1. Zephaniah 1:14 (ESV)
  2. Exposition

How does 1:14 advance the presentation of the day of the Lord as begun in 1:7?

Zephaniah 1:14 (ESV)

14 The great day of the LORD is near, near and hastening fast; the sound of the day of the LORD is bitter; the mighty man cries aloud there.

This verse has concepts that parallel Zephaniah 1:7 concerning the nearness of the day of the Lord. But there is also a clear difference. In 1:7, the nearness of the day leads the prophet to call for silence. Now in 1:14, however, the same day of the Lord is marked by the bitter sound of the day. This verse also advances and escalates the preceding presentation of the day of the Lord by noting that the day is not only near but also hastening fast.

Finally, Zephaniah now describes the coming day of wrath as great. The shift that the word introduces might merely be “a shift in scope (from local to global) or it may also identify a change in time, with verses 7–13 addressing immediate punishment on Jerusalem in 586 BC but verses 14–18 detailing the final judgment associated ultimately with the first and second comings of Christ (Malachi 4:5; Acts 2:20; Revelation 16:14)."1