Zephaniah prophesied in Judah during the reign of righteous king Josiah (640-609 BC). Early in his prophecy, he declared, "And I will cut off from this place the remnant of Baal and the name of the idolatrous priests among the priests" (Zeph 1:4).
Zephaniah may have spoken these words early in Josiah's reign, since Josiah in the twelfth year of his reign began to carry out what is described in this verse (2 Chron 34:3-7). So Josiah may have been guided by Zephaniah in implementing his reforms.
Zephaniah prophesied about the Day of the Lord, the powerful intervention of God in human affairs. Some of his prophecy dealt with events close at hand in Judah and surrounding nations. For example, he predicted the destruction of Nineveh, which would occur in 612 BC (2:13-15).
His prophecy also looked ahead to the great Day of the Lord that still lies in the future. For example, in 1:2-3, he describes a great destruction, a sort of reversal of creation. Then later in 3:8 he seems to refer to future judgment.
Zephaniah foresaw a great reversal of Babel to occur at that final Day of the Lord. In Zephaniah 3:9 God declares, "For at that time I will change the speech of the peoples to a pure speech, that all of them may call upon the name of the Lord and serve him with one accord. (Note that here either God is speaking of himself in the third person, or else there are two "Lords" in this passage.)
This does not mean that everyone will be speaking the same language. For example, the innumerable multitude that praise God together in Rev 7:9-10 come "from every nation, from all tribes and people and languages."
The prophecy ends with a description of Israel's future restoration. Both the people and God himself will rejoice at that time. Kyle Kettering examined this passage in an Advent sermon on joy at Church of the Messiah on December 16, 2023.
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