Zephaniah 3:16 (DRB)

Passage

In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem: Fear not: to Sion: Let not thy hands be weakened.

Nearby Context

Zephaniah 3:14 Give praise, O daughter of Sion: shout, O Israel: be glad, and rejoice with all thy heart, O daughter of Jerusalem.

Zephaniah 3:15 The Lord hath taken away thy judgment, he hath turned away thy enemies: the king of Israel, the Lord, is in the midst of thee, thou shalt fear evil no more.

Zephaniah 3:16 In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem: Fear not: to Sion: Let not thy hands be weakened.

Zephaniah 3:17 The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty, he will save: he will rejoice over thee with gladness, he will be silent in his love, he will be joyful over thee in praise.

Zephaniah 3:18 The triflers that were departed from the law, I will gather together, because they were of thee: that thou mayest no more suffer reproach for them.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "shall", "said", "jerusalem", "fear", "sion", "hands", and "weakened". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "shall" and "said", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 15's "The Lord hath taken away thy judgment..." into verse 17's "The Lord thy God in the midst...", so "shall" and "said" 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 "shall" and "said" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.