[1] 1:2 earth Or, "the land" or "the country." Also in verse 18.

[2] 1:5 stars Literally, "army of heaven." This might mean the stars and planets or the angels.

[3] 1:5 Milcom A god worshiped by the Ammonites.

[4] 1:7 prepared . get ready Literally, "prepared his sacrifice. He has made his called ones holy." Here, this time of judgment is compared to a fellowship meal when priests offered a sacrifice to God and had the guests get ready for this special meal with God.

[5] 1:9 people wearing . threshold This probably means the priests and people who worshiped foreign gods, such as Dagon, or people who copied their ways of worshiping. See 1 Sam. 5:5.

[6] 1:9 master's house This means the temple where the people worshiped God or their false gods.

[7] 1:11 merchant A person who earns a living by buying and selling things.

[8] 1:18 world Or, "land" or "country."

[9] 2:4 Gaza, Ashkelon, Ashdod, Ekron Philistine cities. In Hebrew, Zephaniah is making wordplays on the names of these cities.

[10] 2:4 empty In Hebrew this word is like the word meaning "Philistines." Also in verse 6.

[11] 2:5 Cretans People from Crete. The Philistines came from that island.

[12] 2:7 survivors People who escaped some disaster. Here, this means those who survived the destruction of Judah and Israel.

[13] 2:9 Sodom A city that God destroyed, together with the city of Gomorrah, because the people living there were so evil. See Gen. 19.

[14] 2:9 Gomorrah A city that God destroyed, together with the city of Sodom, because the people living there were so evil. See Gen. 19.

[15] 2:14 Black birds Or, "cedar beams."

[16] 3:3 judge One of the civic leaders who judged, led, and protected the people of Israel before their first king was appointed.

[17] 3:4 prophet A person who speaks a message from God. Many of the books in the Old Testament are messages spoken or written by "the prophets," who were some of those God chose to speak for him. God often used dreams or visions to tell or show his prophets what they should say.

[18] 3:11 holy mountain Mount Zion, one of the mountains Jerusalem was built on.

[19] 3:13 survivors People who escaped some disaster. Here, this means those who survived the destruction of Judah and Israel.

[20] 3:18 This verse is hard to understand in the Hebrew.

© Copyright 2004 World Bible Translation Center.