Zep 3:17, 1Jo 4:8, 16 | JFB | STEP | 17. he will rest in his love-- content with it as His supreme delight (compare , ) [Calvin], ( ; ). Or, He shall be silent, namely as to thy faults, not imputing them to thee [Maurer] ( ; ). I prefer explaining it of that calm silent joy in the possession of the object of one's love, too great for words to express: just as God after the six days of creation rested with silent satisfaction in His work, for "behold it was very good" ( ; 2:2). So the parallel clause by contrast expresses the joy, not kept silent as this, but uttered in "singing."

‏ Zephaniah 3:17

17. he will rest in his love--content with it as His supreme delight (compare Lu 15:7, 10) [Calvin], (Is 62:5; 65:19). Or, He shall be silent, namely as to thy faults, not imputing them to thee [Maurer] (Psa 32:2; Eze 33:16). I prefer explaining it of that calm silent joy in the possession of the object of one's love, too great for words to express: just as God after the six days of creation rested with silent satisfaction in His work, for "behold it was very good" (Ge 1:31; 2:2). So the parallel clause by contrast expresses the joy, not kept silent as this, but uttered in "singing."

‏ 1 John 4:8

8. knoweth not--Greek aorist: not only knoweth not now, but never knew, has not once for all known God.

God is love--There is no Greek article to love, but to God; therefore we cannot translate, Love is God. God is fundamentally and essentially LOVE: not merely is loving, for then John's argument would not stand; for the conclusion from the premises then would be this, This man is not loving: God is loving; therefore he knoweth not God IN SO FAR AS God is loving; still he might know Him in His other attributes. But when we take love as God's essence, the argument is sound: This man doth not love, and therefore knows not love: God is essentially love, therefore he knows not God.

‏ 1 John 4:16

16. And we--John and his readers (not as 1Jo 4:14, the apostles only).

known and believed--True faith, according to John, is a faith of knowledge and experience: true knowledge is a knowledge of faith [Luecke].

to us--Greek, "in our case" (see on 1Jo 4:9).

dwelleth--Greek, "abideth." Compare with this verse, 1Jo 4:7.