Bible Strands
Zephaniah 3:9
For then I will restore pure lips to the peoples, that all may call upon the name of the LORD and serve Him shoulder to shoulder.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Yahweh speaks to Judah and the surrounding nations immediately after announcing the coming judgment in Zephaniah 3:8 and before describing the gathering of worshipers from Cush in Zephaniah 3:10.
The words — The Hebrew verb אֶהְפֹּךְ ('ehpokh) means "I will turn" or "restore," and בְרוּרָ֑ה (ve'ruarah) translates literally as "purified," describing the lips God will restore to the peoples.
The thread — This reversal of Babel’s division aligns with the universal call to worship in Psalm 22:27 and Isaiah 19:18, where foreign nations are drawn to call on Yahweh.
Why it lands — The text states that God will purify speech so all peoples may call on His name and serve Him together, requiring the reader to recognize that unified worship is a divine restoration following judgment.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
For then will I turn to the people a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the Lord, to serve him with one consent.
Cross-references
- Genesis 11:1 Now the whole world had one language and a common form of speech.
- Psalms 22:27 All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the LORD. All the families of the nations will bow down before Him.
- Isaiah 19:18 In that day five cities in the land of Egypt will speak the language of Canaan and swear allegiance to the LORD of Hosts. One of them will be called the City of the Sun.
- Psalms 86:9 All the nations You have made will come and bow before You, O Lord, and they will glorify Your name.
- Zechariah 2:11 “On that day many nations will join themselves to the LORD, and they will become My people. I will dwell among you, and you will know that the LORD of Hosts has sent Me to you.
- Habakkuk 2:14 For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.
- Zechariah 8:20 This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Peoples will yet come—the residents of many cities—
- Acts 2:4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
- Matthew 12:35 The good man brings good things out of his good store of treasure, and the evil man brings evil things out of his evil store of treasure.
- Romans 15:6 so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.