The Day of the LORD's Wrath

11 The word of the Lord that came to Zephaniah son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hezekiah, during the reign of Josiah son of Amon king of Judah: 2 "I will sweep away everything from the face of the earth," declares the Lord. 3 "I will sweep away both man and beast; I will sweep away the birds in the sky and the fish in the sea- and the idols that cause the wicked to stumble."[1]"When I destroy all mankind on the face of the earth," declares the Lord, 4 "I will stretch out my hand against Judah and against all who live in Jerusalem. I will destroy every remnant of Baal worship in this place, the very names of the idolatrous priests- 5 those who bow down on the roofs to worship the starry host, those who bow down and swear by the Lordand who also swear by Molek,[2] 6 those who turn back from following the Lordand neither seek the Lord nor inquire of him."

Other Translations of Zephaniah 1:1-6

King James Version

The Day of the LORD's Wrath

11 The 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. 2 I will utterly consume all things from off the land, saith the Lord. 3 I will consume man and beast; I will consume the fowls of the heaven, and the fishes of the sea, and the stumblingblocks stumblingblocks: or, idols with the wicked; and I will cut off man from off the land, saith the Lord. 4 I 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; 5 And 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; 6 And them that are turned back from the Lord; and those that have not sought the Lord, nor enquired for him.

English Standard Version

The Day of the LORD's Wrath

11 The word of the Lord that came to Zephaniah the son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah. 2 "I will utterly sweep away everything from the face of the earth," declares the Lord. 3 "I will sweep away man and beast; I will sweep away the birds of the heavens and the fish of the sea, and the rubbleOr stumbling blocks (that is, idols) with the wicked. I will cut off mankind from the face of the earth," declares the Lord. 4 "I will stretch out my hand against Judah and against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and I will cut off from this place the remnant of Baal and the name of the idolatrous priests along with the priests, 5 those who bow down on the roofs to the host of the heavens, those who bow down and swear to the Lord and yet swear by Milcom, 6 those who have turned back from following the Lord, who do not seek the Lord or inquire of him."

The Message

The Day of the LORD's Wrath

11 God's Message to Zephaniah son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah. It came during the reign of Josiah son of Amon, who was king of Judah: 2 "I'm going to make a clean sweep of the earth, a thorough housecleaning." God's Decree. 3 "Men and women and animals, including birds and fish - Anything and everything that causes sin - will go, but especially people. 4 "I'll start with Judah and everybody who lives in Jerusalem. I'll sweep the place clean of every trace of the sex-and-religion Baal shrines and their priests. 5 I'll get rid of the people who sneak up to their rooftops at night to worship the star gods and goddesses; Also those who continue to worship God but cover their bases by worshiping other king-gods as well; 6 Not to mention those who've dumped God altogether, no longer giving him a thought or offering a prayer.

New King James Version

The Day of the LORD's Wrath

11 The word of the Lord which came to Zephaniah the son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah. 2 "I will utterly consume everything From the face of the land," Says the Lord; 3 "I will consume man and beast; I will consume the birds of the heavens, The fish of the sea, And the stumbling blocks Figurative of idols along with the wicked. I will cut off man from the face of the land," Says the Lord. 4 "I will stretch out My hand against Judah, And against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem. I will cut off every trace of Baal from this place, The names of the idolatrous priests Hebrew chemarim with the pagan priests-- 5 Those who worship the host of heaven on the housetops; Those who worship and swear oaths by the Lord, But who also swear by Milcom; Or Malcam, an Ammonite god, also called Molech (compare Leviticus 18:21) 6 Those who have turned back from following the Lord, And have not sought the Lord, nor inquired of Him."

New Living Translation

The Day of the LORD's Wrath

11 The Lord gave this message to Zephaniah when Josiah son of Amon was king of Judah. Zephaniah was the son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah. 2 "I will sweep away everything from the face of the earth," says the Lord . 3 "I will sweep away people and animals alike. I will sweep away the birds of the sky and the fish in the sea. I will reduce the wicked to heaps of rubble, and I will wipe humanity from the face of the earth," says the Lord . 4 "I will crush Judah and Jerusalem with my fist and destroy every last trace of their Baal worship. I will put an end to all the idolatrous priests, so that even the memory of them will disappear. 5 For they go up to their roofs and bow down to the sun, moon, and stars. They claim to follow the Lord, but then they worship Molech, too. 6 And I will destroy those who used to worship me but now no longer do. They no longer ask for the Lord 's guidance or seek my blessings."

Matthew Henry's Commentary on Zephaniah 1:1-6

Commentary on Zephaniah 1:1-6

(Read Zephaniah 1:1-6)

Ruin is coming, utter ruin; destruction from the Almighty. The servants of God all proclaim, There is no peace for the wicked. The expressions are figurative, speaking every where desolation; the land shall be left without inhabitants. The sinners to be consumed are, the professed idolaters, and those that worship Jehovah and idols, or swear to the Lord, and to Malcham. Those that think to divide their affections and worship between God and idols, will come short of acceptance with God; for what communion can there be between light and darkness? If Satan have half, he will have all; if the Lord have but half, he will have none. Neglect of God shows impiety and contempt. May none of us be among those who draw back unto perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul.