“[that while] we can assume that righteous advisers administered the affairs of state during the childhood of the king… a passage in 2 Chronicles, however, indicated the nature of the young monarch: “For in the eight year of his reign, while he was yet young, he began to seek after the God of David his father: and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem from the high places, and the groves, and the carved images, and the molten images” (“The Fall of the Kingdom of Judah.” (“The Fall of the Kingdom of Judah” in Studies in Scriptures 4. Edited by Kent P. Jackson. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1993, 169).

“It appears that he [Zephaniah] was closely connected with the young boy-king, Josiah, and was able to influence him for good… Josiah, while still a young boy, undertook an extensive program to counter the idolatry which apparently was being carried on during Zephaniah’s ministry. This undoubtedly brought sharp criticism upon the boy king from the pagean factions” (Prophets and Prophecies of the Old Testament. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1966, 413-414).

“Some have suggested this book was the book of Deuteronomy; others believe it was the whole Pentateuch (Genesis to Deuteronomy), written by the prophet Moses… The account of the great joy at finding the law suggests that the scriptures had been lost for some time. That would partly explain why evil and corruption had become so widespread in Israel” (Old Testament student manual 1 Kings—Malachi. Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1982, Second Edition, 214).

“To rip or tear one’s clothes was to signify profound sorrow and tragedy. When King Josiah heard the law read, it instantly become obvious how far Israel had strayed from what God required of them. Therefore, Josiah rent his clothes to dramatize his profound sorrow and shock at the spiritual state of the nation” (Old Testament student manual 1 Kings—Malachi. Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1982, Second Edition, 214).

“Rather than making a direct inquiry by prayer or going to the holy place in the temple, the priests and scribes went to “Huldah the prophetess” for her interpretation” for spiritual direction” (A Latter-Day Saint Commentary on the Old Testament. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1993, 322).

“Nothing further is known of the prophetess Huldah from what is mentioned here. All that we can infer… is that she was highly distinguished on account of her prophetic gifts, and that none of the prophets of renown, such as Jeremiah and Zephaniah, were at that time in Jerusalem” (Old Testament student manual 1 Kings—Malachi. Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1982, Second Edition, 214).

“For Hilkiah, Shaphan, and their colleagues, ‘Go, inquire of the Lord” meant to ask one who had the gift of prophecy to discern the Lord’s will for Josiah and the kingdom of Judah. Whether the prophet was a man or a woman seemed irrelevant to them. Neither account of the story indicate surprise that men in official leaderhip positions conferred with a woman over the divine authority and application o the discovered book of the law. We simply read that they went to Huldah the prophetess (2 Chronicles 34:22, 2 Kings 22:14)… With the witness of the Spirit that attends the communication of prophets and prophetess, Huldah bore fervent testimony of the Lord’s will (2 Chronicles 34:23-28; 2 Kings 22:15-20). For times in her six-verse response to the scroll, Huldah boldly declared, “Thus saith the Lord” (2 Chronicles 34:23-24, 26-27). Validating the authenticity of the document, Huldah applied the specific judgments in the scroll to Judah of her day. The kingdom would not escape ruin, as it had escaped under King Hezekiah. Huldah’s witness underscored the seriousness of Judah’s predicament and drew attention to God’s warnings… Remarkable reigns and reforms carried out by two righteous kings could not unto the evils of wicked kings or prevent the dire consequences that God had prophesied (2 Chronicles 34:24-25). The time for present conditions had ended. Consequences would follow ” (Women of the Old Testament. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2009, 155-156).

“Huldah’s prophetic message, however, contained a second part. Because the Lord recognized Josiah’s sincere efforts to bring a humble people to Him, He would protect Josiah from witnessing the horrors of Judah’s fall. Huldah sent the message to Josiah that he would die, ‘gathered to [his] grave in peace,’ before Judah’s devastating demise (2 Chronicles 34:28)” (Women of the Old Testament. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2009, 156-157).

“May the society [Relief Society] influence the daughter of Zion to deeds of virtue, holiness, righteousness, and truth. May the blessings of Sarah, Huldah, Hannah, Anna, and Mary, the ancient prophetess, and of the holy women rest upon them” (Daniel H. Ludlow. A Companion To Your Study of the Old Testament. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1981, 242-243, underline added).

“[While] it is true that Josiah had exterminated outward gross idolatry throughout the land by his sincere conversion to the Lord, and by his zeal for the restoration of the lawful worship of Jehovah, and had persuaded the people to enter into covenant with its God once more; but a thorough conversion of the people to the Lord he had not been able to effect. For, as Clericus has correctly observed, ‘although the king was most religious, and the people obeyed him through fear, yet for all that the mind of the people was not changed, as is evident enough from the reproaches of Jeremiah, Zephaniah, and other prophets, who prophesied about that time and a little after’… Compare especially the first ten chapters of Jeremiah, which contain a resume of his labors in the reign of Josiah, and bear witness to the deep inward apostasy of the people from the Lord, not only before and during Josiah’s reform of worship, but also afterwards” (Commentary on the Old Testament 3. Grand Rapids: William Eerdmans Publishing Co, n.d., 492).

“In the scramble for power that came with Babylonia’s conquest of Assyria, Egypt sought to move north and help Assyria, since they preferred a weak Assyria to a powerful Babylonia. For reasons not named, Josiah sought to stop Pharaoh Necho’s passage through the promised land. [King Josiah, disguised as a soldier, joined with the army of Judah in an effort to defeating Egypt]… Josiah took up his position… [at Megiddo] to dispute the passage across Carmel of Necho” (Old Testament student manual 1 Kings—Malachi. Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1981, Second Edition. 215).

“Nebuchadnezzar was the son of Nabopolassar, king of Babylon. Jehoiakim was the king of Judah. At the time that Nebuchadnezzar first laid siege to Jerusalem, Jehoiakim was paying tribute to Pharoah Necho, king of Egypt, in return for protection against Babylonians. The ploy did not work… About 605 B.C., Jehoaiakim revolted” (Old Testament student manual 1 Kings—Malachi. Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1981, Second Edition, 215).

“The mixed army of Chaldeans, Syrians, Moabites, and Ammonites, was sent against him [Jehoiakim], who ravaged the country and took 3,023 prisoners whom they brought to Babylon [see Jeremiah 52:28]” (Adam Clarke’s Commentary on the Bible. Abridged by Ralph Earle. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1967, [Nineteenth Printing, March, 1991], 382-383).

“The young King Jehoaichin was besieged almost immediately and was taken away—along with his mother, the servants, the princes, the craftsmen, and the treasures from the temple and palace-in the eighth year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign about 597 B.C… .This group of ten thousand exiles may have included young Ezekiel, who became a prophet in exile (Ezekiel 1:1-2. Daniel had like been taken earlier (ca. 605 B.C.; Daniel 1:1-2)” (A Latter-Day Saint Commentary on the Old Testament. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1993, 324).

“It will be seen that one of the sons of Zedekiah escaped and he and his people were led to the land of America. This seems to have been about 588 B.C., or twelve years after Lehi and his family left Jerusalem. It seems that the people of Mulek did not keep records, but after a sojourn in the Land of America for approximately 400 years, the Nephites discovered them [Mulekites] and the two peoples were united under King Mosiah with the people of Nephi (Omni 1:15-16, 19)” (Israel! Do You Know? Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1964, Paperback Edition, 1990, 36).

“there is evidence in the book of Jeremiah that he may have had some good intentions (Jerimiah 37:17-21; 38:7-28)… [however] he was a weak monarch,… fearful of the people and unable to stand up to the nobles and underlings (Jerimiah 38:5,19)… [The Prophet Jerimiah (2 Chronicles 36:12-13), had counseled] Zedekiah to submit to the yoke of bondage under Nebuchadnezzar, for which the unrighteous king openly rebelled (2 Chronicles 36:12-13)… In January of 588 B.C., Jerusalem was placed under a blockade… until the city was encircle by the armies of Nebuchadnezzar (Jerimiah 34:7)… No mercy was shown to the rebellious Zedekiah” (“The Fall of the Kingdom of Judea” in Studies in Scriptures 4. Edited by Kent P. Jackson. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1993, 174-175).

“After Jerusalem had been under seige for a year-and-a-half, he [Zedekiah] attempted to escape but was captured… Nebuchadnezzar killed Zedekiah’s sons before his eyes and then put out his eyes and carried him and the people of Judah to Babylon as captives in c. 586 B.C. (Second deportation of the Jews)” (Prophets and Prophecies of the Old Testament. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1966, 409).

“Josephus, the great Jewish historian, recorded that Ishmael compelled the Jews remaining in Palestine to accompany him to the land of the Ammonities. Before their arrival there, another Jewish patriot, Johanan, angry with Ishmael for slaying Gedaliah, rescued his countrymen from Ishmael’s grasp and took them to Egypt to settle. This move was contrary to the counsel of Jeremiah, who still resided in Palestine and who urged Johanan and the other Jews to do the same. They refused and compelled Jeremiah and his scribe, Baruch, to flee to Egypt with them (See Josephus, Flavius Josephus, Antiquities, bk. 10, chapter 9.)” (Old Testament student manual 1 Kings—Malachi. Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1982, Second Edition, 216).

“the first commentary on a book of the Bible written by an LDS Church leader was Oliver Cowdery’s treatise on the book of Zephaniah in 1834… From the early years of the Restoration, modern prophets have seen in the visions of Zephaniah a vivid picture of the last days” (“The Book of Zephaniah.” Studies in Scripture 4. Edited by Kent P. Jackson. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1993, 178).

“His [Zephaniah] time was in the days of Josiah” (Zephaniah 1:1), about 639 to 608 B.C. That was the period of the overthrow of Assyria and the rise of Babylon… The prophet himself was a great-great-grandson of one Hizekiah (the same as Hezekiah in Hebrew), and it is entirely possible that he also was of the royal line” (A Latter-Day Saint Commentary on the Old Testament. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1993, 672).

[In response to the lack of detail regarding Zephaniah’s personal background, “His own person apparently played no role; the message was the totally dominating feature” (The Message of the Prophet Zephaniah. Oslo, Norway: Universitevorlaget, 1975, 46).

“Zephaniah’s use of the theme of the Day of the Lord was brought about by the wickedness of the people of Judah. Their crimes and excesses merited a stern and vigorous rebuke. Knowing the great judgments and desolations that were to descent upon the world in the latter days of the Lord’s Second Advent, Zephaniah determined to bring home to his people the awful retribution that should shortly befall them in terms of descriptive of that great but future event in world history” (The Voice of Israel’s Prophets. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1952, 380).

“Zehpaniah’s prophecy is definitely apocalyptic; it is a great revelation of the future, designed to impress the people of his own and future times with the fact that crime, wickedness, and religious indifference cannot be forever condoned by a patient and merciful God. That which men sow they must inevitably reap” (The Voice of Israel’s Prophets. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1952, 380-381).

“Settled upon their lees” (Zephaniah 1:12) is a figure drawn from wine making. The lees are the thick residue of the pulp of the grapes. ‘Good wine, when it remains for a long time upon its lees, becomes stronger; but bad wine become harsher and thicker’ (Keil and Delitzsch, Commentary, 10:2:134). The interpretation of the symbol is that wicked men, like bad wine, remain apathetic about the true religion and become increasingly harsh and bitter” (The Old Testament student manual 1 Kings–Malachi. Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1982, Second Edition, 224).

“This description of the destruction and terror that God shall pour out upon the wicked in the latter days is meant by the prophet to symbolize the desolation and woes that shall befall Judah if she does not repent” (The Voice of Israel’s Prophets. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1952, 381).

“[In this verse] The Lord addresses Himself to the righteous, apparently of Zephaniah’s own generation and tells them of the great day in which God will pour out His indignation and fiery anger upon the kingdoms of the earth. To Latter-day Saints it is clear from the verses immediately following that this judgment is to take place in the present dispensation, since they refer to the [time of the] gathering of Israel” (The Voices of Israel’s Prophet’s. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1952, 386).

“Not all Israel are to be destroyed. There will still exist in the centuries to come a righteous remnant with whom God can work and bring to pass His righteous purposes in the earth” (The Voices of Israel’s Prophet’s. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1952, 387).

“One of the blessings that will result from the destruction of the wicked is that a ‘pure language’ will be restored which will be spoken by everyone. From the days of Adam unti the time of the tower of Babel, a single, universal language was on the earth (the ‘Adamic language’), patterned after the language of God. Since the confusion of languages at Babel, the people have not served the Lord with either ‘one consent’ or one voice” (A Companion to Your Study of the Old Testament. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1981, 388).

“The Lord will reign in the midst of his people (Zephaniah 3:15, 17), sorrow will turn to rejoicing (Zephaniah 3:14, 18), and the shame of Israel’s long dispersion will be swallowed up in anthems of praise—from ‘all people of earth’ (Zephaniah 3:19-20)… The judgments of Jehovah must come upon the wicked in every nation; yet it is his exaltation of the righteous that will be the final and enduring reality” (“The Book of Zephaniah” in Studies in Scripture 4 1 Kings to Malachi. Edited by Kent P. Jackson. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1993, 182).

“Zephaniah saw our day and beyond. In it he both suffered and rejoiced. He suffered in spirit because of the desolation and destruction which he saw, but he was able to use this as a warning and threat to his own people. {It was] in the redemption and final blessing of Israel [that] he saw a ray of hope to extend to Judah” (The Voice of Israel’s Prophets. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1952, 388).