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Zephaniah 3

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1 Woe to her that is rebellious and polluted! to the oppressing city!

2 She obeyed not the voice; she received not correction; she trusted not in Jehovah; she drew not near to her God.

3 Her princes in the midst of her are roaring lions; her judges are evening wolves; they leave nothing till the morrow.

4 Her prophets are light and treacherous persons; her priests have profaned the sanctuary, they have done violence to the law.

5 Jehovah in the midst of her is righteous; he will not do iniquity; every morning doth he bring his justice to light, he faileth not; but the unjust knoweth no shame.

6 I have cut off nations; their battlements are desolate; I have made their streets waste, so that none passeth by; their cities are destroyed, so that there is no man, so that there is no inhabitant.

7 I said, Only fear thou me; receive correction; so her dwelling shall not be cut off, [according to] all that I have appointed concerning her: but they rose early and corrupted all their doings.

8 Therefore wait ye for me, saith Jehovah, until the day that I rise up to the prey; for my determination is to gather the nations, that I may assemble the kingdoms, to pour upon them mine indignation, even all my fierce anger; for all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of my jealousy.

9 For then will I turn to the peoples of a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of Jehovah, to serve him with one consent.

10 From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia my suppliants, even the daughter of my dispersed, shall bring mine offering.

11 In that day shalt thou not be put to shame for all thy doings, wherein thou hast transgressed against me; for then I will take away out of the midst of thee thy proudly exulting ones, and thou shalt no more be haughty in my holy mountain.

12 But I will leave in the midst of thee an afflicted and poor people, and they shall take refuge in the name of Jehovah.

13 The remnant of Israel shall not do iniquity, nor speak lies; neither shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth; for they shall feed and lie down, and none shall make them afraid.

14 Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel; be glad and rejoice with all the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem.

15 Jehovah hath taken away thy judgments, he hath cast out thine enemy: the King of Israel, even Jehovah, is in the midst of thee; thou shalt not fear evil any more.

16 In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem, Fear thou not; O Zion, let not thy hands be slack.

17 Jehovah thy God is in the midst of thee, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love; he will joy over thee with singing.

18 I will gather them that sorrow for the solemn assembly, who were of thee; [to whom] the burden upon her was a reproach.

19 Behold, at that time I will deal with all them that afflict thee; and I will save that which is lame, and gather that which was driven away; and I will make them a praise and a name, whose shame hath been in all the earth.

20 At that time will I bring you in, and at that time will I gather you; for I will make you a name and a praise among all the peoples of the earth, when I bring back your captivity before your eyes, saith Jehovah.

   

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Philistines

  

The Philistines play a large role in the Bible as one of the longest-standing and most bitter rivals of the people of Israel, clashing with them in repeated wars. The Philistines were a remnant of the Ancient Church, or church of Noah, but had turned the deep wisdom of that church into a worship that focused solely on knowledge of religious ideas and the details of ritual, with no concept of putting religious ideas to work in living a good life. People would be esteemed for their knowledge, no matter how evil they might be in their lives. This was a particularly attractive trap for the people of Israel, who lived in a state of obedience to a long list of spiritually meaningful rules. It was easy for them to forget about the “obedience” part and focus instead on the “rules” part, which made them akin to the Philistines. This is also a threat to us in our own lives. We need to remember that simply knowing a lot and believing the right things will not make us good people -- we have to use that knowledge to treat other people in a loving, caring way.

In 1 Samuel 5,6, this signifies people in faith separated from charity. (Divine Providence 326[12])

In Jeremiah 47:2, 3, this represents people who hold false ideas, and reason about spiritual things from them. (Arcana Coelestia 705) Philistia signifies this religion. (Arcana Coelestia 727)