Zephaniah 3:7 (DBY)

Passage

I said, Only fear me, receive correction; so her dwelling shall not be cut off, howsoever I may punish her. But they rose early, they corrupted all their doings.

Nearby Context

Zephaniah 3:5 The righteous Jehovah is in the midst of her: he doeth no wrong. Every morning doth he bring his judgment to light; it faileth not: but the unrighteous knoweth no shame.

Zephaniah 3:6 I have cut off nations: their battlements are desolate; I made their streets waste, that none passeth by; their cities are destroyed, so that there is no man, so that there is no inhabitant.

Zephaniah 3:7 I said, Only fear me, receive correction; so her dwelling shall not be cut off, howsoever I may punish her. But they rose early, they corrupted all their doings.

Zephaniah 3:8 Therefore wait ye for me, saith Jehovah, until the day that I rise up to the prey; for my determination is to assemble the nations, that I may gather the kingdoms together, to pour upon them mine indignation, all my fierce anger: for all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of my jealousy.

Zephaniah 3:9 For then will I turn to the peoples a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of Jehovah, to serve him with one consent.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "said", "only", "fear", "receive", "correction", "dwelling", "shall", and "howsoever". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "said" and "only", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 6's "I have cut off nations their battlements..." into verse 8's "Therefore wait ye for me saith Jehovah...", so "said" and "only" 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 "said" and "only" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.