Chapter 1
1 These are the words of Jehovah that came to ZephaniJah (the son of Cushi, grandson of GedaliJah, and great-grandson of AmariJah, the son of HezekiJah) in the days of JosiJah (the son of Amon) the king of Judah.
2 ‘When it comes to being in want, let all on the face of the earth be in want,’ says Jehovah! 3 ‘Let men and cattle be in want; let things that fly in the sky be in want, as well as the fish in the sea. May the irreverent be ill, for their lawless deeds I’ll remove from the land,’ says Jehovah.
4 ‘I will stretch out My hand upon
7 ‘Be cautious in the presence of Jehovah [our] God, for the Day of the Lord is now near! Jehovah has made ready His [great] sacrifice, and He has made His Chosen One holy. 8 The day of His sacrifice will come, when He’ll take vengeance on the rulers, upon the house of the king, and on all those who dress in foreign clothes.
9 ‘When I take vengeance you will see it, for it’ll come upon the gateways in
that day, and upon all those who are filling, the [
10 ‘And it will be in that day,’ says Jehovah, ‘that there’ll come the sounds of cries from the gates… [the sounds] of men being stabbed, and shrieks of women in the second quarter, as well as great battles in the hills.
11 ‘Wail, all you who now dwell there, in this place that’s being
cut to pieces. For [as was true of] the people of
12 ‘And it will be in that day, that I’ll search through Jerusalem with a lamp, and I will take vengeance on the men, who have paid no attention to instructions, and those who say in their hearts, Jehovah won’t do good nor [will He] do evil.
13 ‘Then there will [be given] the power to ravage, and to bring all the houses to ruin. For, [you] will build houses but you will not live there, and you will plant vineyards but not drink their wine.
14 ‘The Lord’s Great Day is now near, and it comes very quickly! The sounds of the Day of Jehovah, are ordered to be bitter and harsh.
15 ‘That Day is a mighty day of anger; a day of affliction and distress; a day of misery and extinction; a day of dimness and darkness; a day of clouds and [thick] fog.
16 ‘It is a day of the trumpets, and cries against the fortified cities, as well as all the high corners. 17 For, I will squeeze out the men, and they will travel like blind men, for against Jehovah they’ve sinned.
‘So, He’ll pour out their blood like the dust, and [pour] their flesh out like dung. 18 Then their silver and gold will not save them, in the Day of the rage of Jehovah, for the fire of His zeal will consume the whole land.
‘With diligence He will complete it, upon all who dwell in the land.
Chapter 2
1 ‘Be gathered then be bound together, O you nation that has failed to learn, 2 before you pass the day like a flower… before Jehovah’s wrath comes upon you… before the Day of the wrath and rage of Jehovah.
3 ‘Seek the Lord all you meek of the earth! Seek what is righteous and fair; give them all the right
answers, so you’ll be hid in the Day of God’s wrath. 4 For,
5 ‘Woe to you in the lands by the sea, and all you
who’ve [moved there] from
8 ‘I’ve heard the scorning of
11 ‘Then before them the Lord will appear, and destroy all gods of the nations of the earth. Then they will bow down before Him, each one in his own land, and in all the islands of the nations.
12 ‘And you, O Ethiopians, will become the slain of My broadsword.
13 ‘Then He’ll stretch out His hand toward the north, and
He will destroy the Assyrians, turning
15 ‘This is the city that paid no attention, and the one that dwells upon hope. It was she that said in her heart, I am, and none will replace me! But, now it is gone and a place for wild beasts; and all traveling through her will whistle, and then they will wring their hands.
Chapter 3
1 ‘O prominent city, the dove that was ransomed…. 2 she
wouldn’t listen to Your voice, and she wouldn’t follow instructions. Upon
Jehovah she would not rely… she wouldn’t return to her God. 3 The rulers
among her are like roaring lions; her judges are as the wolves of
5 ‘But her midst Jehovah is righteous, and no way will He do what’s unjust. Morning by morning He brings justice in the light… nothing is ever concealed before Him. He doesn’t take to injustice, or injustice that’s brought on by fights.
6 ‘I’ll tear down their proud and destroy all their niches. All their roads I’ll thoroughly destroy, so none will travel through their cities. All their cities will have vanished,… no one will exist or live there.
7 ‘I told you to fear Me and follow My instructions, and then you won’t be destroyed. For I must bring vengeance upon her, so get up early and prepare! All their gleanings are ruined, so wait upon Me,’ says Jehovah,
8 ‘My judgment will be on a gathering of nations; to take kings and pour upon them My rage… yes, all the anger of My rage. And the fire of My zeal will consume the whole earth.
9 ‘Then I’ll bring just one tongue to that generation, so all can call on the Name of Jehovah, and serve Him under one yoke.
10 ‘From ends of
11 ‘In that Day there’s no way that you’ll be disgraced, over all the disrespect that you showed Me. For, I’ll remove your insolence and careless attitudes, and of My Holy Mountain you will then boast.
12 ‘I’ll leave the meek and humble among you; those who
reverence the Name of Jehovah. 13 This remnant of
14 ‘Rejoice, O daughter of
16 ‘To Jerusalem Jehovah will say in that time, Be
courageous O
18 ‘I will gather all those who are broken, and woe to any who scorn them!
19 ‘Look! I will then act among you, for your sakes in that time. I will save the one who is pressured; she who’s thrust away I will take; and throughout the whole earth I’ll make them, [a people] for boasting and fame. 20 For, her enemies will be disgraced in that time, and whatever you find good I will do; for in that time I’ll take you in. I’ll make you famous and a reason for boasting, among all the peoples of the earth, when before your eyes I return you, from your captivity’ says Jehovah.
Notes
Wicked Zeal
At Psalm 37:8 we read, ‘Stop being angry and abandon your rage. Don’t allow zeal to make you act wicked’ (yes we know, the word should be wickedly, but this is poetic license). However, those words could also be translated as, ‘Do not allow jealously to cause you to act wickedly,’ because the Greek word zelos can be translated zealous or jealous, depending on the circumstances, for both words mean the same thing. Yet, the two words imply different things in English.
Zeal is usually thought of as something good… something all Christians should have, as in zeal for God and righteousness. And jealously is thought of as something bad… as wanting something another has. Yet, God is spoken of, as being jealous over His Name and His position as God, so jealously isn’t always a bad thing. We can have zeal (a burning desire to own) for things that are ours and we are proud of, and be jealous for things that belong to others. So, one may be translated as zeal and the other as jealously, depending on the setting.
As you can see, the words of Psalm 37:8 (above) could be speaking of jealously as something that causes us to act badly. Yet recognize that any sort of misplaced zeal can cause us to do the same. Take for example the Spanish Inquisition. In the late 1400s and early 1500s, religious people in their zeal for their religion tortured and murdered thousands horribly. This is an example of zeal causing Christians to act wickedly, and any of us can do the same when we treat someone badly or speak badly to others who may disagree with things we hold sacred. We find this to be a common failing in conversations on the Internet and among religious leaders when teaching their flocks!
Remember that Jesus said that only the ‘meek will inherit the earth.’ And notice what other good advice we are given from the Scriptures:
· John 3:10, 11 ‘Now, it’s easy to tell the children of God from the children of the Slanderer, because all those who aren’t righteous and those who don’t love their brothers haven’t been fathered by God. Why, from the earliest [days] you’ve heard the message that we should love each other.’
· 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 ’Love is patient and kind. Love isn’t envious, it doesn’t brag, it isn’t conceited, it doesn’t scheme, it doesn’t just watch out for itself, it doesn’t stir things up, it doesn’t hold a grudge, it doesn’t rejoice over unrighteous things. Rather, it rejoices over things that are true. It covers everything, believes everything, hopes everything, and endures everything. Love never fails.’
· Luke 12:45, 46 ‘But if that slave should ever say in his heart, My master is taking his time in coming, and starts beating the male and female servants, then feasts, drinks, and gets drunk, that slave’s master will come on a day and hour that he isn’t expected, and he will whip him and assign him with the unfaithful.’
Then, is it proper for a man to be jealous of his wife or a wife to be jealous of her husband? No, we should never be jealous of each other, but for each other. We shouldn’t want what the other has, but we should have a burning zeal for each other.
Yet, we often hear of the bad acts or a jealous husband or wife, which may or may not be zeal or jealously. If one has good reason to worry about losing the love of the other, that is zeal. However, if such concern is baseless, that is wicked suspicion, not jealously.
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Age
The Greek word aionos is what the English word eon
is derived from. It means an indefinite period. However, there is no
exact English word to translate it. The best equivalents are age(s) or era(s).
Please note that where the plural form of the word (ages) is used, it refers to
a long time, at least multiple generations. However, where the singular form is
used (age or era), this appears to mean a much shorter period, such as a
lifetime, generation, or era. And where the term ages of ages is used
(such as at Ephesians
It is noteworthy that aionos is the word that is used in the Greek Septuagint in place of the Hebrew word ohlam, which is also translated as forever and time indefinite in popular versions of the Hebrew Scriptures. So, this one word (aionos) is translated as forever, everlasting, eternal, system of things, time indefinite, [end of] the world, long ago, from of old, etc. Obviously, something is very wrong here, because the word can’t mean a period having a definite end in one place and infinity in another.
Take for example, the unique way that aionos is used in the question that Jesus’ Apostles asked him, which is found at Matthew 24:3, ‘What will be the signs when you are near and this age will come to its conclusion?’
You can see that the word aionos obviously doesn’t
mean forever, everlasting, or eternal in this case, nor did it mean world or
system of things. It simply meant the age or the time before the end
would come. And for them, that meant the age when the
The word aionos (which we have translated as age here) is also translated as world (KJ) and as system of things (NW) in other Bibles. However, if the Apostles had meant any of those words, they would have used the Greek word cosmos, not aionos for world or system of things.
The ancient Hebrews viewed everything (and rightly so) as having a beginning and an end. For that reason, you will only find three places in the Bible where words are used that imply no end and none that imply no beginning. An interesting possible insight on the reason for this can be found at Hebrews 1:10-12, which says: ‘Long ago, O Lord, you laid the foundation of the earth, and made the heavens with your hands. But they’ll pass away while you still remain. For like clothes they will grow old. Then, as [you would do to] a robe, you will wrap them up and repair them. Yes, you’re the one and your years will never expire.’
The problem with most Bible translations is that when they encounter the word aionos in all its different tenses, they interpret it according to accepted doctrine, not according to the way that Jesus and his disciples used it. So, the common renderings forever, eternal, and everlasting are used even when the word is in its singular form (aioni, aiona, aionos, aionion, aionian, aionios, aioniou), and this totally distorts the meaning of the text.
Take for example, the scripture at John 5:24, where Jesus said, ‘I tell you the truth; the one who hears what I say and believes in the One that sent me will have life in this age. He won’t have to be judged, but has crossed over from death to life.’
Most Bibles translate Jesus as saying that those who believe in the One who sent him will have everlasting life (or the equivalent). However, the words that Jesus used there were, zoe aionion (life age – singular), not zoe aionion (life ages – plural).
Notice how Jesus explained the meaning of these words with his next statement, ‘He won’t have to be judged, but has crossed over from death to life.’
So, what Jesus was saying here, wasn’t that they would have everlasting
life, but that they would (in their current life) be considered among the
living, not among the dead (see Revelation
From consideration of the evidence found in the bulk of Jesus’ words about life, the conclusion might be logically reached that he never taught the hope of ‘life eternal,’ ‘everlasting life,’ or ‘immortality,’ in those specific words. However, the concept is still there. What he taught was that (unlike those whom God considers to be ‘dead’) living people will receive ‘life in the age,’ meaning, they will be considered worthy of life by God during their lifetimes.
Two words imply infinity in the Bible. One is the Greek word athanasia, which means undying or immortal and is only found in two places, 1 Corinthians15:53, where it mentions resurrected ones as clothing themselves with immortality, and at 1 Timothy 6:16, where Paul speaks of Jesus as having received it. The other Greek word, aidios, which is found at Romans 1:20 and at Jude 6, is used to describe God’s Power and Might as eternal.
For more information, select the linked documents, The Hereafter and Does the Bible Promise Everlasting Life?
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Why the Name Changes?
You may have noticed that we have started putting some of the letters in Bible names in capital letters. For example, we’ve started spelling such names as Jonathan as JoNathan, Isaiah as IsaiJah, and Eliezer as EliEzer. Why? Well, partly to help with the correct pronunciations of the names, and partly to show some translating consistency.
We all know that the common English pronunciation of Jonathan (for example), is Jon-uh-thun. But did you know that the first part of the name (Io in Greek, Ieho in Hebrew) refers to the name Jehovah? For Jonathan means Jehovah has Given. So, the name was originally pronounced Yo-nuh-thahn. Then the second part of the Name (Nathan) means Gift.
In the case of names that end with an iah, as in Isaiah, the last part of the name includes the name of God. Isaiah, for example, means Salvation [of] Jehovah, and it was originally pronounced Ee-sai-Yah. So, why have we substituted a capital ‘J’ for the letters ‘ie’ in both of the above cases? Well, we recognize that there is an inconsistency here, because there was no letter ‘J’ in Hebrew or Greek alphabets. However, we have the choice of changing all names that start with ‘J’ (such as Jesus, John, Jonah, Joshua, Jeremiah, etc.) to start with the letters ‘Ie’, or for consistency, we can change all the ‘Ies’ into ‘Js’, which is what we have done.
Does this mean then that we are setting out a new rule for name spelling? Absolutely not, for centuries ago a Bible translator first established this rule when he spelled the name Eliou (Greek spelling, pronounced ay-lee-ou) and wrote it as EliJah, because this name is regarded as meaning ‘My God is Jehovah.’
Also notice that where a name ends with an iah, as in Jeremiah (Jehovah exalts), we have often spelled it iJah, because the i would typically be pronounced as a long e followed by a y in Hebrew, and writing it without the i (as in JeremJah) misses this nuance. So we have rendered it JeremiJah, which is similar to the way it is often pronounced by modern-day Hebrew-speaking Jews, YeremiYah.
Another important word in names that we usually capitalize is
‘El’ (from the Hebrew Elohe, or God). So EliEzer (which people commonly
pronounce Ee-lee-ay-zer and means God [has] Helped) should actually be
pronounced Ehlee-EhZer. The same is true for the letters Ai, especially
in the names of cities, because Ai in Hebrew refers to the word city.
So, AiLam probably meant the City of
Similar words, such as Bel (as in BelShazzar), Baal, and Beel, refer to ‘the Lord’ or ‘the God.’ Also, the letters ‘Ben’ and ‘Bar’ mean ‘the son of.’ ‘Beth’ means ‘the house of,’ ‘Beer’ refers to a ‘well,’ ‘Is’ or ‘Ish’ means ‘Man,’ etc.
Does this mean that we have put all the capitals in the right places, and where they should be? No, for we make no claim to Hebrew scholarship. All we are trying to do is provide a better understanding to how these names were pronounced by Greek-speaking Jews.
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Jehovah
Although there are no existing ancient Christian Era Scripture (New Testament) manuscripts that contain the full name Jehovah, there are four reasons why we (and other Bible scholars and translators) believe that it existed in the original text. They are:
1. The Name is found in many of the Hebrew Scripture texts that are quoted by Jesus and his disciples
2.
Jesus mentioned God’s having a Name in ‘The Lord’s Prayer,’ and at John
3. The Name still appears in a combined form in Revelation where the word hallelujah is used (Hallel means praise, u implies second person, and Jah is a shortened form of Jehovah.)
4.
The fact that Christians who lived in
That the Name Jehovah (which means, He who Causes to Be, or, The Creator) was originally in the Bible, is documented in all ancient Hebrew texts. And it is most likely that the Septuagint translation which Jesus and his Apostles used (most quotations they gave seem to have come from an ancient Septuagint) carried that Name, but probably in the four Hebrew characters that represent the English consonants YHWH.
Notice this comment by Robert Hanhart, who contributed the Introduction to ‘The Septuagint as Christian Scripture.’ He stated therein that, ‘All Greek biblical texts of Jewish origin found to date, whether from pre-Christian or Christian times, transmit the name יהוה Jehovah not in the form κύριος [Lord] encountered in all the LXX [Septuagint] manuscripts of Christian origin, but in some form of the Tetragrammaton.’ (See: ‘The Septuagint as Christian Scripture,’ 2002, book, p.7, by Martin Hengel. Introduction by Robert Hanhart, published by Baker Academic. ISBN 0-8010-2790-X).
You will see how in the book of Isaiah, for example, God is often referred to in Greek as Kyrios ho Kyrios, or, Lord the Lord (see Isaiah 48:16 LXX). And these are obvious examples of texts where God’s Name was omitted, for such sentences should clearly read Jehovah the Lord, or Lord Jehovah.
Since the words God and Lord both seem to have been substituted in the text wherever God’s Name originally appeared, it is difficult to know where to reinsert the Name in place of the titles. We could refer to the Hebrew texts and insert it wherever the Name appears there, but that would be out of harmony with the purpose of presenting this translation of the Septuagint on its own merit. So, wherever the term the Lord appears in obvious reference to God, we have decided to insert the Name Jehovah.
The rule that other translators have adopted for inserting God’s Name is to simply use it wherever the Tetragrammaton (יהוה) appears in the oldest existing Hebrew texts (which aren’t that old). However, it can be proven that these texts and such insertions are unreliable. For example, there is the instance when Abraham was talking to three ‘men,’ one of whom he referred to as the Lord (יהוה). In this case, Abraham was obviously speaking to a messenger from God (likely His representative, Michael), because, as God told Moses, ‘No man can see God and live.’ So, in such instances we have left the term ‘Lord’ unchanged, because that is likely the actual word Abraham used.
Also, in the writings of many of the Prophets, you will notice that they were often spoken to by God’s messengers, who they referred to as the Lord. And these messengers (angels) thereafter went on to give them messages from Jehovah. For example, notice the wording of Jeremiah 2:1 as an example: ‘Then the word of the Lord came to me saying, Go and yell in the ears of Jerusalem! Tell them that Jehovah says …’ So, in this Bible you’ll see an interspersing of the term the Lord, when referring to the angel messenger, and Jehovah, when referring to God.
Probably the most striking and confusing reference to the Lord is found at Hebrews 1:10-12, which says: ‘Long ago, O Lord, you laid the foundation of the earth, and you made the heavens with your hands. But they’ll pass away while you still remain. For like clothes they will grow old. Then, as [you would do to] a robe, you will wrap them up and repair them. Yes, you’re the one and your years will never expire.’
As you can see, the reference to the Lord here appears to be speaking of God (Jehovah). And if you go back to the scripture Paul was quoting (Psalm 102:25-27), you’ll see that it appears to be speaking of Jehovah there also from the context of the surrounding verses, and because the Tetragrammaton (יהוה) appears there in both the ancient Hebrew and Greek texts. Yet, the entire First Chapter of Hebrews is discussing Jesus and his special position before God. And Paul is clearly quoting Psalm 102:25-27 to make the point that Jesus made the heavens and the earth, that he will remain through the ages, and that he will eventually rebuild (repair) them after they grow old.
So, either Paul misapplied this scripture, which seems unlikely, or both Hebrew and Greek versions of Psalm 102 have been badly corrupted through the years, which our research proves is possible. As the result (because the answers are unclear), we have deviated from our rule of capitalizing the first letter of the words You and Your in many places in Psalm 102 and Hebrews 1, and from inserting the Name Jehovah where its use may be in doubt. However, this opens another can of worms, for it brings into question major portions of the Hebrew text and the use of the Tetragrammaton rule altogether.
It has also been suggested that since Jesus ‘shines with the same glory, is the exact image of His (God’s) being, and is responsible for everything that’s said through His power,’ as we were told at Hebrews 1:3, anything that is said about God also applies to Jesus.
Of course, the easy answer to why Paul used Psalm 102 in reference to Jesus, is because Jesus is actually Jehovah, as many theologians claim. But this is proven untrue by the other words in the same First Chapter of Hebrews. For notice the following verses:
-
Hebrews 1:3 ‘He sat down at the right hand of the Great One in the highest places.’
-
Hebrews 1:4 ‘He has become so much greater than the [other] messengers [of God] and so different, that he has inherited a [special] name among them.’
-
Hebrews 1:5 ‘For example, to which of His [other] messengers did He ever say, You’re my son. Today I’ve become your Father. Or, I will become his Father and he will become My son.’
-
Hebrews 1:9 ‘You loved righteousness and hated wickedness. That’s why God (your God) anointed you with the oil of great joy among those who are your partners.’
-
Hebrews 1:13 ‘And to which one of His messengers did He ever say, Sit here on My right until I set your enemies as a stool for your feet?’
(For more information on this subject, please see the linked document Who Was Jesus?)
The word that is translated lord (gr. kyrios) is found throughout the Bible in Greek texts and is usually used as a term of respect for men, such as a king, governor, or homeowner… and it is also frequently translated as master. So, whenever you see the term master used in the Bible, recognize that it is translated from the same Greek word as lord. And as translators, it’s easy to see how inappropriate it is to always refer to God as ‘the Lord.’ This was something that was started by later Jewish copyists, and the custom was adopted in English Bibles in the Fifteenth Century. Yet, even then the translators showed where God’s name once appeared in the Hebrew text by capitalizing all the letters, as in LORD (see Exodus 6:1). And in the King James Bible, the name Jehovah still does appear in four texts (see Exodus 6:3).
Some have objected to putting the name Jehovah
in the Greek text, for they say that that use of the Name would have
been offensive – and might have resulted in stoning – if
Jesus and his disciples had actually spoken it. Yet, the Name had to
be used when preaching to the Gentiles, or they simply wouldn’t have
known which Lord the disciples were talking about (remember, they
were polytheistic). And to call God the Lord when most gods
(and many men) were also called lord, would have been very confusing
to everyone that Jesus’ disciples preached to, both Jews and
Gentiles. So, we question whether the use of God’s Name was
considered as offensive prior to
The reason why the Name was removed from later copies of the Ancient Scriptures of Israel was because Jewish Scribes had become so awed with God’s Name that they refused to write it or say it, so, they started substituting the term ‘the Lord’ (the Master) wherever His Name was found. And since all existing versions of the Septuagint come from the Second Century or later, it isn’t surprising that God’s Name has been omitted from such modern texts. The fact that the name Jehovah was once there is well substantiated from ancient Bible manuscripts, both Hebrew and Greek. In fact, a verse in the Jewish Talmud claims that Jesus received his miraculous powers because he had sewn the Holy Name (Jehovah) into his skin, which indicates both their (his enemy’s) recognition of Jesus’ miraculous powers and the common view of God’s Name.
What about the Christian Era Scriptures?
Recognize the fact that most early Christian Congregations
(especially the one in
Perhaps Christians would more deeply appreciate the need to use the name Jehovah, rather than the title ‘Lord,’ when referring to God, if they understood that the term ‘the Lord’ in the language of the Canaanites was ‘Baal’ or ‘Beel.’ And the same term in modern-day Arabic is ‘Allah.’
Then, what of those who prefer a more exact Hebrew pronunciation of the Name (which is Yahweh, Yahwah, or Yehwah)? That is commendable if their reasons are consistent. For, if their concern is to properly pronounce Bible names (not a hatred for God’s name as it is pronounced in English), then they will also be found promoting the proper Hebrew pronunciation of His son’s name, Ieshuah, or Iehoshuah… or at least the proper pronunciation of his name in Greek, Iesous.