The clause, All of them may call upon the name of the Lord, with the exception of all of them, repeats Genesis 4:26, where people in the time of Seth began to call on the name of the Lord. These are the only two times this near-identical clause appears in the Old Testament.

This allusion to Genesis 4:26 is rather significant. That verse closes the account that started with Cain and Abel and developed into the story of Cain’s descendants, climaxing with Lamech. The content of much of the chapter displays the devastating effect of sin on humanity, especially sin’s appearance in violence (Genesis 4:8, Genesis 4:23–24). But just when it looks like all hope is lost, the Lord suddenly reveals a godly line through Seth, like a light shining amid the darkness. The Lord’s allusion to this in Zephaniah 3 brings the prophecy of Zephaniah full circle. For, Genesis 4:23–24 recapitulates the creation and flood stories because the corruption of God’s people has reached such proportions that nothing short of another universal destruction is in order. Now Zephaniah leads us back into the Primeval History, not to recapitulate the expansion of sin and its consequences but, to the contrary, to promise the redemption of humanity from the effects of that sin and the resulting alienation from God.¹ Thus, in Genesis 4:26 there were some who called upon the name of the Lord in the midst of corruption and sin. Zephaniah 3:9 presents a future when from among all the Gentile nations a people will arise and call upon the name of the Lord for salvation.