World English Bible · Babylon and the exile
Zephaniah 3
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Woe to her who is rebellious and polluted, the oppressing city! She didn't the voice. She didn't receive . She didn't in . She didn't draw near to her . Her princes within her are roaring lions. Her judges are evening wolves. They leave nothing until the next day. Her are arrogant and treacherous people. Her priests have profaned . They have done to . , within her, is . He will do no wrong. Every morning he brings his justice to . He doesn't fail, but the unjust know no . I have nations. Their battlements are desolate. I have made their streets waste, so that no one passes by. Their cities are destroyed, so that there is no man, so that there is no inhabitant. I said, " fear me. Receive ," so that her dwelling won't , according to all that I have appointed concerning her. But they rose early and corrupted all their doings. "Therefore wait for me", , "until the day that I rise up to the prey, for my determination is to gather the nations, that I may assemble the kingdoms to pour on them my , even all my , for all the earth will be devoured with the of my . For then I will purify of the peoples, that they may all call on name, to him shoulder to shoulder. From beyond the rivers of , my , even the daughter of my dispersed people, will bring my . In that day you will not be disappointed for all your doings in which you have transgressed against me; for then I will take away out from among you your proudly exulting ones, and you will no more be arrogant in my mountain. But I will leave among you an afflicted and people, and they will take refuge in name. of Israel will not do nor speak lies, neither will a deceitful be found in their , for they will feed and lie down, and no one will make them afraid." Sing, daughter of ! Shout, Israel! Be glad and rejoice with all , daughter of . has taken away your judgments. He has thrown out your enemy. The King of Israel, , is among you. You will not be afraid of evil any more. In that day, it will be said to , "Don't be afraid, . Don't let your hands be weak." , your , is among you, a mighty one who will . He will rejoice over you with joy. He will calm you in his love. He will rejoice over you with singing. I will remove those who grieve about the from you. They are a burden and a to you. Behold, at that time I will deal with all those who afflict you; and I will those who are lame and gather those who were driven away. I will give them and , whose has been in all the earth. At that time I will bring you in, and at that time I will gather you; for I will give you and among all the peoples of the earth when I restore your fortunes before your eyes, .
A public domain modern English translation, free to read and share. Notes and cards are EKLI’s own.
The world at this moment · Babylon and the exile, 612 BC to 539 BC ›
Babylon replaces Assyria, Jerusalem and its temple are destroyed in 586 BC, and the leadership of Judah lives in Mesopotamia without a king, a temple, or a country.
- Babylon
- Nebuchadnezzar II rebuilds the city on a scale meant to be seen from a distance: the Ishtar Gate in glazed blue brick, the processional way, the ziggurat, and gardens later counted among the wonders of the world. Babylonian tablets record rations issued to the captive king Jehoiachin of Judah by name, which is one of the tidier points of contact between the Bible and the archives.
- Egypt
- Briefly resurgent. Pharaoh Neco marches north, kills King Josiah at Megiddo, and installs and deposes kings in Jerusalem, until Babylon beats him decisively at Carchemish in 605 BC. Jeremiah spends his career saying that betting on Egypt is suicide, and is proved right.
- Judah
- Deported in stages, then destroyed. The temple is burned, the walls broken, and the leadership marched to Mesopotamia. What happens next is one of the strangest survivals in history: a people keeps its identity without land, king, or sanctuary, and comes out of it with its scriptures more central than before.
- Further afield
- An extraordinary century for ideas everywhere at once. Thales and the first Greek philosophers, Solon's reforms at Athens, the Buddha in India, Confucius and Lao Tzu in China, and Zoroaster in Persia all fall within a few generations of the exile.