Zephaniah 1:3

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.”[a]“When I destroy all mankind on the face of the earth,” declares the LORD,

Zephaniah 1:3 in Other Translations

King James Version (KJV)
3 I will consume man and beast; I will consume the fowls of the heaven, and the fishes of the sea, and the stumblingblocks with the wicked; and I will cut off man from off the land, saith the LORD.
English Standard Version (ESV)
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 rubble with the wicked. I will cut off mankind from the face of the earth," declares the LORD.
New Living Translation (NLT)
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 .
The Message Bible (MSG)
3 "Men and women and animals, including birds and fish - Anything and everything that causes sin - will go, but especially people.
American Standard Version (ASV)
3 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.
GOD'S WORD Translation (GW)
3 "I will put an end to humans and animals. I will put an end to the birds in the sky, the fish in the sea, and the sins that make people fall, together with the sinners. I will remove all people from the face of the earth," declares the LORD.
Holman Christian Standard Bible (CSB)
3 I will sweep away man and animal; I will sweep away the birds of the sky and the fish of the sea, and the ruins along with the wicked. I will cut off mankind from the face of the earth- the Lord's declaration.
New International Reader's Version (NIRV)
3 "I will destroy people and animals alike. I will wipe out the birds of the air and the fish in the waters. I will destroy sinful people along with their gods. I will wipe man off the face of the earth," announces the Lord.

Zephaniah 1:3 Meaning and Commentary

Zephaniah 1:3

I will consume man and beast
Wicked men for their sins, and beasts for the sins of men; and, as a punishment for them, the creatures whom they have abused to the gratifying of their lusts: I will consume the fowls of the heaven, and the fishes of the sea;
so that there shall be none for the use of man, which are both delicate food; the latter were not consumed at the general deluge. Kimchi thinks this is said by way of hyperbole; but it is possible for these to be consumed, as men by famine, pestilence, and captivity, and beasts by murrain; so the fowls of the air by the noisomeness of it; and the fishes of the sea, that is, such as were in the sea of Tiberias, and other lakes in Judea, by the stagnation of the waters, or by some disease sent among them; unless wicked men, comparable to them, are intended; though they are expressly mentioned, both before and after: and the stumblingblocks with the wicked:
that is, idols, which are stumblingblocks to men, and cause them to offend and fall; these, together with those that made them, and the priests that sacrificed unto them, and the people that worshipped them, should be consumed from off the land: or, "the stumblingblocks of the wicked"; for (ta) is sometimes used as a sign of the genitive case, as Noldius F9 observes; and so the Vulgate Latin version and the Targum render it: and I will cut off men from off the land, saith the Lord:
this is repeated for the certainty of it; or else this designs another sort of men from the former; and that, as before wicked men are designed, here such as are not perfectly wicked, as Kimchi observes; yea, the righteous should be carried captive, so that the land should be left desolate, without men, good or bad; for even good men may fall in a general calamity, and be cut off from the land, though not from the Lord. The Septuagint indeed here render it wicked men. The phrase, "saith the Lord", is twice expressed, for the certain confirmation of it; for it may be concluded it will be, since God has said it again and again that it shall be.


FOOTNOTES:

F9 Ebr. Concord. Part. p. 122.

Zephaniah 1:3 In-Context

1 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.”“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,

Cross References 4

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. The meaning of the Hebrew for this line is uncertain.
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