Zephaniah 3:15 (WEB)

Passage

Yahweh has taken away your judgments. He has thrown out your enemy. The King of Israel, Yahweh, is among you. You will not be afraid of evil any more.

Nearby Context

Zephaniah 3:13 The remnant of Israel will not do iniquity, nor speak lies, neither will a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth, for they will feed and lie down, and no one will make them afraid.”

Zephaniah 3:14 Sing, daughter of Zion! Shout, Israel! Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, daughter of Jerusalem.

Zephaniah 3:15 Yahweh has taken away your judgments. He has thrown out your enemy. The King of Israel, Yahweh, is among you. You will not be afraid of evil any more.

Zephaniah 3:16 In that day, it will be said to Jerusalem, “Don’t be afraid, Zion. Don’t let your hands be weak.”

Zephaniah 3:17 Yahweh, your God, is among you, a mighty one who will save. He will rejoice over you with joy. He will calm you in his love. He will rejoice over you with singing.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "yahweh", "taken", "away", "judgments", "thrown", "enemy", "king", and "israel". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "yahweh" and "taken", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 14's "Sing daughter of Zion Shout Israel Be..." into verse 16's "In that day it will be said...", so "yahweh" and "taken" 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 "yahweh" and "taken" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.