How we cite our quotes:
Quote #7
The officials within it are roaring lions; its judges are evening wolves that leave nothing until the morning. Its prophets are reckless, faithless persons; its priests have profaned what is sacred, they have done violence to the law. (NRSV Zephaniah 3:3-4)
Her princes within her are roaring lions; her judges are evening wolves; they gnaw not the bones till the morrow. Her prophets are light and treacherous persons: her priests have polluted the sanctuary, they have done violence to the law. (KJV Zephaniah 3:3-4)
In the immortal words of Lord Acton that you’ve probably included in half a dozen history term papers, “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men.” These themes echo throughout the Christian scriptures also: the first shall be last, the rich having difficulty sneaking into Heaven, the meek inheriting the earth.
Quote #8
For I will leave in the midst of you a people humble and lowly. They shall seek refuge in the name of the LORD—the remnant of Israel; they shall do no wrong and utter no lies, nor shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouths. Then they will pasture and lie down, and no one shall make them afraid. (NRSV Zephaniah 3:12-13)
I will also leave in the midst of thee an afflicted and poor people, and they shall trust in the name of the LORD. The remnant of Israel shall not do iniquity, nor speak lies; neither shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth: for they shall feed and lie down, and none shall make them afraid. (KJV Zephaniah 3:12-13)
The Minor Prophets love honesty—there aren’t that many people who say what they mean and do what they say, but the few folks who do will get what they deserve. After they’ve been roughed up a bit, of course, ‘cuz that’s how God rolls. The “none shall make them afraid” is a pretty powerful statement, since these are people who’ve been living in terror for centuries about being slaughtered by one or another of the major world powers.
Quote #9
Thus says the LORD of hosts: Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another; do not oppress the widow, the orphan, the alien, or the poor; and do not devise evil in your hearts against one another. (NRSV Zechariah 7:9-10)
Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, Execute true judgment, and shew mercy and compassions every man to his brother: And oppress not the widow, nor the fatherless, the stranger, nor the poor; and let none of you imagine evil against his brother in your heart. (KJV Zechariah 7:9-10)
Building the temple and rebooting the government are fine, says Zechariah, but the community will be strong if everyone looks out for each other. Up till this time, the people in power have misused that power for their own gain. As he implies in one of his more graphic visions, the person who only looks out for #1 is full of #2.