Exult, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel; rejoice and be glad with all the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem
Zephaniah ends a book full of judgment with a song. He calls Zion, Israel, and Jerusalem to rejoice with all their heart. Two questions follow: who sings, and what has happened to make such joy possible?
The words are not Zion's own idea. One writer reads verses 14-17 as a song handed to her, with the reasons for it attached:
Verses 14-17 contain a song of praise. The Spirit composes it and teaches it to Zion. He calls on her to sing it with thanksgiving to the Lord — who has put away her condemnation for ever, who dwells among her people, who rejoices in His love towards her.
The command to rejoice does not stand alone. The verses after it give the reasons, and one writer notes the title this book gives the King:
The close of the prophecy is a call to rejoice and exult. He summons the daughter of Zion to shout for joy... From Zephaniah alone we would only learn that the Messiah would come and bring in His glory as the Lord all at once. In fact He is not called the Messiah here, but the King, the Lord. Verses 15-17 explain why they should rejoice.
Israel's earlier kings had cost the people dearly. This King comes with full hands:
Israel had suffered much at the hands of many kings... But at last the Lord Himself will take the throne, in the person of Christ. He will live among His people with unbounded blessing. His hands will be full of good gifts. If, as the Righteous One among them, He has exposed Israel's sin and borne it Himself, then as the King among them He will drive all evil away. So it can be said: "Sing aloud … shout … rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem."
The singers are not the nation as it was. Their song follows a work God has done in them:
When that happens, the restored nation will not need to feel shame for all they have done. The Lord in infinite grace will have cleansed them from their iniquity. They are no longer proud and haughty, but a humbled remnant, trusting in the Lord... They will feed and lie down and none shall make them afraid. They have become once more the sheep of His pasture, gathered by the Good Shepherd. The time of singing and rejoicing has come.
One writer asks what God has done that lets Him rejoice over such a people:
How beautiful to see God's joy in His love to His people; and what has He done to rejoice in them? He has forgiven them. He has turned their iniquity away from them. He has brought out that poor and afflicted people He speaks of in verse twelve. He has made them a pure and holy people, and now they can sing and rejoice. God can rejoice over them because His judgments have had their effect upon them.
This happiness has one source: the Lord living among His people. And the joy does not run one way only:
It is a beautiful picture of perfect happiness, flowing from the presence of the Lord their God. Only one thing goes beyond it: the description of God's own joy over His people, long loved and now restored and happy... At last He can satisfy the affections of His heart. His love can flow out with nothing in its way, and in that joy He sings, as it were, with delight.
One writer holds the promise up against history. Israel's return from exile did not end her troubles:
"... The Lord has taken away your judgments, He has cast out your enemy. The King of Israel, the Lord, is among you; you shall not see evil any more." Israel has seen evil enough since her return from the Babylonian captivity. So the prophet is pointing to something much more than that.
- Cleansed — God has taken away the iniquity of a humbled remnant, and the song starts where the pride ends.
- Cause — the joy rests on facts, not feelings: judgments taken away, the enemy cast out, the King present.
- Composed — Zion does not work up this praise; the Spirit of God teaches it to her.
- Countered — He answers her singing with His own, rejoicing over the people He has restored.
- Coming — no past homecoming has matched "you shall not see evil any more," so the song still waits for its day.
Jehovah hath taken away thy judgments, he hath cast out thine enemy; the King of Israel, Jehovah, is in the midst of thee; thou shalt not see evil any more.
Almost all of Zephaniah's book is about judgment: on Judah, on the nations around her, on the whole earth. Then, at the close, it breaks into song. This verse gives the reasons: sentences lifted, enemies gone, and a King standing among His own people.
One writer points out which name Zephaniah gives this King — and which name he does not.
The close of the prophecy is a call to rejoice and exult. It calls the daughter of Zion to shout for joy... When we hear of the special position of Judah, brought back from captivity and tested again in a way Israel was not, then the rejected Messiah comes into view. That is not the case with Zephaniah. From Zephaniah alone we would know only that the Messiah would come and bring in His glory as Jehovah all at once. In fact we do not hear Him called Messiah as such, but the King Jehovah. Verses 15-17 explain why they should rejoice.
Israel's own kings had brought her suffering. This verse promises a King who is God Himself.
Israel had suffered much at the hands of many kings. Her first king oppressed the families and took the possessions of his subjects (1 Sam. 8:11-18), and most of the kings after him followed his ways. But at last Jehovah Himself will take the throne, in the person of Christ. He will be in the midst of His people with unlimited blessing, and His hands will be full of good gifts. If, as the Righteous One in the midst, He has exposed Israel's sin — and borne it Himself — then as the King in the midst He will drive all evil away.
The identity of this King is the sharpest point. The One standing among them is the One their ancestors handed over to the Gentiles.
What a glorious day that will be! It will be glory for Him and glory for His people... Judgments are gone forever; no enemy will threaten them again. He Himself is in their midst. He is the very One their fathers once delivered into the hands of the Gentiles. Over Him they cried, "His blood be on us and on our children." He is King. The throne of His father David is now filled.
The last clause has two sides. One writer names both: what God does not see, and who stands among the people.
Notice the glory that follows at once from God not seeing wrongdoing. "The LORD their God is with them, and the shout of a king is among them." Not to see sin is the negative side of their blessing; there is no judgment. Now we have the positive side; Jehovah is there, and the shout of a King. Prophets long afterwards testify to this.
One writer sums up what this presence does to the people themselves.
Israel will be purified, saved from ever fearing evil again, and glad with all the heart, because the Lord their God is in the midst of them.
Some read this as fulfilled when the Jewish exiles came home from Babylon. One writer answers that Israel's history since then does not match the words.
Israel has seen enough evil since her return from captivity in Babylon. The prophet is pointing to something far greater than that.
One writer sums up the whole of Zephaniah's picture of Christ among His people.
We have seen Him, as Zephaniah presents Him, in the midst of His people in three different ways. As the just Jehovah, acting for righteousness' sake, maintaining truth. As Israel's King, acting for His people's sake, ensuring their unspeakable blessing. As Jehovah-God, acting for His own sake, carrying out His plans of grace so that He might satisfy His own love, and rejoice with singing over those He loves.
- Cleared — The LORD lifts the sentences against Zion and clears away her enemies. Judgment ends before joy begins; the song comes after the clearing, never instead of it.
- Crowned — After a long line of kings who took from the people, God Himself takes the throne in the person of Christ. David's throne is filled at last.
- Present — The blessing is not a set of gifts sent from a distance. It is a Person standing in the middle of His people, and their gladness flows from that.
- Secured — No sin seen is the negative side; the King present is the positive side. Both together are why Zion will never fear evil again.
- Future — Israel's history after Babylon never matched these words. The verse still looks ahead: the King they handed over will be the King in the midst.
In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem, Fear not; Zion, let not thy hands be slack.
Zephaniah's book opens with a day of wrath, and it ends with a word of comfort for Jerusalem. Who speaks that word, when does it come, and what has changed so that fear no longer fits?
Zephaniah turns from wrath to singing, and one writer traces that order through all the prophets.
Judgment, however, never closes the scene. As we said, glory touches judgment in the ways of God. Judgment cleans out the vessel, and then glory fills it. It takes away what hinders the presence of the Lord. Then God sets up the kingdom and displays it, as Zephaniah and all the prophets show us.
Someone speaks these words to Jerusalem. One writer names the speaker and shows that verses 14-17 form a song given to Zion.
Verses 14-17 contain a song of praise. The Spirit composes it and teaches it to Zion, and He calls on her to sing it with thanksgivings to Jehovah. Jehovah has put away her condemnation for ever. He is in the midst of her. He rejoices in His love towards her.
The people who hear this word are not a proud nation. One writer describes who is left in the city.
A "poor and afflicted people" will remain in the middle of Jerusalem. They are poor in spirit and humbled before God by the many sorrows they have passed through. And it is these who will trust in the name of Jehovah, as their Rock of Ages.
Israel's own kings had given the people reason to fear.
Israel had suffered much at the hands of many kings. Her first monarch oppressed the families and took the possessions of his subjects, and most of his successors walked in his ways. But at last Jehovah Himself will, in the person of Christ, take possession of the throne, and will be in the midst of His people with unbounded blessing. His hands will be full of bounty.
The King now stands in the middle of His people. One writer explains what a king is for.
God's thought of a king is that he should rule for the comfort, peace and blessing of his subjects. This Christ will indeed do. If He puts forth His might for the destruction of His enemies, He puts it forth also to ensure the welfare of His people.
God had mourned over His people and pleaded with them. Now His might turns a new way.
But at length God takes His place "in the midst" and shows Himself mighty, not to judge, but to save. Instead of mourning over His wayward people, He will rejoice over them with joy. Instead of continually pleading with them, He will be silent (as the margin reads) in His love. It is the deep silence of a love that is perfectly satisfied, a silence broken only by the sound of joyful singing. Whose joyful singing? Ours? Israel's? No: God Himself "will exult over you with loud singing."
One writer looks ahead to the day when God Himself rests.
This is God's rest. He will bring everyone He loves into rest. He will have them around Himself in glory, with no more change to come and no possibility of any cloud passing over them. Then God's rest will begin.
The verse looks to a day still ahead. One writer notes that the return from exile did not bring it.
Israel has seen evil enough since her return from the Babylonian captivity. It is to something much more than this, then, that the prophet refers.
Another writer says plainly whose day this is.
That has nothing in the world to do with the Church, it is Israel's blessing, and Israel's day of glory.
- Cleared — judgment is not the end of the story; it empties the vessel so glory can fill it and the kingdom can appear.
- Given — the words are not Zion's discovery but her lesson: a song the Spirit composes and teaches to a city whose condemnation God has put away for ever.
- Held — those told to fear nothing are a poor, afflicted, contrite people, whose refuge is the name of the Lord alone.
- Mighty — the King in the midst uses His power for the welfare of His subjects: mighty now not to judge, but to save.
- Sung — a satisfied love falls silent, then breaks into God's own singing over His people. That day is still ahead.
Jehovah thy God is in thy midst, a mighty one that will save he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love; he will exult over thee with singing.
Zephaniah's book is mostly judgment on Jerusalem and the nations, yet it closes with God living among a people He has cleansed and restored. This verse sits in that closing song, and it raises a surprising question: why is God the one singing?
The chapter opens with a city called filthy and polluted, whose leaders had failed at every level. What changes is not the people's record. It is God's settled purpose toward them. The verses just before this one give the reasons for the shout of joy.
Verses 15-17 explain why they should rejoice. What is missing? Nowhere else does the Bible describe so well how satisfied God is once mercy has done everything for the people He loved.
The presence promised here is not a vague idea of God being close. Commentators say the Mighty One standing among them is a real person, and this nation already knew Him.
He Himself is among them. He is the very One their fathers handed over to the Gentiles, the One they shouted about: "His blood be on us and on our children!" He is King. The throne of His father David is now filled. The Mighty One saves, and rejoices over His redeemed people. He sees the full result of His suffering, and He is satisfied.
God had been in their midst before, and His presence then exposed their sin. The word "mighty" could have meant something terrible. It doesn't.
But at last God takes His place "in the midst" and shows Himself mighty, not to judge, but to save. Instead of mourning over His wayward people, He will rejoice over them with joy. Instead of pleading with them again and again, He will be silent in His love — as an older translation's footnote reads. It is the deep silence of a love that is perfectly satisfied, a silence broken only by the sound of joyful singing. Whose joyful singing? Ours? Israel's? No — God Himself "will rejoice over you with singing."
(Older translations render the middle line "He will rest in His love," with a footnote reading "He will be silent in His love." The ESV has "He will quiet you by His love." Much of the comment below follows the older reading.)
We usually think of salvation as what God does for us. This verse turns that around.
God has not only been seeking rest for us in what He has shown us of Himself in the gospel. He has been satisfying Himself. He saves, and He does it to "rejoice over you with joy"… He rests in His love. It satisfies Himself. The original word puts it beautifully: "He will be silent in His love." He is silent because He has nothing left to do. He has nothing more to reveal of what He has done, or of the place He has brought us into before Him.
Zephaniah presents God among His people more than once, and the verses build toward this one. Each presentation carries a different motive.
As the just Jehovah, acting for righteousness' sake, maintaining truth. As Israel's King, acting for His people's sake, ensuring their unspeakable blessing. As Jehovah-God, acting for His own sake. He carries out His plans of grace so that He may satisfy His own love, and rejoice with singing over the people He loves.
The names in the passage — Zion, Jerusalem, Israel — are not decoration, and writers here insist the promise belongs to the people it names.
That has nothing in the world to do with the Church; it is Israel's blessing, and Israel's day of glory.
Yet the same writers do not leave Christians outside the joy. They put the difference in timing. For Israel this rest comes at the end of a long road of discipline. For the Christian it is already true.
In this chapter, God rests in His love and rejoices over the daughter of Zion with singing. That is the result of His purposes being carried out, as He restores and blesses His ancient people. They reach this goal through all their past sorrows, and through the times His mighty hand disciplined them. With the Christian it is different. Through the death and resurrection of Christ, grace now reigns. God has Christ at His right hand, which shows how fully He is satisfied with His finished work. So He can already rest in His love over His redeemed.
- Midst. The turning point is God taking His place among His people. The presence that once exposed their sin now stands there "mighty, not to judge, but to save."
- Mighty. The Saviour in the middle of Jerusalem is the One that nation once handed over to the Gentiles. He now sits on David's throne.
- Silent. The older reading, "silent in His love," means love with nothing left to say. God has no more to do and no more to reveal.
- Singing. The voice in the last line is God's, not ours — He saves so that He can rejoice, satisfying His own heart in the people He loves.
- Now. For Israel this rest comes at the end of long discipline. For the Christian, commentators say, God already rests in His love, because Christ's finished work satisfies Him.
I will gather them that sorrow for the solemn assemblies, who were of thee the reproach of it was a burden [unto them].
Zephaniah's closing song calls Zion to sing. Then it turns to people who cannot sing — those grieving over gatherings they can no longer keep. Two questions follow. Who are these mourners? And what does God do with grief that faithfulness cost them?
The verses just before this one are pure joy. Verse 18 turns back to the conditions the mourners were living in. Where the ESV says "festival," older translations read "solemn assembly" — the worship gatherings Israel kept. The writers quote from those older versions, which print God's name as "Jehovah." One writer marks the shift:
But verse 18 assumes the dark and cold night of oppression. God does not hide it. Until the day of deliverance their position will be desolate. That is true in other ways, and above all in what concerns the solemn assemblies... Now He appears to lift them out of the dust, as well as to put down their oppressors.
So the grief is specific. These are people cut off from gatherings that belonged to them. God names their condition first, and then moves to lift them out of it.
What they mourned over marks them out. Their grief had two objects: the shame resting on Zion, and the assemblies that had fallen silent. Older wording of the verse adds a detail — these mourners belonged to Zion herself, and the reproach on those gatherings weighed on them as a burden.
All those who had grieved for the reproach of Zion, and who had sighed for her solemn assemblies, would be gathered together. Her enemies would be destroyed. Her children would have praise and fame in every place where they had been despised and reproached.
Another writer describes who will be left in the city, and how God regards them.
Notice that what is least and most despised among men is what God finds His pleasure in. It is a "poor and afflicted people" who will be left in the middle of Jerusalem. They are poor in spirit and humbled before God because of the many sorrows they have passed through. These are the ones who will trust in the name of Jehovah, as their Rock of Ages.
Their tears had a cause. So what does God do with sorrow that loyalty produced?
Having now found rest in His love, what will He not do for His beloved people? He will remember their past sorrows — sorrows which sprang from their loyalty to His name in an evil day. He will "undo all that afflict you." He will save her who limps, and gather her who was driven out.
This verse names reproach as the burden. The answer is not relief only but reversal.
The mourners in Zion, moreover, have taken the garment of praise instead of the spirit of heaviness. The lamentations of Jeremiah are heard no more. The captive daughter of Zion has been brought home, with every band that was around her broken off. She was led away captive, and it was written of her, "This is Zion, whom no man seeks after." Now she is made a name and a praise among all the peoples of the earth.
Who is this promise for? One writer answers plainly.
From verse 14 he calls on the daughter of Zion to exult, and Israel to shout. Jehovah is their king and in their midst, having taken away their judgments and cast out their enemy... He will make praise and fame for them in all the lands of their shame. He will do this when He gathers them and reverses their captivity before their eyes. It is wholly distinct from the gospel or the church.
Still, the verse carries comfort wider than Israel. One writer points to another scene where God marks out those who grieve:
The remnant who lament over the abominations are marked on their foreheads. It pleases God when any mourn over the evil connected with His name, even though they cannot put it right.
- Sorrow — the grief here is specific. It is grief over Zion's reproach and over silent assemblies, felt by people who stayed loyal at a cost.
- Gathering — God's first answer is not an explanation. He gathers the scattered mourners together.
- Memory — He remembers the sorrows that loyalty to His name produced in an evil day, and He acts on them.
- Reversal — the burden of reproach is exchanged for a name and praise in the very lands where they were put to shame.
- Certainty — this is Israel's promised restoration, distinct from the gospel and the church. Yet God still values those who mourn over evil they cannot fix.
Behold, at that time I will deal with all them that afflict thee; and I will save her that halted, and gather her that was driven out; and I will make them a praise and a name in all the lands where they have been put to shame.
Zephaniah's prophecy closes with God turning to the very people He had afflicted. He promises to deal with their oppressors Himself and to carry home the ones least able to make the journey. Is God's last word over a ruined people judgment or restoration? And who are the lame and the outcast?
The verse opens with "at that time" — a time reached only after judgment. One writer traces the order that runs through the whole book.
Judgment, however, never closes the scene. As we said, glory touches judgment, in the ways of God. Judgment cleans out the vessel, and then glory fills it. It takes away what stands in the way of the Lord's presence. Then God sets up the kingdom and displays it, as Zephaniah and all the prophets show us.
God does two things at once here. He settles accounts with those who afflicted His people, and He remembers what they suffered.
Having now found rest in His love, what will He not do for His beloved people? He will remember their past sorrows — sorrows which sprang from their faithfulness to His name in an evil day. He will "undo all that afflict you." He will save her who is lame and gather her who was driven out. And He says, "I will get them praise and fame in every land where they have been put to shame." Truly God is the God of all grace. Not one of His purposes will ever fail.
(The writers quote older translations: where the ESV says "the lame" and "praise and renown," they say "her who limps" and "praise and fame.")
The same promise appears in almost the same words in another prophet. One writer states plainly who the limping and the driven-out are.
"In that day, says Jehovah, I will assemble her who limps, and I will gather her who is driven out, and her whom I have afflicted." This is the Jewish people. "And I will make her who limped a remnant, and her who was cast far off a strong nation. And Jehovah will reign over them on Mount Zion from now on and for ever." This will be the final restoration of Israel by divine grace and power.
The lame are named because they are the ones you would expect to be left behind on a long road. Commenting on a similar promise elsewhere, one writer shows how far God's care reaches.
The deliverance is complete. God's command and care bring even the suffering and the sick back home. He will ensure their safe entrance into the holy land. So the recovery of the nation will be complete. If anyone were likely to be left behind when God gathers Israel, it would of course be the sick and helpless described here. But no — He brings them all back. Jehovah will forget none.
The last clause reverses the verdict of history. The nation the world despised becomes the nation the world praises, and it happens in full view, "in all the earth."
The mourners in Zion, moreover, have taken the garment of praise instead of the spirit of heaviness. No one hears the laments of Jeremiah any more. God has brought the captive daughter of Zion home, and every chain that was around her is broken off. She was led away captive, and it was written of her, "This is Zion, whom no man seeks after." Now God makes her a name and a praise among all people of the earth.
Readers often take this promise as a general word to any believer. One writer, reading the whole passage, ties it to Israel alone.
That has nothing in the world to do with the Church, it is Israel's blessing, and Israel's day of glory.
Even so, the grace behind the promise reaches further. The Christian's Friend sets Israel's hope and ours side by side: "whether they or we, we shall all alike be debtors to the sovereign grace of our God."
- Judgment first. Glory follows judgment. Judgment "cleans out the vessel, and then glory fills it," so this promise comes after God deals with evil.
- Oppressors undone. God moves first against those who afflicted His people. He settles with the enemy before He gathers the weak.
- The weakest carried. God names the lame and the driven-out on purpose. He brings home the very ones you would expect to be left behind, because "Jehovah will forget none."
- Shame reversed. God makes the nation no one sought after "a name and a praise among all people of the earth." The lands where she was shamed become the place of her honour.
- Grace, not merit. This is "the final restoration of Israel by divine grace and power." All who share in God's mercy share the same debt to it.
At that time will I bring you, yea, at the time that I gather you; for I will make you a name and a praise, among all the peoples of the earth, when I shall turn again your captivity before your eyes, saith Jehovah.
Zephaniah opens with sweeping judgment and ends with a promise of gathering, homecoming and honour among all nations. So who is this "you", when does it happen, and why should a nation once shamed become the world's praise? (The writers quoted below use an older translation: "a name and a praise" where the ESV has "renowned and praised.")
The promise does not float free of the chapters before it. Zephaniah's structure — wrath first, then blessing — is the pattern the prophets work in.
Judgment never closes the scene. As we said, glory touches judgment in the ways of God. Judgment cleans out the vessel, and then glory fills it. It takes away what blocks the presence of the Lord. Then God sets up the kingdom and puts it on display. Zephaniah and all the prophets show us this.
The wording settles it: a people gathered, a captivity turned back, and all of it seen "before their eyes." William Kelly reads these closing verses as a promise to Israel, not to the church.
He will make praise and fame in all the lands of their shame. He will do it when He gathers them and turns their captivity back before their eyes. It is wholly distinct from the gospel or the church.
God's gathering does not skip the weak. He collects those who limp and those driven far away, and the same grace carries Christians on a different road.
He will remember their past sorrows — sorrows that came from staying loyal to His name in an evil day. He will "undo all that afflict you." He will save her who limps. He will gather her who was driven out. He says, "I will get them praise and fame in every land where they have been put to shame." Truly God is the God of all grace, and nothing will ever frustrate His purposes. Israel's goal is full earthly blessing under Immanuel's rule. We look forward to the Father's house, to be there with Christ forever. But whether they or we, we shall all alike be debtors to the sovereign grace of our God.
"Among all the peoples of the earth" is not a vague global fame. The reversal lands on the same map where the humiliation happened.
All those who had grieved over the shame of Zion, and who had longed for her holy gatherings, God would gather together. He would destroy her enemies. Her children would have praise and fame in every place where others had despised and shamed them. Israel should be a subject of praise among all the nations of the earth.
Israel has known great revivals before — one under King Hezekiah, one under King Josiah. Verse 20 promises something that goes far beyond them both.
Hezekiah's revival was blessed. Josiah's was more blessed. But the most blessed is still to come. It comes when our Lord Jesus Christ, Israel's true King, returns to them, and they return to Him... This recovery will go so far beyond all the others that we read they shall be "a name and a praise among all the people of the earth" (Zeph. 3:20).
Verse 20 gives the nations something to admire. What God Himself feels for this people goes further than admiration.
Of restored Israel the Lord can say, "I will make you a name and a praise among all people." But Scripture says of the Lord Himself, "He will rejoice over you with joy; He will rest in His love; He will rejoice over you with singing." The world will admire and praise. He will delight in His earthly bride.
- Judgment first. The blessing of verse 20 sits on the far side of the day of the Lord — judgment empties the vessel so glory can fill it.
- Gathering next. The gathering is God's own act. He brings them in at the very time He gathers them, so restoration and homecoming are one event.
- The weakest included. God names the lame and the driven-out on purpose. Grace reaches the weakest, and Israel and the church alike owe everything to it.
- Shame reversed. Their fame will spread "in every land where they have been put to shame" — the map of the humiliation becomes the map of the honour.
- Delight at the end. The nations will praise Israel; the Lord will rejoice over her with singing. The world admires — He delights.