Even though the NIV began Zephaniah 1:14 with quotation marks, it seems that only here in Zephaniah 1:17 we can with certainty identify divine speech as starting. 1 Why the definite change from the third to first person? The Lord God is making absolutely clear that he will lead the charge against his very own people, and he will do so because they have sinned against the Lord,
which is the first explicit statement of such in the prophecy (though the reminders of Judah’s sins have certainly appeared already; see Zephaniah 1:4–6). By shifting to the first person, the prophet showed the seriousness of sin and the determination of God to cleanse the people of Judah. Because of sin, God determined to bring his day of distress on the people.
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17 I will bring distress on mankind, so that they shall walk like the blind, because they have sinned against the LORD; their blood shall be poured out like dust, and their flesh like dung.