Zephaniah 3:7 (DRB)

Passage

I said: Surely thou wilt fear me, thou wilt receive correction: and her dwelling shall not perish, for all things wherein I have visited her: but they rose early, and corrupted all their thoughts.

Nearby Context

Zephaniah 3:5 The just Lord is in the midst thereof, he will not do iniquity: in the morning, in the morning he will bring his judgment to light, and it shall not be hid: but the wicked man hath not known shame.

Zephaniah 3:6 I have destroyed the nations, and their towers are beaten down: I have made their ways desert, so that there is none that passeth by: their cities are desolate, there is not a man remaining, nor any inhabitant.

Zephaniah 3:7 I said: Surely thou wilt fear me, thou wilt receive correction: and her dwelling shall not perish, for all things wherein I have visited her: but they rose early, and corrupted all their thoughts.

Zephaniah 3:8 Wherefore expect me, saith the Lord, in the day of my resurrection that is to come, for my judgment is to assemble the Gentiles, and to gather the kingdoms: and to pour upon them my indignation, all my fierce anger: for with the fire of my jealousy shall all the earth be devoured.

Zephaniah 3:9 Because then I will restore to the people a chosen lip, that all may call upon the name of the Lord, and may serve him with one shoulder.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "all things", "said", "surely", "thou", "wilt", "fear", and "receive". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "all things" and "said", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 6's "I have destroyed the nations and their..." into verse 8's "Wherefore expect me saith the Lord in...", so "all things" 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 "all things" and "said" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.