Zephaniah 3:9 (YLT)

Passage

For then do I turn unto peoples a pure lip, To call all of them by the name of Jehovah, To serve Him <FI>with<Fi> one shoulder.

Nearby Context

Zephaniah 3:7 I have said: Only, ye do fear Me, Ye do accept instruction, And her habitation is not cut off, All that I have appointed for her, But they have risen early, They have corrupted all their doings.

Zephaniah 3:8 Therefore, wait for Me--an affirmation of Jehovah, For the day of My rising for prey, For My judgment <FI>is<Fi> to gather nations, To assemble kingdoms, To pour out on them Mine indignation, All the heat of Mine anger, For by the fire of My jealousy consumed is all the earth.

Zephaniah 3:9 For then do I turn unto peoples a pure lip, To call all of them by the name of Jehovah, To serve Him <FI>with<Fi> one shoulder.

Zephaniah 3:10 From beyond the rivers of Cush, my supplicants, The daughter of My scattered ones, Do bring My present.

Zephaniah 3:11 In that day thou art not ashamed because of any of thine actions, Wherewith thou hast transgressed against Me, For then do I turn aside from thy midst The exulting ones of thine excellency, And thou dost add no more to be haughty, In My holy mountain.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "turn", "peoples", "pure", "call", "name", "jehovah", "serve", and "shoulder". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "turn" and "peoples", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 8's "Therefore wait for Me--an affirmation of Jehovah..." into verse 10's "From beyond the rivers of Cush my...", so "turn" and "peoples" 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 "turn" and "peoples" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.