths of the proud be scattered and their corners, so that they do not walk in pride and wickedness, and their cities, which were built poorly in arrogance and pride, are destroyed, so that they do not remain and have the most wretched inhabitants. So that no one thinks that we are using force on the Scripture, let them learn from the following: But I have done these things, he says, so that I may say to them: Behold, the paths of evil have been destroyed, from now on fear me and learn ((or receive)) my teaching, lest my teaching perish and I find no fruit of conversion in you; and let everything be in vain through which I wanted to correct you, and that the word written in Jeremiah may be applied to you: I have struck your sons without cause, you have not received discipline (Jer. II, 30). Indeed, fear me and accept discipline, so that all things may not perish from the sight of Jerusalem, and so that they may not be completely led into desolation because of these evils in which I have threatened her. Let it not trouble anyone (as I have often said) that these things are interpreted as being against the Church, since it is known that Jerusalem always has a typological meaning for the Church in the holy Scriptures: from which whoever sins is either led into Babylon or, if they willingly desire to descend, is wounded by thieves in Jericho. For what Church is so illustrious, which is founded throughout the whole world, so redeemed by the blood of Christ and called together from the nations by the dove for the grace of the Holy Spirit? In it, there are many who claim to believe in Christ but have not heard His voice, have not received His teaching, and do not wish to be close to Him. But what is said: 'Its leaders in it are like roaring lions,' I know that this will offend many because they interpret it as referring to bishops and priests, when in fact there are wicked priests who desired to violate Susanna, but they do not condemn the other priests who have lived uprightly. And the evil princes, whom the prophetic discourse describes, are not an insult to good princes: For when a fool is flogged, he becomes wiser, as it is written: 'When the ignorant is punished, the fool becomes wiser' (Prov. XIX, 15); if the fool becomes wiser, how much more so the wise? But his judges and princes, accepting bribes and selling justice, are they not rightly called 'Arabian wolves' or 'evening wolves', as Symmachus translated? For they do not deserve to be called 'Benjamin's wolves' who snatch in the morning and give food in the evening (Gen. XLIX); but 'evening wolves' who feed at night and leave nothing in the morning. But moving on to what follows: His prophets are spirit-bearers, that is, bearers of the spirit, men of contempt. Let it not bother us that, while interpreting the doctors, we also refer to them as prophets and men of contempt, since the Apostle also instructs us: Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you were sealed for the day of redemption (Ephesians 4:30). And let David speak in the fiftieth psalm: Do not take away your Holy Spirit from me (Psalm 51:13). For if the Holy Spirit had not been grieved and accustomed to flee from a place first, and to leave his dwelling, never would Paul have commanded what I have said above; and David, after committing adultery, would not have been afraid of losing what he had received, about which it is also written to the Hebrews: How much do you think he deserves worse punishments, who has trampled on the Son of God, and has esteemed the blood of the testament as unclean, in which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace (Heb. X, 29)? But it is also written in the third book of Kings: 'The man of God, undoubtedly a prophet, who spoke at the altar in Samaria, saying: Altar, altar, thus says the Lord: Behold, a son shall be born to David' (3 Kings 13:2) and so on; because he despised the words of the Lord and ate with the false prophet (for this is how Josephus explained this passage), he was killed by a lion. And so that it would not be thought of as a chance occurrence and not the judgment of the Lord, the false prophet who deceived him predicted that this would happen, and the lion itself, punishing the despiser, spared the donkey. Therefore it is not surprising that the doctors who were filled with the Holy Spirit could become contemptuous, since among the negligent ones who do not keep their hearts with all diligence, this very cause often gives rise to pride in the Lord and contempt, because they have knowledge of God and know His great goodness, which He hides from those who fear Him, and they despise the riches of His goodness, treasuring up for themselves wrath on the day of wrath and revelation. The priests also (who give baptism and pray for the advent of the Lord at the Eucharist: make the oil of chrism: impose hands; instruct catechumens: appoint Levites and other priests) do not despise us as we explain and prophesy, but rather they pray to the Lord and diligently strive that those priests who violate the holy things of the Lord do not deserve to be. For it is not the dignity and the names of dignities, but the work of dignity, that is accustomed to save princes, judges, prophets, and priests: 'He who desires the episcopate,' it says, 'desires a good work' (1 Timothy 3). See what he said: a good work desires, but not dignity. However, if, despising the work, he only looks at dignity, the tower in Siloam quickly falls, and the tall cedars are struck by lightning, and the raised neck is broken, and the swan, with its neck stretched out and reaching high, is counted among unclean birds. Furthermore, what we have set forth according to the Hebrew: Nevertheless, rising at dawn, they corrupted all their thoughts, for which it is written in the Septuagint: prepare, rise at dawn, their foliage is scattered, because it deviates greatly from the Hebrew, and it seems to agree more with the subsequent versions, which we will explain in what follows.

[Jerusalem] was like this for refusing to the end to hear the word of the prophet sent to it and not accepting in any way the instruction from that source. Though seeming to undergo a change for a while, once more it went back to its characteristic wickedness; at any rate, it took no account of God’s sending the prophet, nor did it make the decision to pay attention to him later, despite having such a remarkable experience. On the contrary, it forsook him completely and declared war on him, attacking Jerusalem after the annihilation of the ten tribes, the city in which the temple of God was to be found.

The prophet reproves Jerusalem, and all her guides and rulers, for their obstinate perseverance in impiety, notwithstanding all the warnings and corrections which they had received from God, Zep 3:1-7. They are encouraged, however, after they shall have been chastised for their idolatry, and cured of it, to look for mercy and restoration, Zep 3:8-13; and exited to hymns of joy at the glorious prospect, Zep 3:14-17. After which the prophet concludes with large promises of favor and prosperity in the days of the Messiah, Zep 3:18-20. We take this extensive view of the concluding verses of this chapter, because an apostle has expressly assured us that in Every prophetical book of the Old Testament Scriptures are confined predictions relative to the Gospel dispensation. See Act 3:24.

She obeyed not the voice - Of conscience, of God, and of his prophets. She received not correction - Did not profit by his chastisements; was uneasy and ill-tempered under her afflictions, and derived no manner of good from these chastisements. She trusted not in the Lord - Did not consider him as the Fountain whence all help and salvation should come; and rather sought for support from man and herself, than from God. She drew not near to her God - Did not worship him; did not walk in his ways; did not make prayer and supplication to him.

RESUMPTION OF THE DENUNCIATION OF JERUSALEM, AS BEING UNREFORMED BY THE PUNISHMENT OF OTHER NATIONS: AFTER HER CHASTISEMENT JEHOVAH WILL INTERPOSE FOR HER AGAINST HER FOES; HIS WORSHIP SHALL FLOURISH IN ALL LANDS, BEGINNING AT JERUSALEM, WHERE HE SHALL BE IN THE MIDST OF HIS PEOPLE, AND SHALL MAKE THEM A PRAISE IN ALL THE EARTH. (Zep. 3:1-20) filthy--MAURER translates from a different root, "rebellious," "contumacious." But the following term, "polluted," refers rather to her inward moral filth, in spite of her outward ceremonial purity [CALVIN]. GROTIUS says, the Hebrew is used of women who have prostituted their virtue. There is in the Hebrew Moreah; a play on the name Moriah, the hill on which the temple was built; implying the glaring contrast between their filthiness and the holiness of the worship on Moriah in which they professed to have a share. oppressing--namely, the poor, weak, widows, orphans and strangers (Jer 22:3).

received not correction--Jerusalem is incurable, obstinately rejecting salutary admonition, and refusing to be reformed by "correction" (Jer 5:3). trusted not in . . . Lord--Distrust in the Lord as if He were insufficient, is the parent of all superstitions and wickednesses [CALVIN]. drew not near to her God--Though God was specially near to her (Deu 4:7) as "her God," yet she drew not near to Him, but gratuitously estranged herself from Him.

To give still greater emphasis to his exhortation to repentance, the prophet turns to Jerusalem again, that he may once more hold up before the hardened sinners the abominations of this city, in which Jehovah daily proclaims His right, and shows the necessity for the judgment, as the only way that is left by which to secure salvation for Israel and for the whole world. Zep 3:1. "Woe to the refractory and polluted one, the oppressive city! Zep 3:2. She has not hearkened to the voice; not accepted discipline; not trusted in Jehovah; not drawn near to her God. Zep 3:3. Her princes are roaring lions in the midst of her; her judges evening wolves, who spare not for the morning. Zep 3:4. Her prophets boasters, men of treacheries: her priests desecrate that which is holy, to violence to the law." The woe applies to the city of Jerusalem. That this is intended in Zep 3:1 is indisputably evident from the explanation which follows in Zep 3:2-4 of the predicates applied to the city addressed in Zep 3:1. By the position of the indeterminate predicates מוראה and נגאלה before the subject to which the hōi refers, the threat acquires greater emphasis. מוראה is not formed from the hophal of ראה (ἐπιφανής, lxx, Cyr., Cocc.), but is the participle kal of מרא = מרה or מרר, to straighten one's self, and hold one's self against a person, hence to be rebellious (see Delitzsch on Job, on Job 33:2, note). נגאלה, stained with sins and abominations (cf. Isa 59:3). Yōnâh does not mean columba, but oppressive (as in Jer 46:16; Jer 50:16, and Jer 25:38)), as a participle of yânâh to oppress (cf. Jer 22:3). These predicates are explained and vindicated in Zep 3:2-4, viz., first of all מוראה in Zep 3:2. She gives no heed to the voice, sc. of God in the law and in the words of the prophets (compare Jer 7:28, where קול יהוה occurs in the repetition of the first hemistich). The same thing is affirmed in the second clause, "she accepts no chastisement." These two clauses describe the attitude assumed towards the legal contents of the word of God, the next two the attitude assumed towards its evangelical contents, i.e., the divine promises. Jerusalem has no faith in these, and does not allow them to draw her to her God. The whole city is the same, i.e., the whole of the population of the city. Her civil and spiritual rulers are no better. Their conduct shows that the city is oppressive and polluted (Zep 3:3 and Zep 3:4). Compare with this the description of the leaders in Mic 3:1-12. The princes are lions, which rush with roaring upon the poor and lowly, to tear them in pieces and destroy them (Pro 28:15; Eze 19:2; Nah 2:12). The judges resemble evening wolves (see at Hab 1:8), as insatiable as wolves, which leave not a single bone till the following morning, of the prey they have caught in the evening. The verb gâram is a denom. from gerem, to gnaw a bone, piel to crush them (Num 24:8); to gnaw a bone for the morning, is the same as to leave it to be gnawed in the morning. Gâram has not in itself the meaning to reserve or lay up (Ges. Lex.). The prophets, i.e., those who carry on their prophesying without a call from God (see Mic 2:11; Mic 3:5, Mic 3:11), are pōchăzı̄m, vainglorious, boasting, from pâchaz, to boil up or boil over, and when applied to speaking, to overflow with frivolous words. Men of treacheries, bōgedōth, a subst. verb, from bâgad, the classical word for faithless adultery or apostasy from God. The prophets proved themselves to be so by speaking the thoughts of their own hearts to the people as revelations from God, and thereby strengthening it in its apostasy from the Lord. The priests profane that which is holy (qoodesh, every holy thing or act), and do violence to the law, namely, by treating what is holy as profane, and perverting the precepts of the law concerning holy and unholy (cf. Eze 22:26).