The last of the Third Nocturn Canticles said at Matins during Eastertide is from the prophet Zephaniah.
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Exspécta me,
dicit Dóminus, in die resurrectiónis meæ in futúrum, * quia iudícium meum ut
cóngregem gentes, et cólligam regna,
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Wherefore expect me,
saith the Lord, in the day of my resurrection that is to come, for my
judgment is to assemble the Gentiles, and to gather the kingdoms
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Et effúndam super eos
indignatiónem meam, * omnem iram furóris mei.
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and to pour upon them
my indignation, all my fierce anger.
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In igne enim zeli mei
* devorábitur omnis terra.
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For with the fire of
my jealousy shall all the earth be devoured.
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Quia tunc reddam pópulis
lábium eléctum, † ut ínvocent omnes in nómine Dómini, * et sérviant ei húmero
uno.
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Because then I will
restore to the people a chosen lip, that all may call upon the name of the
Lord, and may serve him with one shoulder.
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Ultra flúmina Æthiópiæ,
inde súpplices mei; * fílii dispersórum meórum déferent munus mihi.
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From beyond the
rivers of
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In die illa non
confundéris super cunctis adinventiónibus tuis, * quibus prævaricáta es in me.
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In that day thou
shalt not be ashamed for all thy doings, wherein thou hast transgressed
against me.
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Quia tunc áuferam de
médio tui magníloquos supérbiæ tuæ, * et non adícies exaltári ámplius in
monte sancto meo.
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For then I will take
away out of the midst of thee thy proud boasters, and thou shalt no more be
lifted up because of my holy mountain.
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Et derelínquam in médio
tui pópulum páuperem et egénum: * et sperábunt in nómine Dómini.
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And I will leave in
the midst of thee a poor and needy people: and they shall hope in the name of
the Lord.
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Relíquiæ Israël non fácient
iniquitátem, † nec loquéntur mendácium, * et non inveniétur in ore eórum
lingua dolósa:
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The remnant of
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Quóniam ipsi pascéntur,
et accubábunt, * et non erit qui extérreat.
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for they shall feed,
and shall lie down, and there shall be none to make them afraid.
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It is in the nature of Old Testament
prophesies that they often refer simultaneously to several different separate
sets of events, including those at the time the prophet was writing, which in
the case of Zephaniah (Sophronius) was under King Josiah (circa 635-630 BC); to
the time of the Incarnation; to our own times; and to the Second Coming. This particular Canticle is a nice example of
this.
The
Old Catholic Encyclopedia's take on the verses that come immediately before the
canticle, and its opening, is all too pertinent to the Church of our time:
"The
Prophet then turns again to Jerusalem
Haydock's Commentary on verses 1-3 (in the liturgical arrangement of the text) also point
to its relevance to New Testament times, as well as to the Second Coming:
"About forty
years after Christ's resurrection, the Jews for the most part continuing
obstinate, Titus ruined their city; which is a figure of the world's
destruction, and of the eternal punishment of the wicked... After the
resurrection, the Church was to be gathered from all nations. Christ will rise
again at the last day to judge all."
The
main content of the canticle though, encourages us to look forward to the
future, It is, according to the Catholic
Encyclopedia:
"A
consolatory prophecy, or prophetic glance at the Kingdom of God of the future,
in which all the world, united in one faith and one worship, will turn to one
God, and the goods of the Messianic Kingdom, whose capital is the daughter of
Sion, will be enjoyed..."
Above all though, the canticle invites us
to be part of the faithful, purified remnant, the Church, whose sins will not
be held against them (v6-7), and can act rightly through grace, a status made
possible by the Resurrection.
I've included Brenton's translation from the Septuagint from
the Septuagint, as well as Knox's translation in a table below, as I think the
Septuagint gives a better sense of the Messianic content of the Canticle, and
both translations are a lot easier to understand than the Douay-Rheims!
Brenton from
the Septuagint
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Knox
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Therefore wait
upon me, saith the Lord, until the day when I rise up for a witness: because
my judgment shall be on the gatherings of the nations, to draw to
me kings,
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Hope, then, is
none, till the day, long hence, when I will stand revealed; what gathering,
then, of the nations, all kingdoms joined in one!
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to pour out
upon them all my fierce anger:
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And upon these,
my doom is, vengeance shall fall, fierce anger of mine shall fall;
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for the whole
earth shall be consumed with the fire of my jealousy
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the whole earth
shall be consumed with the fire of my slighted love.
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For then will I
turn to the peoples a tongue for her generation, that all may call on the
name of the Lord, to serve him under one yoke.
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And after that,
all the peoples of the world shall have pure lips, invoking one and all the
Lord’s name, straining at a single yoke in the Lord’s service.
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From the
boundaries of the rivers of
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From far away,
beyond Ethiop rivers, my suppliants shall come to me, sons of my exiled
people the bloodless offering shall bring
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In that day
thou shalt not be ashamed of all thy practices, wherein thou hast
transgressed against me
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No need, then,
to blush for wayward thoughts that defied me;
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for then will I
take away from thee thy disdainful pride, and thou shalt no more magnify
thyself upon my holy mountain
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gone from thy
midst the high-sounding boast; no room, in that mountain sanctuary of mine,
for pride henceforward
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And I will
leave in thee a meek and lowly people; and the remnant of
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a poor folk and
a friendless I will leave in thy confines, but one that puts its trust in the
Lord’s name.
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and shall do no
iniquity, neither shall they speak vanity; neither shall a deceitful tongue
be found in their mouth:
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The remnant of
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for they shall
feed, and lie down, and there shall be none to terrify them.
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Yonder flock
may graze and lie down to rest, none to dismay it.
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