Zephaniah 3:17 - Oh Say Can You See.

Zep.3:17: Oh Say Can You See.

CONTENT; What's in the verse; Translations; Paraphrase; Word 
Study:  

Zep 3:17 (KJV)  The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; 
he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in 
his love, he will joy over thee with singing. 

Zep 3:17 (NIV)  The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to 
save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his 
love, he will rejoice over you with singing." 

Zep 3:17 (TEV)  The LORD your God is with you; his power gives 
you victory. The LORD will take delight in you, and in his love he 
will give you new life. He will sing and be joyful over you, 

Zep 3:17 (NCV)  The LORD your God is with you; the mighty One 
will save you. He will rejoice over you. You will rest in his love; 
he will sing and be joyful about you." 

Zep 3:17 (NLT)  For the LORD your God has arrived to live among 
you. He is a mighty savior. He will rejoice over you with great 
gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will exult over 
you by singing a happy song."  

Zep 3:17 (AMP)  The Lord your God is in the midst of you, a 
Mighty One, a Savior [Who saves]! He will rejoice over you with joy; He 
will rest [in silent satisfaction] and in His love He will be silent 
and make no mention [of past sins, or even recall them]; He will 
exult over you with singing.  

In their midst: All sources of fear and sorrow will be removed, 
because the Lord will dwell in their midst (vv. 15, 17). [Believer's 
SB] 

Mighty to save: God's people can rejoice. He destroys the 
wicked, but in so doing saves the righteous. [Disciple SB] 

He will rest: The LXX of this clause reads, "He will renew thee 
in his love." [SDA Commentary] 

Rest: A love too great for words. [Scofield SB]

Quiet you with His love: is a beautiful description reminiscent 
of God's forgiveness, and His refusal to remember man's iniquitous 
acts. [Believer's SB] 

Love: For the LORD's own, His final word is not of anger, as 
with the unbelieving nations, but of love, as expressed in this 
beautiful verse. When it comes to His people, chastised and forgiven, the 
LORD rests His case in love and rejoicing. [Scofield SB] 

With singing: The measure of love and joy held by God for His 
people is so great that God is represented as singing. [SDA 
Commentary] 

CONTEXT; What's around the verse; Overview; Topic:

Overview
Zephaniah predicted the "Day of the LORD," a dark day of 
judgment, due against Judah (1:1-2:3), Gentile nations (vv. 4-15), and 
against Jerusalem (3:1-8). Yet beyond the judgment lies a day of joy, in 
which God's scattered people will return and be restored to 
relationship with Him (vv. 9-20). [The 365-Day Devotional Commentary] 

3:14-20 Cleansed From All Enemies
In Zephaniah 3:15-17 the Lord is pictured with his people as a 
present King (3:15), a protective warrior (3:16-17), and a rejoicing 
bridegroom (3:17). [New Bible Companion] 

SECTION HEADINGS

Jerusalem's Rebellion and Redemption
A Remnant of Israel
The day of hope  (3:8-20)
A Song of Joy
Israel's Joy and Restoration  (3:14-20)
God Is Present Among You  (3:16-20)

CROSS REFERENCES; What's in verses elsewhere.

Psalm 147:11 (KJV)  The Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear 
him, in those that hope in his mercy.  

Isaiah 12:2 (KJV)  Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, 
and not be afraid: for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song; 
he also is become my salvation.  

Isaiah 65:19 (KJV)  And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in 
my people: and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, 
nor the voice of crying.  

Zeph. 3:15 (KJV)  The Lord hath taken away thy judgments, he 
hath cast out thine enemy: the king of Israel, even the Lord, is in 
the midst of thee: thou shalt not see evil any more.  

John 15:11 (KJV)  These things have I spoken unto you, that my 
joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.  

Hebrews 7:25 (KJV)  Wherefore he is able also to save them to 
the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to 
make intercession for them.  

COMMENTARY / APPLICATION: Moving From The Head To The Heart
What is God teaching here? What does it teach about Jesus?

We sin when we pursue happiness by cutting ourselves off from 
fellowship with God--the only person who can make us truly happy. Zephaniah 
points out that gladness results when we allow God to be with us. We do 
that by faithfully following him and obeying his commands. Then God 
rejoices over us with singing. If you want to be happy, draw close to the 
source of happiness by obeying God. [Life Application SB] 

O Say Can You See (Zeph. 3)
I've always been fascinated by the story. A British fleet stood 
off Baltimore, bombarding the fort that guarded its harbor. All 
through the night the guns roared. Through the clouds of acrid smoke 
explosions could be seen over the fort, as hollow powder-filled balls 
called bombs burst in the air. The darkness shrouded the stone walls of 
the fort, but the cacophony of sounds--the shrill whistling of 
shells, the booming of the cannon, the hollow thump of hit after 
hit--convinced every shipboard witness that the fort must fall, and Baltimore 
would be taken. 
And then, as dawn's first light drove back the shadows, the 
witnesses saw an astounding sight. The fort still stood! And there, flying 
proudly above her ramparts, was the American flag. 
Hurrying down below one witness seized a pen and dashed off 
lines that every citizen has heard a thousand times. "O say can you 
see," wrote Francis Scott Key, a prisoner that night on the British 
flagship, "through the dawn's early light, what so proudly we hailed at 
the twilight's last gleaming." The fort, and the flag, had 
survived. 
What a picture of the scene we see in Zephaniah 3. The city of 
Jerusalem was under siege, being punished for her many sins (vv. 1-7). The 
LORD Himself was the assailing force, pouring out His wrath, striking 
the city in His fierce anger. The devastation seemed enough to 
consume the entire world in an awesome conflagration (v. 8). 
And then, in the rest of the chapter, we make an amazing 
discovery. As that dreadful night of judgment comes to an end, and day 
dawns, we realize there are survivors! We see God's scattered people, 
purified, return to worship their God (vv. 9-10). We realize that the 
arrogance that characterized Jerusalem had been burned away, and the city 
now held only the meek and humble, who would do no wrong (vv. 
11-13). And we hear a voice raised in song, tentative at first, but soon 
swelling in a glad chorus of joy as the people of the city realize that 
God, mighty to save, is with them, and will quiet them with His love 
(vv. 14-18). And suddenly we see the city itself begin to glow, as 
God gives His now holy people the honor and praise they thought that 
they had forfeited forever by their sin (vv. 19-20). 
Just so we need to remind ourselves. When you or I suffer under 
the discipline of God, everything seems so dark. We feel crushed, 
unable to go on. Yet if we were only to look beyond, to tomorrow, we 
would catch a glimpse of the sight seen by Key, and by Zephaniah too. 
O say can you see, just beyond the horizon of your dark today, 
the dawn of what God intends for you? Purified and restored, humbled 
enough to accept God's love, you too will be quieted with His love, and 
be given praise and honor in a peaceful land. [The 365-Day 
Devotional Commentary]