Zephaniah — Chapter 3

Quia tunc reddam populis labium electum

'For then I will restore to the peoples a chosen lip, that all may call upon the name of the Lord and may serve him with one shoulder.' À Lapide reads 'chosen lip' (labium electum) as the pure language of the Gospel restoring the confusion of Babel. Pentecost is the primary fulfilment: the Spirit gives the apostles the gift of tongues so that all nations hear in their own language. The universal invocation of the divine Name prefigures the unity of the Church in the Eucharistic liturgy.

Et relinquam in medio tui populum pauperem

'And I will leave in the midst of thee a poor and needy people, and they shall hope in the name of the Lord.' À Lapide identifies the 'poor' (pauperes) as the anawim—those who depend entirely on God—and connects them to Mary, Joseph, Simeon, Anna, and the disciples of Jesus who are poor in spirit (Matt. 5:3). This spiritual poverty is the disposition of the Church, whose strength is not in worldly resources but in divine promise.

Lauda filia Sion iubila Israel

'Give praise, O daughter of Sion; shout, O Israel; be glad and rejoice with all thy heart, O daughter of Jerusalem.' À Lapide calls this 'the Messianic Song of Sion' and identifies it as a Marian text in the fullest sense: the 'daughter of Sion' is Israel personified, but its highest personal fulfilment is the Blessed Virgin Mary, who bears within herself the King of Israel (v.15). He cites the angelic salutation (Luke 1:28) as the New Testament echo of Zephaniah 3:14-15.

Dominus in medio tui rex Israel

'The Lord in the midst of thee is a king, Israel; thou shalt fear evil no more.' À Lapide identifies the King in the midst (rex in medio) with Christ in the Eucharist—the Real Presence as the fulfilment of Zephaniah's promise of divine indwelling. He notes that the Ark of the Covenant was God's presence in the midst of Israel; the Eucharist is the New Ark, the presence of God in the new Sion.

Dominus Deus tuus in medio tui fortis

'The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with gladness, he will be silent in his love, he will be joyful over thee in praise.' À Lapide dwells on the divine joy: God rejoices over His redeemed people with exultation (exsultabit super te in laude). He cites Gregory the Great: divine joy is not passion but the infinite superabundance of divine goodness delighting in its own communication. The mother-image (v.17) is applied to divine maternity and, tropologically, to the Holy Spirit.