Zephaniah 3:15 (ASV)

Passage

Jehovah hath taken away thy judgments, he hath cast out thine enemy: the King of Israel, even Jehovah, is in the midst of thee; thou shalt not fear evil any more.

Nearby Context

Zephaniah 3:13 The remnant of Israel shall not do iniquity, nor speak lies; neither shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth; for they shall feed and lie down, and none shall make them afraid.

Zephaniah 3:14 Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel; be glad and rejoice with all the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem.

Zephaniah 3:15 Jehovah hath taken away thy judgments, he hath cast out thine enemy: the King of Israel, even Jehovah, is in the midst of thee; thou shalt not fear evil any more.

Zephaniah 3:16 In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem, Fear thou not; O Zion, let not thy hands be slack.

Zephaniah 3:17 Jehovah thy God is in the midst of thee, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love; he will joy over thee with singing.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "jehovah", "hath", "taken", "away", "judgments", "cast", and "thine". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "jehovah" and "hath", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 14's "Sing O daughter of Zion shout O..." into verse 16's "In that day it shall be said...", so "jehovah" and "hath" belong inside that flow. In Zephaniah context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "jehovah" and "hath" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.