Judgment on Judah and Jerusalem for Corruption
Zephaniah 1:4-13
Zep.1.4 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ונטיתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,_,sg
- ידי: NOUN,f,pl,cons
- על: PREP
- יהודה: NOUN,m,sg,prop
- ועל: CONJ+PREP
- כל: DET
- יושבי: PTC,qal,ptc,mp,cons
- ירושלם: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- והכרתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,ms,sg
- מן: PREP
- המקום: NOUN,m,sg,def
- הזה: DEM,m,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- שאר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- הבעל: NOUN,m,sg,def
- את: PRT,acc
- שם: ADV
- הכמרים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- עם: PREP
- הכהנים: NOUN,m,pl,def
Parallels
- Zephaniah 3:4 (thematic): Same book condemns priests who profane the sanctuary and prophets who mislead—continuing theme of corrupt religious leaders and impending judgment.
- 2 Kings 23:4-5 (structural): King Josiah removes idolatrous priests and abolishes high-place worship: a historical parallel to God’s promised removal of Baal’s priests and syncretistic cults.
- Hosea 4:6-9 (thematic): God rebukes priests and people for ignorance and idolatry; priests bear responsibility for leading Israel into false worship, prompting divine judgment.
- 1 Kings 18:40 (thematic): Elijah’s purge of the prophets of Baal illustrates the prophetic motif of cutting off Baal’s followers and purifying Israel from false cult.
Alternative generated candidates
- I will stretch out my hand against Judah and against all who dwell in Jerusalem; I will cut off from this place the remnant of Baal—the name of the priests along with the priests.
- I will stretch out my hand against Judah and against all who dwell in Jerusalem; I will cut off from this place the remnant of Baal—the name of the shrine-priests along with the priests.
Zep.1.5 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ואת: CONJ
- המשתחוים: VERB,hitpael,part,3,m,pl,def
- על: PREP
- הגגות: NOUN,m,pl,def
- לצבא: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- השמים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- ואת: CONJ
- המשתחוים: VERB,hitpael,part,3,m,pl,def
- הנשבעים: PART,niphal,ptc,m,pl,def
- ליהוה: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,def
- והנשבעים: CONJ
- במלכם: PREP
Parallels
- Deuteronomy 4:19 (verbal): Warning not to lift up eyes to sun, moon, and stars and serve them — directly parallels Zephaniah’s condemnation of worshiping the host of heaven.
- Amos 5:26 (verbal): Accuses Israel of bearing the tent of Moloch and the star of their god — a prophetic rebuke that parallels Zephaniah’s mention of swearing/by Milcom and celestial worship.
- Acts 7:43 (quotation): Stephen quotes Amos 5:26 about carrying the tabernacle of Moloch and the star of their god — New Testament citation that echoes the same charge referenced in Zephaniah.
- 2 Kings 23:4-5,11 (thematic): Josiah’s reforms remove high-place worship, idolatrous priests, and practices tied to celestial/foreign cults — practical enforcement against the cultic behaviors Zephaniah condemns.
- Leviticus 20:2 (allusion): Laws against giving children to Molech (Moloch/Milcom) — legal prohibition that underlies Zephaniah’s denunciation of swearing and allegiance to Milcom.
Alternative generated candidates
- And those who bow down on the roofs to the host of heaven, and those who bow down and swear to the LORD and swear by their king.
- And those who bow on the housetops to the host of the heavens, and those who bow and swear to the LORD and who swear by their king.
Zep.1.6 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ואת: CONJ
- הנסוגים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- מאחרי: PREP
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- ואשר: CONJ+PRON,rel
- לא: PART_NEG
- בקשו: VERB,qal,imp,2,m,pl
- את: PRT,acc
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- ולא: CONJ
- דרשהו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
Parallels
- Isaiah 1:4 (verbal): Both texts accuse the people of abandoning the LORD (Heb. 'עזבו יהוה' / 'gone away backward'), using similar language of turning away from God.
- Jeremiah 2:13 (thematic): Jeremiah condemns Israel for forsaking the LORD—the 'fountain of living waters'—and seeking other things, paralleling Zephaniah's rebuke of those who do not seek the LORD.
- Psalm 14:2-3 (thematic): The psalm portrays God searching for anyone who seeks him and finds none; this echoes Zephaniah's charge against those who 'do not seek the LORD.'
- Proverbs 1:24-28 (thematic): Proverbs warns that those who refuse God's (wisdom's) call and do not seek instruction will later call and not be answered—similar in theme to the culpability and consequence of not seeking the LORD.
- Micah 3:4 (thematic): Micah describes people crying to the LORD in distress but receiving no answer—reflecting the prophetic judgment tied to failing to seek or inquire of the LORD as in Zephaniah 1:6.
Alternative generated candidates
- And those who turn back from following the LORD, and those who do not seek the LORD or inquire of him.
- And the backsliders who turn away from following the LORD, those who have not sought the LORD nor inquired of him.
Zep.1.7 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- הס: VERB,qal,impv,2,m,pl
- מפני: PREP
- אדני: NOUN,m,sg,abs,1,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- כי: CONJ
- קרוב: ADJ,m,sg,abs
- יום: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- כי: CONJ
- הכין: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- זבח: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- הקדיש: VERB,hiph,perf,3,m,sg
- קראיו: NOUN,m,pl,abs,3ms
Parallels
- Habakkuk 2:20 (verbal): Both verses command silence before God (let all the earth keep silence / be silent before the LORD), linking awe and reverence in God's presence.
- Joel 1:15 (verbal): Uses the same alarm about the nearness of 'the day of the LORD' ('the day of the LORD is at hand'), a common prophetic refrain announcing imminent judgment.
- Amos 5:18 (thematic): Issues a counterintuitive warning about the 'day of the LORD' as a day of darkness and judgment rather than deliverance, echoing Zephaniah's tone of impending doom.
- Revelation 19:17-18 (allusion): Portrays a divine 'supper' of judgment—an assembled feast where the slain are consumed—paralleling Zephaniah's imagery of the LORD preparing a sacrifice and summoning guests for divine judgement.
- Psalm 50:5 (structural): God summons an assembly ('Gather my saints...') in a cultic/ceremonial setting; parallels Zephaniah's motif of the LORD preparing a sacrificial act and calling participants/guests.
Alternative generated candidates
- Be silent before the LORD GOD, for the day of the LORD is near; the LORD has prepared a sacrifice and consecrated his guests, declares the LORD.
- Be silent before the Sovereign LORD, for the day of the LORD is near; the LORD has prepared a sacrifice; he has consecrated his guests.
Zep.1.8 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- והיה: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,m,sg
- ביום: PREP
- זבח: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- ופקדתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,com,sg
- על: PREP
- השרים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- ועל: CONJ+PREP
- בני: NOUN,m,pl,construct
- המלך: NOUN,m,sg,def
- ועל: CONJ+PREP
- כל: DET
- הלבשים: ADJ,ptcp,m,pl,def
- מלבוש: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- נכרי: ADJ,m,sg
Parallels
- Isaiah 3:16-17 (verbal): Isaiah condemns the proud women of Zion for their haughty display and announces God’s coming humiliation of the elite—similar imagery of punishment directed at those adorned in luxurious/foreign garb.
- Ezekiel 16:12-14 (thematic): Ezekiel recounts how Jerusalem was clothed and adorned with bracelets, fine cloth, and jewels and then judged—parallels the theme of divine punishment for those arrayed in costly/foreign apparel.
- Ezekiel 7:19 (verbal): Speaks of silver and gold becoming worthless in the day of wrath, echoing the idea that precious finery and ornaments (and those who wear them) will not avert impending judgment.
- Amos 6:4-7 (thematic): Amos denounces complacent princes and wealthy elites who indulge in luxury and are indifferent to disaster; like Zephaniah 1:8, Amos warns of punishment for indulgent/ruling classes.
Alternative generated candidates
- On the day of the LORD's sacrifice I will punish the officials and the king's sons and all who clothe themselves in foreign dress.
- And it shall be, in the day of the LORD's sacrifice, that I will punish the officials and the king's sons and all who wear foreign garments.
Zep.1.9 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ופקדתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,com,sg
- על: PREP
- כל: DET
- הדולג: VERB,qal,ptc,3,m,sg,def
- על: PREP
- המפתן: NOUN,m,sg,def
- ביום: PREP
- ההוא: DEM,ms,sg
- הממלאים: VERB,piel,ptc,3,m,pl,def
- בית: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אדניהם: NOUN,m,pl,abs+PRON,3,pl
- חמס: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ומרמה: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Micah 2:1-2 (thematic): Condemns those who plan and carry out violence to seize land and houses — a theme of exploitation and filling homes through force that parallels Zephaniah's indictment of violence and fraud.
- Jeremiah 22:13-17 (verbal): Woe against one who 'builds his house by unrighteousness' and gains by injustice and extortion; closely parallels the image of households filled through violence and deceit and the prophetic pronouncement of judgment.
- Isaiah 3:14-15 (thematic): God enters into judgment with the leaders because 'the spoil of the poor is in your houses' — echoes the charge that households are filled with violence and oppression and will incur divine punishment.
- Amos 5:12 (thematic): Accuses the wealthy and powerful of oppressing the righteous and needy, taking bribes and pushing aside the poor — thematically aligned with Zephaniah's condemnation of violence and deceit in households.
Alternative generated candidates
- I will punish those who leap on the threshold on that day, those who fill the house of their masters with violence and deceit.
- I will punish every one who leaps on the threshold—those who fill their masters' houses with violence and deceit.
Zep.1.10 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- והיה: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,m,sg
- ביום: PREP
- ההוא: DEM,ms,sg
- נאם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- קול: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- צעקה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- משער: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- הדגים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- ויללה: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- מן: PREP
- המשנה: NOUN,f,sg,def
- ושבר: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- גדול: ADJ,m,sg,abs
- מהגבעות: PREP+NOUN,f,pl,def
Parallels
- Nehemiah 12:39 (structural): Lists the gates of Jerusalem (including the Fish Gate and the Second/Mishneh), providing the same topographical context referenced in Zephaniah's cry from specific gates.
- Joel 2:1 (thematic): Calls for an alarm/cry and trumpet blast announcing a coming day of the LORD—parallel imagery of public alarm and impending judgment.
- Amos 3:8 (verbal): Uses the image of a loud divine sound (‘the lion hath roared’) as a herald of God’s action and judgment, akin to the prophetic cry/howl in Zephaniah.
- Jeremiah 25:30 (allusion): Speaks of the LORD roaring from on high and uttering a voice against His habitation—similar language of a divine cry issuing over the city and its environs.
Alternative generated candidates
- It shall be on that day, declares the LORD, a cry from the Fish Gate, a wail from the Second Gate, and a great crash from the hills.
- On that day—declares the LORD—a cry from the Fish Gate, a wail from the Second Quarter, and a great crash from the hills.
Zep.1.11 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- הילילו: VERB,piel,imp,2,m,pl
- ישבי: NOUN,m,pl,cons
- המכתש: NOUN,m,sg,def
- כי: CONJ
- נדמה: VERB,nip,perf,3,m,sg
- כל: DET
- עם: PREP
- כנען: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- נכרתו: VERB,niphal,perf,3,m,pl
- כל: DET
- נטילי: NOUN,m,pl,cons
- כסף: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Zephaniah 1:18 (structural): Immediate parallel in the same oracle: judgment on Judah’s wealth—'neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them'—continues the theme that money/merchants cannot avert the day of the Lord.
- Amos 8:4-6 (thematic): Condemns those who exploit the poor and pursue dishonest gain for silver; like Zeph.1:11, it targets traders/merchants and frames judgment as a consequence of economic injustice.
- Ezekiel 7:19 (verbal): Uses similar language about silver and gold being unable to deliver in the day of the Lord; prophetic motif that wealth will prove worthless at judgment echoes Zephaniah's declaration that those who handle silver are 'cut off.'
- Isaiah 23:8-9 (thematic): Lament over Tyre’s merchants and trading class when the city falls—an earlier prophetic model of merchants being cut off and universal mourning over a commercial collapse, parallel to the wail called for Maktesh.
- Revelation 18:11-17 (allusion): New Testament echo: merchants mourn the fall of a great, wealthy city because their trade is ruined and goods worthless—apocalyptic continuation of the prophetic motif of merchants lamenting a catastrophic loss of wealth.
Alternative generated candidates
- Wail, inhabitants of the Mortar, for all the people are ruined; all who handle silver are cut off.
- Wail, inhabitants of Maktesh! For all the people are ruined; all who weigh out silver are cut off.
Zep.1.12 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- והיה: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,m,sg
- בעת: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ההיא: DEM,f,sg
- אחפש: VERB,qal,impf,1,?,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- ירושלם: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- בנרות: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- ופקדתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,com,sg
- על: PREP
- האנשים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- הקפאים: ADJ,m,pl,def
- על: PREP
- שמריהם: NOUN,m,pl,abs+3mp
- האמרים: VERB,qal,ptcp,0,m,pl
- בלבבם: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs+3mp-suf
- לא: PART_NEG
- ייטיב: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- ולא: CONJ
- ירע: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
Parallels
- Jeremiah 5:1 (structural): Both verses depict a divine search through Jerusalem for righteous persons (Jeremiah: 'run to and fro... if you can find a man'); theme of God seeking and finding moral failure in the city.
- Ezekiel 22:30 (thematic): God looks for someone to intercede or stand in the gap but finds none—paralleling Zephaniah's image of God searching the city and exposing its corrupt, complacent inhabitants.
- Amos 6:1–7 (thematic): Amos condemns the complacent, indulgent elite who 'sit on beds of ivory' and ignore disaster—closely matching Zephaniah's 'men that are settled on their lees' who are complacent and think the LORD will do nothing.
- Luke 12:2 (thematic): Jesus' saying that 'nothing concealed will remain hidden' parallels the prophetic motif that God will expose and search out hidden attitudes and actions (the lamp/candle image of uncovering).
Alternative generated candidates
- At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps, and I will punish the complacent—those who are secure in their ways and say in their hearts, ‘The LORD will neither do good nor do harm.’
- At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps, and I will visit the complacent men who are secure in their possessions, who say in their hearts, 'The LORD will not do good, nor will he do harm.'
Zep.1.13 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- והיה: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,m,sg
- חילם: NOUN,m,sg,abs,prsfx=3mp
- למשסה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ובתיהם: CONJ+NOUN,m,pl,abs+PRON,3,m,pl
- לשממה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ובנו: CONJ+VERB,qal,perf,3,pl
- בתים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- ולא: CONJ
- ישבו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- ונטעו: CONJ+VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- כרמים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- ולא: CONJ
- ישתו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- את: PRT,acc
- יינם: NOUN,m,sg,abs,3,pl
Parallels
- Deuteronomy 28:30 (quotation): Curse formula: 'You shall build a house, but you shall not dwell in it; you shall plant a vineyard, but you shall not enjoy its fruit.' Direct verbal parallel to 'build houses but not inhabit them' and 'plant vineyards but not drink their wine.'
- Amos 5:11-12 (verbal): Very close wording: the wealthy 'have built houses of hewn stone, but you shall not live in them; you have planted pleasant vineyards, but you shall not drink their wine.' Mirrors Zephaniah's judgment on possessions, houses and vineyards.
- Isaiah 5:10-11 (thematic): Speaks of fruitless toil and unfulfilled enjoyment (e.g., crops and vintage failing, pleasure cut off). The theme of agricultural and domestic loss under divine judgment corresponds to Zephaniah's 'houses a desolation' and unusable vineyards.
- Joel 1:10-12 (thematic): Describes devastation of fields, vines and wine—'the vine is dried up, the fig tree withered' and 'the new wine fails'—echoing the image of planted vineyards that yield no wine to be drunk under disaster.
Alternative generated candidates
- Their wealth shall be plunder, their houses a desolation; they build houses and do not live in them, they plant vineyards and do not drink their wine.
- Their wealth shall be plunder, and their houses a desolation; they shall build houses and not dwell in them, plant vineyards and not drink their wine.
I will stretch out my hand against Judah and against all who live in Jerusalem; I will cut off from this place the remnant of Baal—the name of the priests along with the priests. And those who bow down on the roofs to the host of the heavens, and those who bow down and swear to the LORD and who swear by their king. And those who turn back from following the LORD, who do not seek the LORD and do not inquire of him.
Be silent before the Sovereign LORD, for the day of the LORD is near; the LORD has prepared a sacrifice and has consecrated his guests. And in the day of the LORD’s sacrifice I will punish the officials and the king’s sons and all who are clothed in foreign garments.
I will punish those who leap over the threshold, those who fill their masters’ houses with violence and deceit.
On that day, declares the LORD, a cry will come from the Fish Gate, a wail from the Second Quarter, and a great crash from the hills.
Wail, inhabitants of the Mortar, for all the people are ruined; all who weigh out silver are cut off.
At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps, and I will punish the complacent—those who say in their hearts, ‘The LORD will not do good, neither will he do harm.’
Their valuables shall be plunder; their houses a desolation. They will build houses and not dwell in them; they will plant vineyards and not drink their wine.