Zephaniah prophesied during the reign of Josiah along with Nahum and Jeremiah around 625 BC. Zephaniah warned of coming destruction to the nations and to Judah. He identifies himself with a lengthy genealogy at the start of the book which means he felt he had some authority in speaking
to the issues in his book. It also indicates he wasn’t fearful of being held accountable for his prophecies recorded in his book which spoke of the near future and beyond to the ultimate
restoration of Israel. This restoration is his subject in 3:19-20

In 3:19 God says that in the day that he judges and purifies the Gentile nations he “will rescue
the lame” of Israel that “have been scattered” among the nations and “bring you home” to
the land of Israel.

3:20 continues in the same line of promise to Israel but specifies that at the time of this
restoration the Lord “will give them honor and praise among all the” other nations. Israel
will no longer wait, but will see with their own eyes their “fortunes” be restored to them.

Notice how many times the Lord uses the personal pronoun “I” when he makes these promises:
“I will deal…”, “I will rescue…”, “I will bring…”, “I will give…”, “When I restore”, etc. A total of
seven or eight times in 3:19-20 God puts his name, reputation and promise on the line
through Zephaniah, who himself tagged his name to these promises in 1:1!

"Not only do we not know
God except through Jesus Christ; We do not even know ourselves except through Jesus Christ."
– Blaise Pascal (1623-1662) French mathematician, physicist