Zephaniah 1

Zephaniah · Chapter 1

Zephaniah 1:3

1The word of the LORD which came unto Zephaniah the son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hizkiah, in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah.2I will utterly consume all things from off the land, saith the LORD.3I will consume man and beast; I will consume the fowls of the heaven, and the fishes of the sea, and the stumbling blocks with the wicked: and I will cut off man from off the land, saith the LORD.4I will also stretch out mine hand upon Judah, and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and I will cut off the remnant of Baal from this place, and the name of the Chemarims with the priests;5And them that worship the host of heaven upon the housetops; and them that worship and that swear by the LORD, and that swear by Malcham;6And them that are turned back from the LORD; and those that have not sought the LORD, nor enquired for him.7Hold thy peace at the presence of the Lord GOD: for the day of the LORD is at hand: for the LORD hath prepared a sacrifice, he hath bid his guests.8And it shall come to pass in the day of the LORD’s sacrifice, that I will punish the princes, and the king’s children, and all such as are clothed with strange apparel.9In the same day also will I punish all those that leap on the threshold, which fill their masters’ houses with violence and deceit.10And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD, that there shall be the noise of a cry from the fish gate, and an howling from the second, and a great crashing from the hills.11Howl, ye inhabitants of Maktesh, for all the merchant people are cut down; all they that bear silver are cut off.12And it shall come to pass at that time, that I will search Jerusalem with candles, and punish the men that are settled on their lees: that say in their heart, The LORD will not do good, neither will he do evil.13Therefore their goods shall become a booty, and their houses a desolation: they shall also build houses, but not inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, but not drink the wine thereof.14The great day of the LORD is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the LORD: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly.15That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness,16A day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities, and against the high towers.17And I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the LORD: and their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as the dung.18Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD’s wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.

King James Version (1769)

Other translations

VerseKJVBSBASV
3I will consume man and beast; I will consume the fowls of the heaven, and the fishes of the sea, and the stumbling blocks with the wicked: and I will cut off man from off the land, saith the LORD.“I will sweep away man and beast; I will sweep away the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, and the idols with their wicked worshipers. I will cut off mankind from the face of the earth,” declares the LORD.I will consume man and beast; I will consume the birds of the heavens, and the fishes of the sea, and the stumblingblocks with the wicked; and I will cut off man from off the face of the ground, saith Jehovah.

In context

Who is speaking and to whom, what is happening, when and where, and why it matters, each with its sources. Coming with the context cards.

Original Hebrew words

EnglishHebrewSay itStrong'sMeaning
I will bring to an endאָסֵ֨ף'a-SEFH5486
to cease

סוּף (suph) 1) to cease, come to an end 1a) (Qal) to come to an end 1b) (Hiphil) to make an end Aramaic equivalent: suph (סוּף "be fulfilled" H5487)

human beingאָדָ֜ם'a-DAMH0120G
man

אָדָם (a.dam) 1) man, mankind 1a) man, human being 1b) man, mankind (much more frequently intended sense in OT) 1c) Adam, first man 1d) city in Jordan valley

and animalוּבְהֵמָ֗הu-ve-he-MAHH0929
animal

בְּהֵמָה (be.he.mah) 1) beast, cattle, animal 1a) beasts (coll of all animals) 1b) cattle, livestock (of domestic animals) 1c) wild beasts

I will bring to an endאָסֵ֤ף'a-SEFH5486
to cease

סוּף (suph) 1) to cease, come to an end 1a) (Qal) to come to an end 1b) (Hiphil) to make an end Aramaic equivalent: suph (סוּף "be fulfilled" H5487)

[the] bird[s] ofעוֹף־'of-H5775
bird

עוֹף (oph) 1) flying creatures, fowl, insects, birds 1a) fowl, birds 1b) winged insects Aramaic equivalent: oph (עוֹף "bird" H5776)

the heavensהַשָּׁמַ֙יִם֙ha-sha-MA-yimH8064
heaven

שָׁמַיִם (sha.ma.yim) 1) heaven, heavens, sky 1a) visible heavens, sky 1a1) as abode of the stars 1a2) as the visible universe, the sky, atmosphere, etc 1b) Heaven (as the abode of God) Aramaic equivalent: sha.ma.yin (שָׁמַ֫יִן "heaven" H8065)

and [the] fishes ofוּדְגֵ֣יu-de-GEIH1709H
fish

דָּג (dag) fish

the seaהַיָּ֔םhai-YAMH3220G
sea

יָם (yam) : sea 1) sea 1a) Mediterranean Sea 1b) Red Sea 1c) Dead Sea 1d) Sea of Galilee 1e) sea (general) 1f) mighty river (Nile) 1g) the sea (the great basin in the temple court) 1h) seaward, west, westward

and the stumbling-blocksוְהַמַּכְשֵׁל֖וֹתve-ha-makh-she-LOTH4384
ruins

מַכְשֵׁלָה (makh.she.lah) 1) overthrown mass, stumbling-block, something overthrown, decay, ruin 1a) thing overthrown (figurative of kingdom) 1b) stumbling-block (of idols)

withאֶת־'et-H0854
with

אֵת (et) 1) with, near, together with 1a) with, together with 1b) with (of relationship) 1c) near (of place) 1d) with (poss.) 1e) from...with, from (with other prep)

the wicked [people]הָרְשָׁעִ֑יםha-re-sha-'IMH7563
wicked

רָשָׁע (ra.sah) 1) wicked, criminal 1a) guilty one, one guilty of crime (subst) 1b) wicked (hostile to God) 1c) wicked, guilty of sin (against God or man)

and I will cut offוְהִכְרַתִּ֣יve-hikh-ra-TIH3772I
to cut: cut

כָּרַת (ka.rat) : cut/fell 1) to cut, cut off, cut down, cut off a body part, cut out, eliminate, kill, cut a covenant 1a) (Qal) 1a1) to cut off 1a1a) to cut off a body part, behead 1a2) to cut down 1a3) to hew 1a4) to cut or make a covenant 1b) (Niphal) 1b1) to be cut off 1b2) to be cut down 1b3) to be chewed 1b4) to be cut off, fail 1c) (Pual) 1c1) to be cut off 1c2) to be cut down 1d) (Hiphil) 1d1) to cut off 1d2) to cut off, destroy 1d3) to cut down, destroy 1d4) to take away 1d5) to permit to perish 1e) (Hophal) cut off

the humankindהָאָדָ֗םha-'a-DAMH0120G
man

אָדָם (a.dam) 1) man, mankind 1a) man, human being 1b) man, mankind (much more frequently intended sense in OT) 1c) Adam, first man 1d) city in Jordan valley

from onמֵעַ֛לme-'ALH5921A
upon

עַל (al) prep 1) upon, on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against 1a) upon, on the ground of, on the basis of, on account of, because of, therefore, on behalf of, for the sake of, for, with, in spite of, notwithstanding, concerning, in the matter of, as regards 1b) above, beyond, over (of excess) 1c) above, over (of elevation or pre-eminence) 1d) upon, to, over to, unto, in addition to, together with, with (of addition) 1e) over (of suspension or extension) …

[the] surface ofפְּנֵ֥יpe-NEIH6440J
face: before

פָּנֶה (pa.neh) : before/to/front 1) face 1a) face, faces 1b) presence, person 1c) face (of seraphim or cherubim) 1d) face (of animals) 1e) face, surface (of ground) 1f) as adv of loc/temp 1f1) before and behind, toward, in front of, forward, formerly, from beforetime, before 1g) with prep 1g1) in front of, before, to the front of, in the presence of, in the face of, at the face or front of, from the presence of, from before, from before the face of

the groundהָאֲדָמָ֖הha-'a-da-MAHH0127I
land: soil

אֲדָמָה (a.da.mah) : soil 1) ground, land 1a) ground (as general, tilled, yielding sustenance) 1b) piece of ground, a specific plot of land 1c) earth substance (for building or constructing) 1d) ground as earth's visible surface 1e) land, territory, country 1f) whole inhabited earth 1g) city in Naphtali

[the] utterance ofנְאֻם־ne-'um-H5002
utterance

נְאֻם (ne.um) 1) (Qal) utterance, declaration (of prophet) 1a) utterance, declaration, revelation (of prophet in ecstatic state) 1b) utterance, declaration (elsewhere always preceding divine name)

Yahwehיְהוָֽה׃YAH-wehH3068G
Lord

אֲדֹנָי (a.do.nai) Lord - a title, spoken in place of Yahweh in Jewish display of reverence Another name of ye.ho.vah (יהוה "LORD" H3068G)

Words and meanings from STEPBible data (Tyndale House, Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). The capitalized syllable is the stressed one.