This verse gives the reason why the people were commanded in verse 14 to rejoice. The Hebrew verbs here are in the past (the so-called “prophetic perfect”), but they really refer to events which are still future. The prophet sees these future events as so certain to happen that he describes them as if they were already past. In some languages it may not be possible to speak of the future as though it were past, and in such cases it is perfectly acceptable to use future tenses here. In fact, from verse 16 on, the reference is quite explicitly to the future, and in the light of this, it may be wiser for many translators to use the future in verse 15 also.
Verse 15 consists of two sentences, each with two parts. In the first sentence the two parts are fairly closely parallel with each other: The LORD has taken away the judgments against you, he has cast out your enemies.
The judgments against you refers to the condemnation of the city for the evil behavior of the leaders (1.4-9; 3.1-7), and to the resulting punishment. Good News Translation makes this clearer by saying “The LORD has stopped your punishment.” However, in some languages it will be necessary to say “The LORD has stopped punishing you.” The judgments or “punishment” were of course carried out by the foreign nations who attacked Judah, and the second half of the sentence explains that the judgments were stopped by the disappearance of the enemies who were inflicting them. The Hebrew verb used here is mildly figurative. Jerusalem Bible comes close to the literal meaning in saying “he has driven your enemies away.” Some English translations use more obviously figurative expressions: he has cast out your enemies (Revised Standard Version); “he has swept away your foes” (New English Bible). If a translator can find a figure of speech like these which is natural in his language, this will be a good place to use it. But if not, then he can follow the example of Good News Translation and express the meaning in nonfigurative language: “he has removed all your enemies” (see Nahum 1.8 for ways to translate enemies).
The second sentence gives the opposite side of the picture: not only are the enemies removed, but the LORD is present. The King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst: the idea of the LORD as king is found quite frequently in the Old Testament. See for instance Isaiah 6.5; 44.6; Obadiah 21. The actual kings of Israel and Judah often fell far short of the ideal of kingship (compare 1 Sam 8.10-18); nevertheless the prophets could still use the concept of kingship to express the LORD’s relationship to his people in the future restored community. Is in your midst means “is among you” (New English Bible), or just “is with you” (Good News Translation, New International Version), or even “lives among you.”
One of the main tasks of a king was to protect the people and fight their battles (compare 1 Sam 8.20). The actual kings often failed to do so, but when the LORD is present as The King of Israel, he will protect his people perfectly, and so they shall fear evil no more. Evil in this context does not refer to sin, but rather to “trouble” (Moffatt), “disaster” (New English Bible), “harm” (New International Version), or “misfortune” (New Jerusalem Bible). Good News Translation does not express any object but says “there is no reason now to be afraid.” This clause may also be expressed as “Because of this, you do not need to be afraid any more,” or even “Because of this, no one can harm you any more. So do not be afraid.”
Quoted with permission from Clark, David J. & Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on the Book of Zephaniah. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1989. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .