before the decree takes effect — before the day passes away like chaff — before there comes upon you the burning anger of the LORD, before there comes upon you the day of the anger of the LORD.
The verse stacks up four warnings, each beginning with the same word: before. The repeated word is the point. The decree is out and the day is coming. The gap between the two is where repentance still has room to work.
A call built on urgency
Chapter one had described ruin; chapter two turns and pleads. One writer notes that the plea is not one message but two, aimed at two different groups inside the same nation.
William KellyThe first chapter set out the coming ruin of Judea. It came from the corruption of the people and the princes. It showed the horrors of the day of Jehovah falling on their selfish security and on the useless things they trusted in. In the second chapter we have a call to repentance. It is an appeal to humble themselves before the Lord. We see there are these two calls. To the nation there is a fitting warning; but an earnest appeal is made to the remnant of righteous Jews. These were "the meek of the earth."
The words of the summons
Verse 1 opens the call, and two of its words carry a sting. The word for gathering is harsher than it sounds, and the name given to the nation is sharper than older translations suggest.
Arno Clemens GaebeleinIn view of the coming of the day, the call goes out to the nation to humble themselves and to repent... The word used for "gather" has the meaning of gathering stubble or wood for burning. In their unbelief they were worthless as stubble and dry wood, fit for the burning. Some have translated the phrase "not desired" as "which does not turn pale." But that will not hold. The better meaning is "unashamed."
Another source agrees on the second point, and adds what the gathering is for.
Morrish Bible DictionaryThe people are addressed as a nation "without shame" (instead of "not desired"): they are called to seek Jehovah, in the hope that a remnant might be hidden in the day of His wrath.
Why "before" matters
The verse gives the reason for hurrying. The prophet's own name then carries a promise for those who listen.
Arno Clemens GaebeleinThe second verse gives the reason why they should humble themselves and be ashamed of all their evil doings. Because the decree of judgment has gone out, the fierce anger of the Lord in His day is about to pass like chaff... The promise is held out that they would be hidden in the day of the Lord's anger. Zephaniah means "hidden by the LORD" or "whom the LORD hides." His name itself is a comfort: the godly will be hidden in the day of the Lord.
Grace standing behind the warning
The warning goes to the whole nation, but it marks out those who fear God.
J. N. DarbyZephaniah 2 reveals the character of the nation, and speaks to her. The aim is that all those at least who fear Jehovah may be hidden in the day of His anger. They are called to gather themselves together and to seek Jehovah. They must do this before the decree of judgment takes effect, and before His fierce anger overtakes them. So the remnant are distinguished... For, after all, God remembered the counsels of His grace.
Whose anger, and which day
One writer sets this verse beside Isaiah and names where the anger comes from.
F. B. HoleNow read Isaiah 26:20-21, and then Zephaniah 2:1-3. In these scriptures the "indignation" and the "anger" are from God, and not from the devil.
Which day does the verse mean? One writer answers that it is not the fall of Jerusalem that was close at hand in the prophet's own time.
Arend RemmersThe day of Jehovah plays an important part in Zephaniah's prophecy. It is not the destruction of Jerusalem that was close at hand then. It is the time of the Messiah's reign, which is still to come. This day will start when the Messiah appears to judge the nations. It will also take in the thousand-year reign of peace that follows... The Old Testament describes the day of Jehovah mostly under the aspect of judgment.
Summary
- Decree — God has already passed sentence. The verse does not ask whether judgment will come, only how long is left.
- Chaff — The day will pass like chaff. That is why every clause begins with "before."
- Stubble — The word for "gather" pictures collecting dry wood for burning. The nation is "unashamed." The summons names what makes it necessary.
- Hidden — The prophet's own name means "hidden by the LORD." The promise to those who answer is shelter in the day of His anger.
- Grace — The warning goes to everyone, but its aim is to mark out a remnant. God still remembered the counsels of His grace.