1. Zephaniah 3:15 (ESV)
  2. Exposition

What sort of “evil” is in view?

Zephaniah 3:15 (ESV)

15 The LORD has taken away the judgments against you; he has cleared away your enemies. The King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst; you shall never again fear evil.

To live with the Lord in your midst is to live in a secure place (see also Exodus 6:7–8; 2 Samuel 7:10, 2 Samuel 7:23). This security will be from evil, says the prophet. The evil in view is likely, at least primarily, external forces such as trouble or calamity (see further Isaiah 45:7), and not moral wrong, since “the flow of the context (Zephaniah 3:15–19) affirms Yahweh’s determination to eliminate external threats and dangers from his people."1