Zephaniah 1:5

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,^[a]

Zephaniah 1:5 in Other Translations

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;

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,

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.

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;

5 those who bow in worship on the rooftops to the heavenly host; those who bow and pledge loyalty to the Lord but also pledge loyalty to Milcom;

Zephaniah 1:5 Meaning and Commentary

Zephaniah 1:5

And upon them that worship the host of heaven upon the
house tops
The sun, moon, and stars, which some worshipped upon their house tops; the roofs of their houses being flat, as the roofs of the houses of the Jews generally were; from hence they had a full view of the host of heaven, and worshipped them openly; and fancied, the nearer they were to them, the more acceptable was their service; see ( Jeremiah 19:13 ) : and them that worship, [and] that swear the Lord, and that swear by
Malcham;
that is, that worship the true God, or at least pretend to do so, and swear by him when they take an oath: or, "that swear to the Lord"; as the words ^F14 may be rendered; that swear allegiance to him, to be true and faithful to him, to serve and obey him, and to keep his statutes and ordinances; and yet they swear by Malcham also, or Milchom, or Melchom, the same with Molech, or Moloch, the god of the Ammonites. These were such as partly worshipped God, and partly idols; they divided their religion and devotion between them, sometimes served the one, and sometimes the other; they halted between two opinions, and were a sort of occasional conformists; and such were as detestable to God as those that worshipped idols; as the Papists are, who pretend to worship God and their images, or God in them, and with them; and so all such persons that seek for justification and salvation, partly by their own works, and partly by Christ, are displeasing to the Lord, and miss of the thing; stumbling at the stumbling stone, and so fall and perish.

---

FOOTNOTES:

F14 (hwhyl Myebvnh) "qui jurant Domino", Drusius; "qui jurant Jehovae", Cocceius; "jurantes Domino Jehovae", Burkius.

Zephaniah 1:5 In-Context

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,

6 those who turn back from following the LORDand neither seek the LORD nor inquire of him.”

7 Be silent before the Sovereign LORD, for the day of the LORD is near. The LORD has prepared a sacrifice; he has consecrated those he has invited.

Cross References

• 1. S Jeremiah 8:2
• 2. S Leviticus 18:21; Jeremiah 5:7

Footnotes

• [a]. Hebrew "Malkam"