Gregory the Dialogist

Late Patristic · AD 500–800

2,896 passages across 55 books of the Bible · Who was this?

On Zephaniah

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  1. Zephaniah 1:15-16
    But let them hear how the prophet Zephaniah holds out over them the power of divine rebuke, saying, “Behold, the Day of the Lord comes, great and horrible, the day of wrath, that day; a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of cloud and whirlwind, a day of trumpet and clamor, upon all fenced cities, and upon all lofty corners.” For what is expressed by fenced cities but minds suspected and surrounded ever with a fallacious defense; minds which, as often as their fault is attacked, suffer not the darts of truth to reach them? And what is signified by lofty corners (a wall being always double in corners) but insincere hearts; which, while they shun the simplicity of truth, are in a manner doubled back on themselves in the crookedness of duplicity, and, what is worse, from their fault of insincerity lift themselves in their thoughts with the pride of prudence? Therefore the Day of the Lord comes full of vengeance and rebuke upon fenced cities and lofty corners, because the wrath of the last judgment both destroys human hearts that have been closed by defenses against the truth and unfol…
    But let them hear how the prophet Zephaniah holds out over them the power of divine rebuke, saying, “Behold, the Day of the Lord comes, great and horrible, the day of wrath, that day; a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of cloud and whirlwind, a day of trumpet and clamor, upon all fenced cities, and upon all lofty corners.” For what is expressed by fenced cities but minds suspected and surrounded ever with a fallacious defense; minds which, as often as their fault is attacked, suffer not the darts of truth to reach them? And what is signified by lofty corners (a wall being always double in corners) but insincere hearts; which, while they shun the simplicity of truth, are in a manner doubled back on themselves in the crookedness of duplicity, and, what is worse, from their fault of insincerity lift themselves in their thoughts with the pride of prudence? Therefore the Day of the Lord comes full of vengeance and rebuke upon fenced cities and lofty corners, because the wrath of the last judgment both destroys human hearts that have been closed by defenses against the truth and unfolds such as have been folded up in duplicities. For then the fenced cities fall. For souls that God has not penetrated will be damned. Then the lofty corners tumble, because hearts which erect themselves in the prudence of insincerity are prostrated by the sentence of righteousness.

    PASTORAL CARE 11

  2. Zephaniah 3:9-10
    “Then let my shoulder fall from its joining and my arm be broken in pieces ailing the bones.” Because bodily action is carried on by the shoulder and the arm, when the good things put forth with the lips are not fulfilled in deed, he wants “the shoulder to fall” and “the arm to be broken in pieces.” … But if this sentence of a curse is to be referred to a spiritual meaning, it is no doubt plain that the arm is linked to the body by the shoulders and, as by the arm is meant good practice, so by the shoulder, the knitting together of social life is denoted. So the prophet, regarding the holy peoples of the church universal and that they should serve God in concord, says, “And they shall serve him with one shoulder.”

    MORALS ON THE BOOK OF JOB 4:21.33

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