The document discusses the Book of Zephaniah, a minor prophet who prophesied during King Josiah's reign around 640-609 BC, emphasizing themes of impending judgment on Judah and neighboring nations. It highlights Zephaniah's denunciation of idolatry, calls for repentance, and the hope for eventual salvation and restoration of Israel. The text examines the historical context, authorship, the structure of the prophecy, and its significance within the broader biblical canon.

1. ZEPHA IAH 1 COMME TARY
EDITED BY GLE PEASE
I TRODUCTIO
Calvin’s Preface to zephaniah.
Zephaniah is placed the last of the Minor Prophets who performed their office
before the Babylonian Captivity; and the inscription shows that he exercised his
office of teaching at the same time with Jeremiah, about thirty years before the city
was destroyed, the Temple pulled down, and the people led into exile. Jeremiah, it is
true, followed his vocation even after the death of Josiah, while Zephaniah
prophesied only during his reign.
The substance of his Book is this: He first denounces utter destruction on a people
who were so perverse, that there was no hope of their repentance;—he then
moderates his threatening, by denouncing God’s judgments on their enemies, the
Assyrians, as well as others, who had treated with cruelty the Church of God; for it
was no small consolation, when the Jews heard that they were so regarded by God,
that he would undertake their cause and avenge their wrongs. He afterwards
repeats again his reproofs, and shortly mentions the sins which then prevailed
among the elect people of God; and, at the same time, he turns his discourse to the
faithful, and exhorts them to patience, setting before them the hope of favor,
provided they ever looked to the Lord; and provided they relied on the gratuitous
covenant which he made with Abraham, and doubted not but that he would be a
Father to them, and also looked, with a tranquil mind, for that redemption which
had been promised to them. This is the sum of the whole Book.
Commentary on the Book of Zephaniah
by Dr Peter Pett BA BD (Hons:London) DD
Zephaniah prophesied during the reign of Josiah, one of the best of the kings of
Judah. He reigned from 640 BC to 609BC. His reference to the future destruction of
ineveh (Zephaniah 2:13), which took place in 612 BC, fixes his writing before that
event So the prophet ministered somewhere between 640 and 612 BC. His
contemporaries were ahum, Habakkuk, and the young Jeremiah. Jeremiah's
ministry continued beyond the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BC.
In view of his references to Baalism, and the lack of reference to Josiah’s reform,
most would place his writing before that reform which took place on discovery of
the book of the Law in the temple (around 622 BC), although some level of reform
had probably already taken place in the first place in order for the book to be

2. discovered.
The political situation in Judah during Josiah's reign was fairly peaceful. Following
Assyria's capture of Samaria in 722 BC, the Assyrian Empire first advanced to new
heights until it had overstretched itself, and then began to decline, and around one
hundred years later abopolassar, the first of the eo-Babylonian kings, (626-605
BC), began his campaign to free Babylonia from their grasp, in alliance with the
Medes and Scythians. They were successful and finally destroyed ineveh in 612 BC
(see our commentary on ahum), by which time the Assyrian empire was on its last
legs.
In 605 BC it met its final end at Carchemish in alliance with its old enemy Egypt
who feared the rise of Babylonian power. Josiah in fact met his end seeking to
prevent the Egyptians from joining the Assyrians.
But the fact that Zephaniah does not target the Babylonians (or the Medes) as the
instruments of God’s judgment suggests an early date for the prophecy, before they
came to prominence.
Josiah, who came to the throne at the age of eight, guided by the godly Hilkiah,
followed the evil king Manasseh who in his long reign had strongly encouraged the
worship of the Assyrian gods, and Josiah was able eventually to get rid of much of
the Assyrian religious practises, partly due to Assyria’s growing weakness.
(Conquerors usually insisted that their gods were prominently worshipped by
subject nations along woth their own). He extended Judah's territory north into
aphtali.
But while the Assyrian gods strongly affected temple worship, it was Baal, the
Canaanite god, and Melek (Moloch), the Ammonite god (who demanded human
sacrifice), who gripped the idolatrous hearts of the people outside Jerusalem,
something which the kings had never been able successfully to combat.
It was in the eighteenth year of Josiah's reign (622 B.C.) that Hilkiah the priest
discovered the Law of Moses in the temple, (probably Deuteronomy at least), and
when Josiah read it he instituted major reforms throughout Judah. Josiah's reforms
were good. He eliminated much of the idolatry in the land and revived the
celebration of the Passover, but unfortunately his reforms could not change the
hearts of all the people, and when he died they slipped back to their idolatry, as
Jeremiah reveals in his earlier prophecies.
So the people to whom Zephaniah ministered had a long history of formal and
syncretistic religion behind them without much real commitment to YHWH. And
God brought home to his heart that because of their formal religion and their
negligence with regard to God’s Law, and their willingness to compromise with
idolatry, God would have to chastise and punish them in order to produce a
remnant for the furthering of His purposes.

3. While we may see in what follows a pattern of the judgment to come in the final
days, we must take note that Zephaniah specifically relates it to Jerusalem and
Judah and the surrounding nations. It is not honouring to the word of God to make
it say more than it does in order to support a theory.
Finally we should note that Zephaniah was a member of the royal house. He had
influence where others could not reach, and was directly related to those whose
misdeeds and misgovernment would bring about what he prophesied. He is,
however, not called ‘the prophet’ (compare Habakkuk 1:1; Haggai 1:1; Zechariah
1:1), and was thus probably not an official prophet.
THE PULPIT COMME TARIES:
THE prophecy of Zephaniah has been called by Kieinert the Dies irae of the Old
Testament; and there is much truth in this designation. It is, indeed, replete with
announcements of judgment to come; it is wholly occupied with this subject and its
consequences, and exhortations founded thereon; not that this is the final object of
the prophecy, but it is introduced uniformly as being the means of establishing
righteousness in the earth, making God's power known, purging out the evil, and
developing the good. The prophet is inspired with the idea of the universal judgment
which shall affect the whole world; he sees this anticipated by particular visitations
on certain heathen nations; he sees heathendom generally overthrown; he warns his
own countrymen of the punishment that awaits them; and he looks forward to the
salvation of Israel when all these things have come to pass. The book is one
continuous prophecy divided into three parts; it contains, perhaps, many utterances
condensed into one systematic whole, which comprises the threat of judgment, the
exhortation to repentance, and the promise of salvation.
The prophet begins abruptly with announcing the judgment upon the whole world,
upon idolaters, and specially upon Judah for its iniquity; he describes the terrible
character of this judgment, and upon whom it shall fall, viz. the chieftains who
affect Gentile habits and oppress others, upon the traders who exact usury, upon the
faithless who have no belief in Divine providence (ch. 1.). Having depicted the day of
the Lord, he exhorts the people to repentance, and urges the righteous to persevere
that they may be protected in the time of distress. He gives a reason for this
exhortation by a more extended announcement of the Divine judgment which shall
fall upon nations far and near — Philistines, Moabites, Ammonites, Ethiopians,
Assyrians, yea, and upon Jerusalem herself, whose princes, judges, and prophets
shall be justly punished. This display of vengeance shall lead to a reverential awe of
the ame of the Lord, and prepare the way for the pure worship of God (Zephaniah
2:1-3:8). This introduces the announcement of Messianic hopes. The nations shall
serve the Lord with one accord; Israel shall return from its dispersion, purified and
humbled, the evil being purged away; it shall be safe under God's special care, and
shall rejoice in happiness undisturbed; the oppressor shall be destroyed, and the
holy nation shall be "a name and a praise among all people of the earth"
(Zephaniah 3:9-20).

4. The prophecy of Zephaniah is in some respects supplementary to that of Habakkuk.
The latter had foretold the punishment of Judah through the Chaldeans; the former
shows how the judgment will affect, not the Jews only, but pagan nations also, yea,
the whole earth; but he does not name nor accurately describe the instruments of
this vengeance. This reticence has given occasion to much speculation on the part of
critics. Those who believe in the predictive element of prophecy, and acknowledge
the inspiration of Divine foreknowledge in the utterances of the prophets, have no
difficulty in seeing the fulfilment of the announced judgment in the action of the
Chaldeans, whom Zephaniah, in agreement with the general and comprehensive
character of his oracle, does not specifically name. But Hitzig and those who reject
all definite prophecy take much pains to discover an enemy to whom the prophet
could allude without resorting to supernatural knowledge. They find this convenient
invader in the horde of Scythians who, as Herodotus relates, burst into Media, went
thence towards Egypt, were bought off by Psammetichus, and on their return a few
stragglers plundered a temple at Ascalon. This inroad is reported to have happened
about the time that the prophecy was uttered. But Herodotus's account of the
Scythians, when carefully examined, is proved to be full of inaccuracies; and even
this gives no support to the figment of their attack on the Jews, of whose existence
they were probably unaware, nor to any destruction of the nations mentioned by
Zephaniah effectual by them. Whether it was revealed to the prophet that the
Chaldeans were to be the executors of the Divine vengeance, or whether the exact
instruments were not identified in his view (the law of moral government being
present to his mind rather than any definite circumstances), the fact remains that he
announces certain events which we know were not fulfilled by any proceedings of
Scythians, but were exactly accomplished by the Chaldeans (see note on Zephaniah
1:7).
The peculiarity in Zephaniah's prophecy is the extension of his view to all lands and
nations, their spiritual concerns, their future condition. While cursorily announcing
the fate of Jerusalem, he dwells chiefly upon the exercise of God's power upon the
exterior kingdoms of the world, and how they are ordained to work out his great
purposes.
§ 2. AUTHOR.
Of Zephaniah we know absolutely nothing but what he himself mentions in the
superscription of his book. o information can be gathered from the contents of the
prophecy, where the writer's personal history is wholly unnoticed. He calls himself
"the son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hizkiah." As
it is usual to mention only the name of the father, it has been inferred that the
genealogy is carried up to the fourth generation because Hizkiah, i.e. Hezekiah, was
a celebrated personage, and most probably the famous King of Judah. But the
inference is not undoubted. Hizkiah is not called "King of Judah" in the genealogy,
which would naturally have been done had he been the ancestor intended, as in
Proverbs 25:1; Isaiah 38:9. There is room enough, indeed, between Hezekiah and
Josiah for the four specified descents, though only three are named in the case of

5. Josiah himself; but the name Hezekiah was not unknown among the Jews, and we
cannot assume without further support that the person here mentioned is the king.
It is fair to argue that the insertion of the genealogical details shows that the prophet
was of distinguished birth; but further it is impossible to go with any certainly.
The name of the prophet is variously explained, as "The Lord hath hid," or "The
Lord hath guarded," or "The Lord's Watchtower." Keil is generally followed in
interpreting it as "He whom Jehovah hides, or shelters." The LXX. writes it
σοφονι῎ἀ: Vulgate, Sophoniah. There were others who bore this name (see 2 Kings
25:18; 1 Chronicles 6:36; Zechariah 6:10, 14). The devils given by Pseudo-Dorotheus
and Pseudo-Epiphanius ('De Vit. Proph.,' 19.), among which is the assertion that he
was a member of the tribe of Simeon, have no historical basis.
§ 3. DATE.
Zephaniah, in the inscription of his book, states that he prophesied "in the days of
Josiah the son of Amon, King of Judah;" and this assertion has never been seriously
disputed. The only question is in what part of that king's reign did he exercise his
office. Josiah reigned thirty-one years, according to the usually received dates —
from B.C. 640 to B.C. 609. The destruction of ineveh, which Zephaniah foretold,
took place quite at the end of Josiah's reign, and his prophecy must have been
uttered some time before this event. o other data for determining the question exist
save what may be gathered from internal evidences. And these are most uncertain,
depending chiefly upon inferences drawn from the great reformation effected by the
good king. Did he prophesy before this reformation was begun, or after it was
effected, that is to say, in the first or second half of Josiah's reign? A third
alternative may be added — Was it during the progress of this religious
amelioration? Those who assign the prophecy to the earlier period, before the king's
eighteenth year, when his vigorous measures produced their happy results, rely
upon the fact that the prophet speaks as though idolatry and the disorders which
Josiah repressed were still rampant, even the members of the royal family being
implicated in the general iniquity. It is inconceivable, they say, that Zephaniah
should have taken this gloomy view, and have entirely omitted all mention of the
young prince's noble efforts to effect a change for the better, had this attempt
already been commenced. All this points to a time when Josiah was still a minor,
and before he had begun to assert himself in the direction of affairs. On the other
hand, it is contended that certain statements in the body of the work prove that the
reformation was being carried on at the time when it was composed: the public
worship of Jehovah existed (Zephaniah 3:4, 5), and this side by side with that of
Baal and with many idolatrous practices (Zephaniah 1:4, 5); there were priests of
Jehovah as well as priests of false gods at the same time. or can we reason from
Zephaniah's silence concerning reforms that none had been essayed; for Jeremiah,
who began to prophesy in the thirteenth year of Josiah, is quite as strong as
Zephaniah in his denunciations of idolatry, the fact being that, though it was
publicly abolished, it was still practised extensively in secret. Others, again, claim a
still later date for the prophecy, because it speaks of the extermination of the
remnant of Baal (Zephaniah 1:4), which implies that the purification had already

6. been effected, and that only isolated instances still existed; the prophet also speaks
of and refers to the Mosaic books as well known to his hearers (comp. Zephaniah
1:13, 15, 17; 2:2, 5, 7, 11; 3:5, 19, 20), which could only have been after the discovery
of the "book of the Law" in Josiah's eighteenth year (2 Kings 22:8). It must be noted
that on this occasion reference was made to the Prophetess Huldah, not to
Zephaniah (2 Kings 22:14). Hence some suppose that he was dead at this time.
From this brief recapitulation of arguments it will be seen that each of the three
theories mentioned above has much to be said in its favour; and that the only safe
conclusion be adopt is this — that although the present book, as now displayed in
the sacred canon, forms one connected whole, it is composed of prophecies uttered
at various times and gathered by their author into a volume and arranged on a
definite plan. Its place in the canon is the same both in the Hebrew and Greek, and
coincides with the chronological order to which it is assigned.
§ 4. GE ERAL CHARACTER.
Some critics have spoken disparagingly of the style of Zephaniah's prophecy, as
being prosaic and bearing no comparison with any of the other Hebrew poets. There
is some truth in this criticism; but the censure is exaggerated and unjust. Of the
remarkable purity of his language there can be no doubt; and if his rhythm is at
times faulty, judged by the standard of the highest models, and sinks into prose; if
he is wanting in sublimity and elegance; it must be allowed that he is always easy
and full of life, often vehement, fiery, and severe, and that the force and conciseness
of his utterances leave a definite impression on the mind which needs no rhetorical
artifice to make it permanent. Like other prophets, he connects himself with his
predecessors by employing their language, not from poverty of idea, not from
"declension in the originality of prophets of this date," but because he designs to
give, in a compendious form, "the fundamental thoughts of judgment and salvation
which are common to all the prophets" (Keil). He predicts judgment; the particular
instrument he leaves unfold. The destruction, not the destroyer, is the subject of his
oracle. His future is vague, and extends even to the end of time; particular period or
special agent is beyond his scope to name. He culls isolated expressions and striking
words from his predecessors, Isaiah, Joel, Amos, and Habakkuk; he avails himself
of their language with respect to judgment to come, and God's love for the righteous
among the people, and applies it to his own purpose. The peculiar nature of this
prophecy, its comprehensiveness and universality, has been well intimated by Bucer,
who says, "Si quis desiderat secreta vatum oracula brevi dari compendio, brevem
hunc Zaphanjam perlegat."

7. 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:
BAR ES, "The word of the Lord which came unto Zephaniah the son of
Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hezekiah - It seems
likely that more forefathers of the prophet are named than is the wont of Holy Scripture,
because the last so named was some one remarkable. Nor is it impossible that Zephaniah
should have been the great grandson of the King Hezekiah, for although Holy Scripture
commonly names the one son only who is in the sacred line, and although there is one
generation more than to Josiah, yet if each had a son early, Zephaniah might have been
contemporary with Josiah. The names seem also mentioned for the sake of their
meaning; at least it is remarkable how the name of God appears in most. Zephaniah,
“whom the Lord hid;” Gedaliah, “whom the Lord made great;” Amariah, “whom the
Lord promised;” Hezekiah, “whom the Lord strengthened.”
CLARKE, "The word of the Lord which came unto Zephaniah - Though this
prophet has given us so large a list of his ancestors, yet little concerning him is known,
because we know nothing certain relative to the persons of the family whose names are
here introduced. We have one chronological note which is of more value for the correct
understanding of his prophecy than the other could have been, how circumstantially
soever it had been delivered; viz., that he prophesied in the days of Josiah, son of Amon,
king of Judah; and from the description which he gives of the disorders which prevailed
in Judea in his time, it is evident that he must have prophesied before the reformation
made by Josiah, which was in the eighteenth year of his reign. And as he predicts the
destruction of Nineveh, Zep_2:13, which, as Calmet remarks, could not have taken place
before the sixteenth of Josiah, allowing with Berosus twenty-one years for the reign of
Nabopolassar over the Chaldeans; we must, therefore, place this prophecy about the
beginning of the reign of Josiah, or from b.c. 640 to b.c. 609. But see the chronological
notes.
GILL, "The word of the Lord which came unto Zephaniah the son of
Cushi,.... This is the title of the book, which expresses the subject matter of it, the word
of the Lord; the word of prophecy from the Lord, as the Targum; and shows the divine
authority of it; that it was not of himself, nor from any man, but was of God; as well as
describes the penman of it by his descent: who or what this his father was; whether a
prophet, according to the rule the Jews give, that, when the name of a prophet and his
father's name are mentioned, he is a prophet, the son of a prophet; or, whether a prince,
a person of some great family, and even of the blood royal, as some have thought, is not
certain; or who those after mentioned:

8. the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hizkiah; which last name,
consisting of the same letters with Hezekiah, king of Judah, some have thought, as Aben
Ezra, that he is intended; and that Zephaniah was a great-grandson of his; and which
some think is confirmed by his style and diction, and by the freedom he used with the
king's family, Zep_1:8 but it is objected, that, if so it was, Hizkiah, or Hezekiah, would
have been called king of Judah; that it does not appear that Hezekiah had any other son
besides Manasseh; and that there was not a sufficient distance of time from Hezekiah for
four descents; and that, in fact, there were but three generations from him to Josiah, in
whose days Zephaniah prophesied, as follows; though it is very probable that these
progenitors of the prophet were men of note and character, and therefore mentioned, as
well as to distinguish him from others of the same name, who lived
in the days of Josiah the son of Amon king of Judah: not Amos, as the Arabic
version: Amon and Manasseh, who reigned between Hezekiah and Josiah, were both
wicked princes, and introduced idolatrous worship among the Jews; which Josiah in the
twelfth year of his reign began to purge the people from, and endeavoured a
reformation; but whether it was before or after that Zephaniah delivered out this
prophecy is not certain; it may seem to be before, by the corruption of the times
described in it; and so it may be thought to have some influence upon the after
reformation; though it is thought by many it was after; since, had he been in this office
before the finding of the book of the law, he, and not Huldah the prophetess, would have
been consulted, 2Ki_22:14 nor could the people so well have been taxed with a
perversion of the law, had it not been as yet found, Zep_3:4 and, besides, the
reformation seems to be hinted at in this prophecy, since mention is made of the
remnant of Baal, which supposes a removal of many of his images; and also notice is
taken of some that apostatized after the renewal of the covenant, Zep_1:4 moreover, the
time of the Jews' destruction and captivity is represented as very near, Zep_1:7 which
began a little after the death of Josiah, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim; to which Dr.
Lightfoot (f) adds, that the prophet prophesies against the king's children, Jehoahaz,
Jehoiakim, and Zedekiah, for their new fashions, and newfangled apparel, Zep_1:8 and
therefore it must be in the latter part of his reign; and, if so, it shows how a people may
relapse into sin after the greatest endeavours for their good, and the best of examples set
them. Mr. Whiston (g) and Mr. Bedford (h) place him in the latter part of his reign,
about 611 or 612 B.C.: there were three that prophesied about this time, Zephaniah,
Jeremiah, and Huldah the prophetess; of whom the Jewish Rabbins say, as Kimchi
quotes them, Jeremiah prophesied in the streets, Zephaniah in the synagogues, and
Huldah among the women.
HE RY, "Here is, I. The title-page of this book (Zep_1:1), in which we observe, 1.
What authority it has, and who gave it that authority; it is from heaven, and not of men:
It is the word of the Lord. 2. Who was the instrument of conveying it to the church. His
name was Zephaniah, which signifies the servant of the Lord, for God revealed his
secrets to his servants the prophets. The pedigree of other prophets, whose extraction
we have an account of, goes no further back than their father, except Zecharias, whose
grandfather also is named. But this of Zephaniah goes back four generations, and the
highest mentioned is Hizkiah; it is the very same name in the original with that of
Hezekiah king of Judah (2Ki_18:1), and refers probably to him; if so, our prophet, being
lineally descended from that pious prince, and being of the royal family, could with the
better grace reprove the folly of the king's children as he does, Zep_1:8. 3. When this
prophet prophesied - in the days of Josiah king of Judah, who reigned well, and in the

9. twelfth year of his reign began vigorously, and carried on a work of reformation, in
which he destroyed idols and idolatry. Now it does not appear whether Zephaniah
prophesied in the beginning of his reign; if so, we may suppose his prophesying had a
great and good influence on that reformation. When he, as God's messenger, reproved
the idolatries of Jerusalem, Josiah, as God's vice-regent, removed them; and
reformation is likely to go on and prosper when both magistrates and ministers do their
part towards it. If it were towards the latter end of his reign that he prophesied, we sadly
see how a corrupt people relapse into their former distempers. The idolatries Josiah had
abolished, it should seem, returned in his own time, when the heat of the reformation
began a little to abate and wear off. What good can the best reformers do with a people
that hate to be reformed, as if they longed to be ruined?
JAMISO , "Zep_1:1-18. God’s severe judgment on Judah for its idolatry and
neglect of Him: The rapid approach of the judgment, and the impossibility of escape.
days of Josiah — Had their idolatries been under former kings, they might have
said, Our kings have forced us to this and that. But under Josiah, who did all in his
power to reform them, they have no such excuse.
son of Amon — the idolater, whose bad practices the Jews clung to, rather than the
good example of Josiah, his son; so incorrigible were they in sin.
Judah — Israel’s ten tribes had gone into captivity before this.
K&D 1-3, "Zep_1:1 contains the heading, which has been explained in the introduction.
Zep_1:2 and Zep_1:3 form the preface. - Zep_1:2. “I will sweep, sweep away everything
from the face of the earth, is the saying of Jehovah. Zep_1:3. I will sweep away man
and cattle, sweep away the fowls of heaven, and the fishes of the sea, and the offences
with the sinners, and I cut off men from the face of the earth, is the saying of Jehovah.”
The announcement of the judgment upon the whole earth not only serves to sharpen the
following threat of judgment upon Judah and Jerusalem in this sense, “Because Jehovah
judges the whole world, He will punish the apostasy of Judah all the more;” but the
judgment upon the whole world forms an integral part of his prophecy, which treats
more fully of the execution of the judgment in and upon Judah, simply because Judah
forms the kingdom of God, which is to be purified from its dross by judgment, and led
on towards the end of its divine calling. As Zephaniah here opens the judgment awaiting
Judah with an announcement of a judgment upon the whole world, so does he assign the
reason for his exhortation to repentance in Zep_2:1-15, by showing that all nations will
succumb to the judgment; and then announces in Zep_3:9., as the fruit of the judgment,
the conversion of the nations to Jehovah, and the glorification of the kingdom of God.
The way to salvation leads through judgment, not only for the world with its enmity
against God, but for the degenerate theocracy also. It is only through judgment that the
sinful world can be renewed and glorified. The verb ‫ף‬ ֵ‫ס‬ፎ, the hiphil of sūph, is
strengthened by the inf. abs. ‫ּף‬‫ס‬ፎ, which is formed from the verb ‫ף‬ ַ‫ס‬ፎ, a verb of kindred
meaning. Sūph and 'âsaph signify to take away, to sweep away, hiph. to put an end, to
destroy. Kōl, everything, is specified in Zep_1:3 : men and cattle, the birds of heaven,
and the fishes of the sea; the verb 'âsēph being repeated before the two principal
members. This specification stands in unmistakeable relation to the threatening of God:
to destroy all creatures for the wickedness of men, from man to cattle, and to creeping

10. things, and even to the fowls of the heaven (Gen_6:7). By playing upon this threat,
Zephaniah intimates that the approaching judgment will be as general over the earth,
and as terrible, as the judgment of the flood. Through this judgment God will remove or
destroy the offences (stumbling-blocks) together with the sinners. ‫ת‬ ֵ‫א‬ before ‫ים‬ ִ‫ע‬ ָ‫שׁ‬ ְ‫ר‬ ָ‫ה‬
cannot be the sign of the accusative, but can only be a preposition, with, together with,
since the objects to ‫ף‬ ֵ‫ס‬ፎ are all introduced without the sign of the accusative; and,
moreover, if ‫ת־הרשׁ‬ ֶ‫א‬ were intended for an accusative, the copula Vâv would not be
omitted. Hammakhshēlôth does not mean houses about to fall (Hitzig), which neither
suits the context nor can be grammatically sustained, since even in Isa_3:6
hammakhshēlâh is not the fallen house, but the state brought to ruin by the sin of the
people; and makhshēlâh is that against which or through which a person meets with a
fall. Makhshēlōth are all the objects of coarser and more refined idolatry, not merely the
idolatrous images, but all the works of wickedness, like τᆭ σκάνδαλα in Mat_13:41. The
judgment, however, applies chiefly to men, i.e., to sinners, and hence in the last clause
the destruction of men from off the earth is especially mentioned. The irrational creation
is only subject to φθορά, on account of and through the sin of men (Rom_8:20.).
CALVI , "Zephaniah first mentions the time in which he prophesied; it was under
the king Josiah. The reason why he puts down the name of his father Amon does not
appear to me. The Prophet would not, as a mark of honor, have made public a
descent that was disgraceful and infamous. Amon was the son of Manasseh, an
impious and wicked king; and he was nothing better than his father. We hence see
that his name is recorded, not for the sake of honor, but rather of reproach; and it
may have been that the Prophet meant to intimate, what was then well known to all,
that the people had become so obdurate in their superstitions, that it was no easy
matter to restore them to a sound mind. But we cannot bring forward anything but
conjecture; I therefore leave the matter without pretending to decide it.
With regard to the pedigree of the Prophet, I have mentioned elsewhere what the
Jews affirm—that when the Prophets put down the names of their fathers, they
themselves had descended from Prophets. But Zephaniah mentions not only his
father and grandfather, but also his great-grandfather and his great-great-
grandfather; and it is hardly credible that they were all Prophets, and there is not a
word respecting them in Scripture. I do not think, as I have said elsewhere, that
such a rule is well-founded; but the Jews in this case, according to their manner,
deal in trifles; for in things unknown they hesitate not to assert what comes to their
minds, though it may not have the least appearance of truth. It is possible that the
father, grandfather, the great-grandfather, and the great-great-grandfather of the
Prophet, were persons who excelled in piety; but this also is uncertain. What is
especially worthy of being noticed is— that he begins by saying that he brought
nothing of his own, but faithfully, and, as it were, by the hand, delivered what he
had received from God.

11. With regard, then, to his pedigree, it is a matter of no great moment; but it is of
great importance to know that God was the author of his doctrine, and that
Zephaniah was his faithful minister, who introduced not his own devices, but was
only the announcer of celestial truth. Let us now proceed to the contents -
COFFMA , "Verse 1
Zephaniah announced his theme at once, following his identification of himself as
God's spokesman (Zephaniah 1:1), that being the universal final judgment of the
whole world (Zephaniah 1:2,3). Would the Jews escape the terrors of that day?
Certainly not! Passing from the general to the specific, a device which Dummelow
described as being in harmony with the "genius of the Semitic mind,"[1] Zephaniah
detailed the effect of the judgment upon Judah and Jerusalem (Zephaniah 1:4-7)
and pointed out that it would fall heavily upon sinners of every rank (Zephaniah
1:8-13). The terrible day of the Lord will burst suddenly upon the whole earth and
all of its inhabitants (Zephaniah 1:14-18).
Zephaniah 1:1
"The word of Jehovah which came unto 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."
See the introduction for full discussion of this superscription which is received by
this writer as genuine and Zephaniah's own claim of divine authority for what is
included in his prophecy. All subjective, imaginative, unscientific objections to this
view have been proved to be worthless.
It appears to be quite obvious that Zephaniah's reason for including so many of his
ancestors in this verse was for the purpose of indicating his royal descent from the
good king Hezekiah of Judah. It is barely possible that there could have been
another reason. His father was Cushi, which means "an Ethiopian or a Cushite."[2]
The offspring resulting from a Hebrew girl's marrying a foreigner "would not have
been accepted in the Jewish community unless he could show a pure Jewish
pedigree for at lease three generations (Deuteronomy 23:8)."[3] That also could
have entered into this unusual inclusion of four of his forbears in Zephaniah's
superscription.
There are many internal evidences that require us to believe that the portion of
Josiah's long reign of 39 years during which the prophet delivered his message was
the first part, before the reforms.
TRAPP, "Verse 1
Zephaniah 1:1 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.
Ver. 1. The word of the Lord which came unto Zephaniah] Which is (by

12. interpretation) God’s secretary, or, hidden one, Psalms 27:5; Psalms 83:3. Or, as
Jerome and some others will have it, God’s watchman, Ezekiel 33:7. A fit name for a
prophet.
The son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, &c.] These were, if not prophets (as the
Jewish doctors make them), yet men famous in the Church ( Hebraei Prophetarum
patres, quotquot nominatim recensentur, ipsos quoque prophetas fuisse dicunt); as
were Alexander and Rufus, though they be but mentioned and no more, Mark
15:21.
In the days of Josiah] Who reigned thirty-one years, but, being in his minority,
began not to reform religion, much corrupted in the days of his idolatrous father,
Amon, till the eighteenth year of his reign, 2 Kings 22:1; 2 Kings 23:23, whether
before or after the reformation, "the word of the Lord came unto Zephaniah,"
interpreters agree not. Jeremiah (his contemporary) began not to prophesy till the
thirteenth year of Josiah’s reign, Jeremiah 1:1-2, at what time (viz. in his twelfth
year) he had begun to reform with a great deal of zeal, 2 Chronicles 34:3, but also he
met with a great deal of opposition from the princes and people who had been
woefully hardened and abituated in their idolatry under Manasseh and Amon, and
therefore with much difficulty drawn off. Zephaniah and Jeremiah were singular
helps, no doubt, to that peerless king in his zealous undertakings for God. But why
he should send to Huldah, the prophetess, rather than to either of them, 2 Kings
22:13, what other reason can be given but that she dwelt in the college at Jerusalem,
and so was next at hand? And why he went up against Pharaoh echo, and sent not
first to any prophet to ask their advice, what can we say but this, that sometimes
both grace and wit are asleep in the holiest and wariest breasts? and that the best of
God’s saints may be sometimes miscarried by their passion, to their cost?
BE SO , "Zephaniah 1:1. The word that came to Zephaniah — The divine
revelation that was made to him. The son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, &c. — If
these were not prophets, as the Jewish doctors make them, yet it is probable they
were persons of some note in Judah. The son of Hizkiah — Although both the letters
and points of this name in the Hebrew are the same with those of King Hezekiah,
and some therefore have thought that the prophet was his great-grandson; yet that
could not be the case, because there was not a sufficient distance of time between
King Hezekiah and Josiah, in whose time he flourished, for four descents: nor do we
read of Hezekiah’s having any son but Manasseh. In the days of Josiah — The Jews
were wont to allege, that their kings obliged them to practise idolatry, and rendered
them in other respects corrupt in their manners; but God, by raising up the pious
Josiah to be their king, deprived them of that excuse. For so far was he from
encouraging them in any branch of impiety or vice, that he used his utmost efforts to
effect a thorough reformation among them, although, alas! to little purpose, for they
continued to be exceeding corrupt, both in their principles and practices; or, if any
change took place among them for the better, it seems to have been but very partial,
and of very short duration.

13. CO STABLE, "I. HEADI G1:1
What follows is the word that Yahweh gave to Zephaniah during the reign of King
Josiah of Judah (640-609 B.C.). This "word" includes all that the Lord told the
prophet that He also led him to record for posterity (cf. Hosea 1:1; Joel 1:1; Micah
1:1). This was a divine revelation that God gave through one of His servants the
prophets.
Zephaniah recorded his genealogy, the longest genealogy of a writing prophet in any
prophetical book. It goes back four generations to Zephaniah"s great-great-
grandfather, or possibly more distant relative, Hezekiah. As noted in the "Writer"
section of the Introduction above, it is impossible to prove or to disprove that this
Hezekiah was the king of Judah with that name. Chronologically he could have been
since people married quite young during Israel"s monarchy. I think this Hezekiah
probably was the king since the name was not common and since it would make
sense to trace the prophet"s lineage back so far if Hezekiah was an important
person (cf. Zechariah 1:1). [ ote: See ibid, p898; Smith, pp182-83; G. A. Smith, The
Book of the Twelve Prophets, Commonly Called the Minor, p46; and Baker, p91.]
ormally the writing prophets who recorded their ancestors named only their
fathers (cf. Jonah 1:1; Joel 1:1). We have no complete genealogy of King Hezekiah"s
descendants in the Old Testament.
EXPOSITOR'S BIBLE COMME TARY, "Verses 1-18
THE PROPHET A D THE REFORMERS
Zephaniah 1:1-18 - Zephaniah 2:3
TOWARDS the year 625, when King Josiah had passed out of his minority, and was
making his first efforts at religious reform, prophecy, long slumbering, woke again
in Israel. Like the king himself, its first heralds were men in their early youth. In
627 Jeremiah calls himself but a boy, and Zephaniah can hardly have been out of
his teens. For the sudden outbreak of these young lives there must have been a large
reservoir of patience and hope gathered in the generation behind them. So Scripture
itself testifies. To Jeremiah it was said: "Before I formed thee in the belly I knew
thee, and before thou earnest forth out of the womb I consecrated thee." [Jeremiah
1:5] In an age when names were bestowed only because of their significance, both
prophets bore that of Jehovah in their own. So did Jeremiah’s father, who was of
the priests of Anathoth. Zephaniah’s "forbears" are given for four generations, and
with one exception they also are called after Jehovah: "The Word of Jehovah which
came to Sephanyah, son of Kushi, son of Gedhalyah, son of Amaryah, son of
Hizkiyah, in the days of Joshiyahu, Amon’s son, king of Judah." Zephaniah’s great-
great-grandfather Hezekiah was in all probability the king. His father’s name
Kushi, or Ethiop, is curious. If we are right, that Zephaniah was a young man
towards 625, then Kushi must have been born towards 663, about the time of the
conflicts between Assyria and Egypt, and it is possible that, as Manasseh and the
predominant party in Judah so closely hung upon and imitated Assyria, the

14. adherents of Jehovah put their hope in Egypt, whereof, it may be, this name Kushi
is a token. The name Zephaniah itself, meaning "Jehovah hath hidden," suggests
the prophet’s birth in the "killing-time" of Manasseh. There was at least one other
contemporary of the same name-a priest executed by ebuchadrezzar. Of the
adherents of Jehovah, then, and probably of royal descent, Zephaniah lived in
Jerusalem. We descry him against her, almost a clearly as we descry Isaiah. In the
glare and smoke of the conflagration which his vision sweeps across the world, only
her features stand out definite and particular: the flat roofs with men and women
bowing in the twilight to the host of heaven, the crowds of priests, the nobles and
their foreign fashions: the Fishgate, the ew or Second Town, where the rich lived,
the heights to which building had at last spread, and between them the hollow
mortar, with its markets, Phoenician merchants, and money-dealers. In the first few
verses of Zephaniah we see almost as much of Jerusalem as in the whole book either
of Isaiah or Jeremiah.
For so young a man the vision of Zephaniah may seem strangely dark and final. Yet
not otherwise was Isaiah’s inaugural vision, and as a rule it is the young and not the
old whose indignation is ardent and unsparing. Zephaniah carries this temper to the
extreme. There is no great hope in his book, hardly any tenderness, and never a
glimpse of beauty. A townsman, Zephaniah has no eye for nature; not only is no fair
prospect described by him, he has not even a single metaphor drawn from nature’s
loveliness or peace. He is pitilessly true to his great keynotes: "I will sweep, sweep
from the face of the ground; He will burn," burn up everything. o hotter book lies
in all the Old Testament. either dew nor grass nor tree nor any blossom lives in it,
but it is everywhere fire, smoke, and darkness, drifting chaff, ruins, nettles, salt-pits,
and owls and ravens looking from the windows of desolate palaces. or does
Zephaniah foretell the restoration of nature in the end of the days. There is no
prospect of a redeemed and fruitful land, but only of a group of battered and hardly
saved characters: a few meek and righteous are hidden from the fire and creep forth
when it is over. Israel is left "a poor and humble folk." o prophet is more true to
the doctrine of the remnant, or more resolutely refuses to modify it. Perhaps he died
young.
The full truth, however, is that Zephaniah, though he found his material in the
events of his own day, tears himself loose from history altogether. To the earlier
prophets the Day of the Lord, the crisis of the world, is a definite point in history:
full of terrible, Divine events, yet "natural" ones - battle, siege, famine, massacre,
and captivity. After it history is still to flow on, common days come back and Israel
pursue their way as a nation. But to Zephaniah the Day of the Lord begins to
assume what we call the "supernatural." The grim colors are still woven of war and
siege, but mixed with vague and solemn terrors from another sphere, by which
history appears to be swallowed up, and it is only with an effort that the prophet
thinks of a rally of Israel beyond. In short, with Zephaniah the Day of the Lord
tends to become the Last Day. His book is the first tinging of prophecy with
apocalypse: that is the moment which it supplies in the history of Israel’s religion.
And, therefore, it was with a true instinct that the great Christian singer of the Last
Day took from Zephaniah his keynote. The "Dies Irae, Dies Illa" of Thomas of

15. Celano is but the Vulgate translation of Zephaniah’s "A day of wrath is that day."
evertheless, though the first of apocalyptic writers, Zephaniah does not allow
himself the license of apocalypse. As he refuses to imagine great glory for the
righteous, so he does not dwell on the terrors of the wicked. He is sober and
restrained, a matter-of-fact man, yet with power of imagination, who, amidst the
vague horrors he summons, delights in giving a sharp realistic impression. The Day
of the Lord, he says, what is it? "A strong man-there!-crying bitterly."
It is to the fierce ardor, and to the elemental interests of the book, that we owe the
absence of two features of prophecy which are so constant in the prophets of the
eighth century. Firstly, Zephaniah betrays no interest in the practical reforms which
(if we are right about the date) the young king, his contemporary, had already
started. There was a party of reform, the party had a program, the program was
drawn from the main principles of prophecy and was designed to put these into
practice. And Zephaniah was a prophet and ignored them. This forms the dramatic
interest of his book. Here was a man of the same faith which kings, priests, and
statesmen were trying to realize in public life, in the assured hope-as is plain from
the temper of Deuteronomy-that the nation as a whole would be reformed and
become a very great nation, righteous and victorious. All this he ignored, and gave
his own vision of the future: Israel is a brand plucked from the burning; a very few
meek and righteous are saved from the conflagration of a whole world. Why?
Because for Zephaniah the elements were loose, and when the elements were loose
what was the use of talking about reforms? The Scythians were sweeping down
upon Palestine, with enough of God’s wrath in them to destroy a people still so full
of idolatry as Israel was; and if not the Scythians, then some other power in that
dark, rumbling orth which had ever been so full of doom. Let Josiah try to reform
Israel, but it was neither Josiah’s nor Israel’s day that was falling. It was the Day of
the Lord, and when He came it was neither to reform nor to build up Israel, but to
make visitation and to punish in His wrath for the unbelief and wickedness of which
the nation was still full.
An analogy to this dramatic opposition between prophet and reformer may be
found in our own century. At its crisis, in 1848, there were many righteous men rich
in hope and energy. The political institutions of Europe were being rebuilt. In our
own land there were great measures for the relief of laboring children and women,
the organization of labor, and the just distribution of wealth. But Carlyle that year
held apart from them all, and, though a personal friend of many of the reformers,
counted their work hopeless: society was too corrupt, the rudest forces were loose,
" iagara" was near. Carlyle was proved wrong and the reformers right, but in the
analogous situation of Israel the reformers were wrong and the prophet right.
Josiah’s hope and daring were overthrown at Megiddo, and, though the Scythians
passed away, Zephaniah’s conviction of the sin and doom of Israel was fulfilled, not
forty years later, in the fall of Jerusalem and the great Exile. Again, to the same
elemental interests, as we may call them, is due the absence from Zephaniah’s pages
of all the social and individual studies which form the charm of other prophets.
With one exception, there is no analysis of character, no portrait, no satire. But the

16. exception is worth dwelling upon: it describes the temper equally abhorred by both
prophet and reformer-that of the indifferent and stagnant man. Here we have a
subtle and memorable picture of character, which is not without its warnings for
our own time.
Zephaniah heard God say: "And it shall be at that time that I will search out
Jerusalem with lights, and I will make visitation upon the men who are become
stagnant upon their lees, who say in their hearts, Jehovah doeth no good and doeth
no evil." The metaphor is clear. ew wine was left upon its lees only long enough to
fix its color and body. If not then drawn off it grew thick and syrupy-sweeter indeed
than the strained wine, and to the taste of some more pleasant, but feeble and ready
to decay. "To settle upon one’s lees" became a proverb for sloth, indifference, and
the muddy mind. "Moab hath been at ease from his youth and hath settled upon his
lees, and hath not been emptied from vessel to vessel; therefore his taste stands in
him and his scent is not changed." [Jeremiah 48:11] The characters stigmatized by
Zephaniah are also obvious. They were a precipitate from the ferment of fifteen
years back. Through the cruel days of Manasseh and Amon hope had been stirred
and strained, emptied from vessel to vessel, and so had sprung, sparkling and keen,
into the new days of Josiah. But no miracle came, only ten years of waiting for the
king’s majority and five more of small, tentative reforms. othing Divine happened.
They were but the ambiguous successes of a small party who had secured the king
for their principles. The court was still full of foreign fashions, and idolatry was
rank upon the housetops. Of course disappointment ensued-disappointment and
listlessness. The new security of life became a temptation; persecution ceased, and
religious men lived again at ease. So numbers of eager and sparkling souls, who had
been in the front of the movement, fell away into a selfish and idle obscurity.
The prophet hears God say, "I must search Jerusalem with lights" in order to find
them. They had "fallen from the van and the freemen"; they had "sunk to the rear
and the slaves," where they wallowed in the excuse that "Jehovah" Himself "would
do nothing-neither good," therefore it is useless to attempt reform like Josiah and
his party, "nor evil," therefore Zephaniah’s prophecy of destruction is also vain.
Exactly the same temper was encountered by Mazzini in the second stage of his
career. Many of those who with him had eagerly dreamt of a free Italy fell away
when the first revolt failed-fell away not merely into weariness and fear, but, as he
emphasizes, into the very two tempers which are described by Zephaniah,
skepticism and self-indulgence.
All this starts questions for ourselves. Here is evidently the same public temper,
which at all periods provokes alike the despair of the reformer and the indignation
of the prophet: the criminal apathy of the well-to-do classes sunk in ease and
religious indifference. We have today the same mass of obscure, nameless persons,
who oppose their almost unconquerable inertia to every movement of reform, and
are the drag upon all vital and progressive religion. The great causes of God and
Humanity are not defeated by the hot assaults of the Devil, but by the slow,
crushing, glacier-like masses of thousands and thousands of indifferent nobodies.
God’s causes are never destroyed by being blown up, but by being sat upon. It is not

17. the violent and anarchical whom we have to fear in the war for human progress, but
the slow, the staid, the respectable. And the danger of these does not lie in their
stupidity. otwithstanding all their religious profession, it lies in their real
skepticism. Respectability may be the precipitate of unbelief. ay, it is that, however
religious its mask, wherever it is mere comfort, decorousness, and conventionality;
where, though it would abhor articulately confessing that God does nothing, it
virtually means so- says so (as Zephaniah puts it) in its heart, by refusing to share
manifest opportunities of serving Him, and covers its sloth and its fear by sneering
that God is not with the great crusades of freedom and purity to which it is
summoned. In these ways, respectability is the precipitate which unbelief naturally
forms in the selfish ease and stillness of so much of our middle-class life. And that is
what makes mere respectability so dangerous. Like the unshaken, unstrained wine
to which the prophet compares its obscure and muddy comfort, it tends to decay. To
some extent our respectable classes are just the dregs and lees of our national life;
like all dregs, they are subject to corruption. A great sermon could be preached on
the putrescence of respectability-how the ignoble comfort of our respectable classes
and their indifference to holy causes lead to sensuality, and poison the very
institutions of the home and the family, on which they pride themselves. A large
amount of the licentiousness of the present day is not that of outlaw and disordered
lives, but is bred from the settled ease and indifference of many of our middle-class
families.
It is perhaps the chief part of the sin of the obscure units, which form these great
masses of indifference, that they think they escape notice and cover their individual
responsibility. At all times many have sought obscurity, not because they are
humble, but because they are slothful, cowardly, or indifferent. Obviously it is this
temper which is met by the words, "I will search out Jerusalem with lights." one
of us shall escape because we have said, "I will go with the crowd," or "I am a
common man and have no right to thrust myself forward." We shall be followed
and judged, each of us for his or her personal attitude to the great movements of our
time. These things are not too high for us: they are our duty; and we cannot escape
our duty by slinking into the shadow.
For all this wickedness and indifference Zephaniah sees prepared the Day of the
Lord-near, hastening, and very terrible. It sweeps at first in vague desolation and
ruin of all things, but then takes the outlines of a solemn slaughter-feast for which
Jehovah has consecrated the guests, the dim unnamed armies from the north. Judah
shall be invaded, and they that are at ease, who say "Jehovah does nothing" shall be
unsettled and routed. One vivid trait comes in like a screech upon the hearts of a
people unaccustomed for years to war. "Hark, Jehovah’s Day!" cries the prophet.
"A strong man-there!-crying bitterly." From this flash upon the concrete he returns
to a great vague terror, in which earthly armies merge in heavenly; battle, siege,
storm, and darkness are mingled, and destruction is spread abroad upon the whole
earth. The first shades of Apocalypse are upon us.
We may now take the full text of this strong and significant prophecy. We have
already given the title. Textual emendations and other points are explained in

18. footnotes.
"I will sweep, sweep away everything from the face of the ground oracle of Jehovah-
sweep man and beast, sweep the fowl of the heaven and the fish of the sea, and I will
bring to ruin the wicked and cut off the men of wickedness from the ground- oracle
of Jehovah. And I will stretch forth My hand upon Judah; and upon all the
inhabitants of Jerusalem: and I will cut off from this place the remnant of the Baal,
the names of the priestlings with the priests, and them who upon the housetops bow
themselves to the host of heaven, and them who swear by their Melech, and them
who have turned from following Jehovah, and who do not seek Jehovah nor have
inquired of Him."
"Silence for the Lord Jehovah! For near is Jehovah’s Day. Jehovah has prepared a
slaughter, He has consecrated His guests."
"And it shall be in Jehovah’s day of slaughter that I will make visitation upon the
princes and the house of the king, and upon all who array themselves in foreign
raiment; and I will make visitation upon all who leap over the threshold on that day,
who fill their lord’s house full of violence and fraud. "And on that day oracle of
Jehovah-there shall be a noise of crying from the Fishgate, and wailing from the
Mishneh, and great havoc on the Heights. Howl, O dwellers in the Mortar, for
undone are all the merchant folk, cut off are all the money-dealers. "And in that
time it shall be, that I will search Jerusalem with lanterns, and make visitation upon
the men who are become stagnant upon their lees, who in their hearts say, Jehovah
doeth no good and doeth no evil. Their substance shall be for spoil, and their houses
for wasting " ear is the great Day of Jehovah, near and very speedy. Hark, the Day
of Jehovah! A strong man-there!-crying bitterly A Day of wrath is that Day! Day of
siege and blockade, day of stress and distress, day of darkness and murk, day of
cloud and heavy mist, day of the war-horn and battle-roar, up against the fenced
cities and against the highest turrets! And I will beleaguer men, and they shall walk
like the blind, for they have sinned against Jehovah; and poured out shall their
blood be like dust, and the flesh of them like dung. Even their silver, even their gold
shall "not avail to save them in the day of Jehovah’s wrath, and in the fire of His
zeal shall all the earth be devoured, for destruction, yea, sudden collapse shall He
make of all the, inhabitants of the earth."
Upon this vision of absolute doom there follows a qualification for the few meek and
righteous. They may be hidden on the day of the Lord’s anger; but even for them
escape is only a possibility ote the absence of all mention of the Divine mercy as the
cause of deliverance. Zephaniah has no gospel of that kind. The conditions of escape
are sternly ethical-meekness, the doing of justice and righteousness. So austere is
our prophet.
"O people unabashed! before that ye become as the drifting chaff before the anger
of Jehovah come upon you, before there come upon you the day of Jehovah’s wrath;
seek Jehovah, all ye meek of the land who do His ordinance, seek righteousness, seek
meekness, peradventure ye may hide yourselves in the day of Jehovah’s wrath."

19. PARKER, ""The word of the Lord which came unto Zephaniah" ( Zephaniah 1:1).
Observe that the prophets never professed to tell what word of the Lord came to
anybody else. That is the vital point; that is the point which we have all forgotten.
Read the introductions which the men themselves wrote: where do they find their
texts? In the mouth of the Lord. When does any prophet arise to say, "I am going to
preach to you to-day from the words of some other prophet?" Because we have
forgotten this, our preaching has become archaic, jejune, and fruitless. Why do not
men tell us what the Lord has said to them? Why have we so little personal
testimony, so little real heart-talk? Hath the Lord ceased to be gracious to his
people? Has he concluded his parable? Does he never whisper to any of us? Is the
function of the Holy Ghost exhausted? Where is the personal pronoun? The devil
has persuaded us to disuse it, and thus become modest; and whilst we are modest he
is vigilant and destructive. What can it matter to you what the Lord said to some
man countless thousands of years ago, if you do not adopt it, incarnate it, stake
eternal destiny upon it, and thus make it your own? If a prophet here and there had
said, "I will tell you what the Lord said to me," the case would have been different;
but it is not so. Look at Isaiah: "The vision of Isaiah... which he saw." How strong,
how clear, how emphatic, how likely to be interesting to the highest point! Here is an
eye-witness: this is the kind of witness we like to have: what I saw, what I heard,
what I felt, how I handled: now we are coming into close quarters with eternal
mysteries. These men are not about to becloud our minds with speculations, and
abstractions, and finely-spun theories; they make oath and say—then comes their
affidavit. Have we any affidavit to make about God? Are we living upon a hearsay
testimony? Is ours a providence by proxy? Did the Lord work wonders in the olden
time, and hath he sunk now into forgetfulness of his people and his kingdom? Let
sense answer. What does Jeremiah say? Jeremiah desires to comment upon the book
of the prophet Isaiah? ot he. How, then, does he introduce himself? Like all the
others, in a whirlwind, with the suddenness which begets attention: "The words of
Jeremiah... to whom the word of the Lord came." So we have two personal witnesses
in Isaiah and Jeremiah. Did anybody else receive a communication from heaven,
from God? Hear Ezekiel: "I saw visions of God." Perhaps only these major
prophets had these high chances, only they were majestic enough to see the morning
for themselves, and other men must live upon the testimony of dead witnesses. Read,
"The word of the Lord that came unto Hosea"; again, "The word of the Lord that
came to Joel"; again, "The words of Amos"; again, "The vision of Obadiah"; once
more, "The word of the Lord came unto Jonah"; again, "The word of the Lord that
came to Micah"; and again, "In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius,
came the word of the Lord unto Zechariah." What does the last of the prophets say?
"The burden" of the word of the Lord to Israel by Malachi." We want personal
testimony, personal religion. What is your life? What is mine? We are not called to
recite old history, but to live our own life in the face of day. If a man"s religion be
something that he has learned, it is something that he may forget; memory is not
immortal: but if it be part of himself, if it be wrought into him by God the Holy
Ghost, then long as life, or breath, or being lasts he can say, "I saw... I heard... I
know." And when men would battle with him in angry and pointless words, and

20. plague him with metaphysical reasoning which he cannot understand, he can say,
with a child"s simplicity, "One thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see."
Take care how you crush individuality out of the Church. It may be a very beautiful
thing to smooth down all the hills and raise up all the valleys, and make this globe
we call the earth into a shining surface; God did not make it so. Where does God
approve monotony—pure equality as between one distance and another, one colour
and another, one set of circumstances and another? He works by contrast. He has
made inequality an element in the education and development of the world. The
Lord hath his mountains in the Church, and his valleys; those that are of note
among the apostles, and names that are not known beyond the fireside, of which
they are the strength and joy. Were a man to stand up now and tell us what the
Lord had done for him we should listen to him with great doubtfulness. We have
lost the genius of personality, we have lost that tremendous weapon of individual
testimony; it may be rough, and it may have been put to rude uses, but it is a
weapon or instrument which God has often approved. It is wonderful to notice
where the point of consistency begins in all these individual testimonies. The witness
is marked by strong personality, and yet read through from the beginning of Isaiah
to the close of Malachi , and though you are struck by personality, and almost
aggressive personality, by a voice that becomes now and then something
approaching to clamorousness, there is a marvellous consistency in the whole
prophecy. The prophets, many of whom never saw one another, never contradict
each other"s testimony upon moral questions; the spiritual vision is the same, the
moral testimony is undivided; every man speaks according to his own mental
capacity and mental peculiarity, and yet every man speaks the word of the Lord.
ot in the method of the utterance, but in the substance of the declaration do we
find the unity of the Church.
PETT, "Chapter 1. The Judgment Of God Will One Day Be Visited On Creation,
But At This Time On Judah and Jerusalem.
Zephaniah 1:2-3 of this chapter reveal God as Judge of all the world. It is a general
picture of the far future. But in Zephaniah 1:4-6 we come closer to home, to His
particular judgment on Judah and Jerusalem at this time. The prophets regularly
see the far future and the near future together. To them they are in the future, and
the timing is in God’s hands. Every judgment He carries out is a picture and symbol
of the final judgment, every ‘day of YHWH’ is a picture of the final ‘Day of YHWH’
(indeed might be the final day of YHWH). Thus we must not read Zephaniah 1:4
onwards as referring to the apocalyptic future. On the other hand, as a day of
YHWH that occurred in history it is a pattern of that day of YHWH yet to come, as
described in Zephaniah 1:1-3, which introduce it.
Verse 1
‘The word of YHWH 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.’
The detailed genealogy, unusual for a prophet, suggests that his was an important

21. family, and we are probably therefore to see the Hezekiah mentioned as the king of
that name. He was thus of the royal house.
‘The word of YHWH’ came to him signifies that he spoke as from God through
revelation.
PULPIT, " 1. Title and inscription. The word of the Lord (see note on Micah 1:1).
Zephaniah, "Whom the Lord shelters" (see Introduction, § II.). The son of, etc. The
genealogy thus introduced shows that the prophet was of illustrious descent; or it
may be inserted to distinguish him from others who bore the same name. Hizkiah.
The same name which is elsewhere written in our version Hezekiah. Whether the
great King of Judah is here meant may well be questioned (see Introduction). Other
prophets have prefixed their genealogies to their books (see Zechariah 1:1; and in
the Apocrypha, Baruch 1:1). In the days of Josiah. Zephaniah here gathers into one
volume the denunciations and predictions which he had uttered daring the reign of
Josiah, both before and after the great reformation effected by that good king (2
Kings 23:1-37.).
BI 1-6, "The word of the Lord which came unto Zephaniah.
The Word
I. THE DISTINGUISHING CAPACITY OF MAN, AND THE WONDERFUL
CONDESCENSION OF GOD.
1. The distinguishing capacity of man. To receive the word of Jehovah. To receive a
word from another is to appreciate its meaning. The word of the Lord comes to every
man at times,—comes in visions of the night, comes in the intuitions of conscience,
comes in the impressions that nature makes on the heart.
2. The wonderful condescension of God. Even to speak to man. “The Lord hath
respect unto the humble.”
II. The moral corruption of man and the exclusive prerogative of God.
1. The moral corruption of man. There are three great moral evils indicated in these
verses.
(1) Idolatry. “I will cut off the remnant of Baal from this place, and the name of
the Chemarims with the priests; and them that worship the host of heaven upon
the housetops.” The remains of Baal worship, which as yet Josiah was unable
utterly to eradicate in remoter places.
(2) Backsliding. “Them that had turned back from the Lord.” The other evil here
is—
(3) Indifferentism. “And those that have not sought the Lord nor inquired for
Him.”
2. The exclusive prerogative of God. What is that? To destroy. “I will utterly consume
all things from off the land, saith the Lord. I 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.”
(1) No one can really destroy but God. “I kill and I make alive.” Annihilation is as

22. far behind the work of the creature as the work of creation.
(2) God has a right to destroy human life.
(3) His destructive work is as beneficent as His sustaining and creating.
Destruction is a principle in all nature: one plant destroys another, one animal
destroys another, and there are elements in nature whose work is destruction.
From destruction new life and beauty come; destruction keeps the universe alive,
fresh, and healthy. (Homilist.)
Judgment on the Whole Earth in the Day of the
Lord
2 “I will sweep away everything
from the face of the earth,”
declares the Lord.
BAR ES, "I will utterly consume all things - Better “all.” The word is not
limited to “things” “animate” or “inanimate” or “men;” it is used severally of each,
according to the context; here, without limitation, of “all.” God and all stand over against
one another; God and all which is not of God or in God. God, he says, will utterly
consume all from off the land (earth). The prophet sums up in few words the subject of
the whole chapter, the judgments of God from his own times to the day of Judgment
itself. And this Day Itself he brings the more strongly before the mind, in that, with
wonderful briefness, in two words which he conforms, in sound also, the one to the
other, he expresses the utter final consumption of all things. He expresses at once the
intensity of action and blends their separate meanings, “Taking away I will make an end
of all;” and with this he unites the words used of the flood, “from off the face of the
earth.”
Then he goes through the whole creation as it was made, pairing “man and beast,”
which Moses speaks of as created on the sixth day, and the creation of the fifth day, “the
fowls of the heaven and the fishes of the sea;” and before each he sets the solemn word of
God, “I will end,” as the act of God Himself. The words can have no complete fulfillment,
until “the earth and the works that are therein shall be burned up” 2Pe_3:10, as the
Psalmist too, having gone through the creation, sums up, “Thou takest away their

23. breath, they die and return to their dust” Psa_104:29; and then speaks of the re-
creation, “Thou sendest forth Thy Spirit, they are created; and Thou renewest the face of
the earth” Ps. 104:36, and, “Of old Thou hast laid the foundations of the earth, and the
heavens are the work of Thy hands; they shall perish, but Thou shalt endure, yea, all of
them shall wax old like a garment; as a vesture shalt Thou change them, and they shall
be changed” Ps. 103:25.
Local fulfillments there may, in their degree, be. Jerome speaks as if he knew this to
have been. Jerome: “Even the brute animals feel the wrath of the Lord, and when cities
have been wasted and men slain, there cometh a desolation and scarceness of beasts also
and birds and fishes; witness Illyricum, witness Thrace, witness my native soil,”
(Stridon, a city on the confines of Dalmatia and Pannonia) “where, beside sky and earth
and rampant brambles and deep thickets, all has perished.” But although this fact, which
he alleges, is borne out by natural history, it is distinct from the words of the prophet,
who speaks of the fish, not of rivers (as Jerome) but of the sea, which can in no way be
influenced by the absence of man, who is only their destroyer. The use of the language of
the histories of the creation and of the deluge implies that the prophet has in mind a
destruction commensurate with that creation. Then he foretells the final removal of
offences, in the same words which our Lord uses of the general Judgment. “The Son of
Man shall send forth His Angels and they shall gather out of His kingdom all things that
offend, and them that do iniquity” Mat_13:41.
CLARKE, "I will utterly consume all things - All being now ripe for destruction,
I will shortly bring a universal scourge upon the land. He speaks particularly of the
idolaters.
GILL, "I will utterly consume all things from off the land, saith the Lord.
That is, from the land of Judah, by means of the Chaldeans or Babylonians: this is a
general denunciation of the judgments of God, the particulars follow: or, "in gathering I
will gather"; all good things out of the land; all the necessaries of life, and blessings of
Providence; all that is for the sustenance and pleasure of man, as well as all creatures, by
death or captivity; and so the land should be entirely stripped, and left naked and bare.
The phrase denotes the certainty of the thing, as well as the utter, entire, and total
consumption that should be made, and the vehemence and earnestness in which it is
expressed.
HE RY 2-6, " The summary, or contents, of this book. The general proposition
contained in it is, That utter destruction is coming apace upon Judah and Jerusalem for
sin. Without preamble, or apology, he begins abruptly (Zep_1:2): By taking away I will
make an end of all things from off the face of the land, Saith the Lord. Ruin is coming,
utter ruin, destruction from the Almighty. He has said it who can, and will, make good
what he has said: “I will utterly consume all things. I will gather all things” (so some); “I
will recall all the blessings I have bestowed, because they have abused them and so
forfeited them.” The consumption determined shall take away, 1. The inferior creatures:
I will consume the beasts, the fowls of the heaven, and the fishes of the sea (Zep_1:3),
as, in the deluge, every living substance was destroyed that was upon the face of the
ground, Gen_7:23. The creatures were made for man's use, and therefore when he has
perverted the use of them, and made them subject to vanity, God, to show the greatness

24. of his displeasure against the sin of man, involves them in his punishment. The
expressions are figurative, denoting universal desolation. Those that fly ever so high, as
the fowls of heaven, and think themselves out of the reach of the enemies' hand - those
that hide ever so close, as the fishes of the sea, and think themselves out of the reach of
the enemies' eye - shall yet become a prey to them, and be utterly consumed. 2. The
children of men: “I will consume man; I will cut off man from the land. The land shall
be dispeopled and left uninhabited; I will destroy, not only Israel, but man. The land
shall enjoy her sabbaths. I will cut off, not only the wicked men, but all men; even the
few among them that are good shall be involved in this common calamity. Though they
shall not be cut off from the Lord, yet they shall be cut off from the land.” It is with
Judah and Jerusalem that God has this quarrel, both city and country, and upon them
he will stretch out his hand, the hand of his power, the hand of his wrath; and who
knows the power of his anger? Zep_1:4. Those that will not humble themselves under
God's mighty hand shall be humbled and brought down by it. Note, Even Judah, where
God is known, and Jerusalem, where his dwelling-place is, if they revolt from him and
rebel against him, shall have his hand stretched out against them. 3. All wicked people,
and all those things that are the matter of their wickedness (Zep_1:3): “I will consume
the stumbling-blocks with the wicked, the idols with the idolaters, the offences with the
offenders.” Josiah had taken away the stumbling-blocks, and, as far as he could, had
purged the land of the monuments of idolatry, hoping that there would be no more
idolatry; but the wicked will do wickedly, the dog will return to his vomit, and therefore,
since the sin will not otherwise be cured, the sinners must themselves be consumed,
even the wicked with the stumbling-blocks of their iniquity, Eze_14:3. Since it was not
done by the sword of justice, it shall be done by the sword of war. See who the sinners
are that shall be consumed. (1.) The professed idolaters, who avowed idolatry, and were
wedded to it. The remnant of Baal shall be cut off, the images of Baal, and the
worshippers of those images. Josiah cut off a great deal of Baal; but that which was so
close as to escape the eye, or so bold as to escape the hand, of his justice, God will cut off,
even all the remains of it. The Chaldeans would spare none of the images of Baal, or the
worshippers of those images. The Chemarim shall be cut off; we read of them in the
history of Josiah's reformation. 2Ki_23:5, He put down the idolatrous priests: the word
is the Chemarim. The word signifies black men, some think because they wore black
clothes, affecting to appear grave, others because their faces were black with attending
the altars, or the fires in which they burnt their children to Moloch. They seem to have
been immediate attendants upon the service of Baal. They shall be cut off with the
priests, the regulars with the seculars. The very name of them shall be cut off; the order
shall be quite abolished, so as to be forgotten, or remembered with detestation. And,
among other idolaters, the worshippers of the host of heaven upon the house-tops shall
be cut off (Zep_1:5), who justified themselves in their idolatry with those that did not
worship images, the work of their own hands, but offered their sacrifices and burnt their
incense to the sun, moon, and stars, immediately upon the tops of their houses. But God
will let them know that he is a jealous God, and will not endure any rival; and, though
some have thought that the most specious and plausible idolatry, yet it will appear as
great an offence to God to give divine honours to a star as to give them to a stone or a
stock. Even the worshippers of the host of heaven shall be consumed as well as the
worshippers of the beasts of the earth or the fiends of hell. The sin of the adulteress is
not the less sinful for the gaiety of the adulterer. (2.) Those also shall be consumed that
think to compound the matter between God and idols, and keep an even hand between
them, that halt between God and Baal, and worship between Jehovah and Moloch, and
swear by both; or, as it might better be read, swear to the Lord and to Malcham. They
bind themselves by oath and covenant to the service both of God and idols. They have a

25. good opinion of the worship of the God of Israel; it is the religion of their country, and
has been long so, and therefore they will by no means quit it; but they think it will be
very much improved and beautified if they join with it the worship of Moloch, for that
also is much used in other countries, and travellers admire it; there is a great deal of
good fancy and strong flame in it. They cannot keep always to the worship of a God
whom they have no visible representation of, and therefore they must have an image;
and what better than the image of Moloch - a king? They think they shall effectually
atone for their sin if they swear to Moloch, and, pursuant to that oath, burn their
children in sacrifice to that idol; and yet, if they do amiss in that, they hope to atone for
it in worshipping the God of Israel too. Note, Those that think to divide their affections
and adorations between God and idols will not only come short of acceptance with God,
but will have their doom with the worst of idolaters; for what communion can there be
between light and darkness, Christ and Belial, God and mammon? She whose own the
child is not pleads for the dividing of it, for, if Satan have half, he will have all; but the
true mother says, Divide it not, for, if God have but half, he will have none. Such waters
will not be long sweet, if they come from a fountain that sends forth bitter water too;
what have those to do to swear by the Lord that swear by Malcham? (3.) Those also shall
be consumed that have apostatized from God, together with those that never gave up
their names to him, Zep_1:6. I will cut off, [1.] Those that are turned back from the
Lord, that were well taught, and began well, that had given up their names to him, and
set out at first in the worship of him, but have flown off, and turned aside, and fallen in
with idolaters, and deserted those good ways of God which they were brought up in, and
despised them. Those God will be sure to reckon with who are renegadoes from his
service, who began in the Spirit and ended in the flesh; they shall be treated as deserters,
to whom no mercy is shown. [2.] Those that have not sought the Lord, nor ever enquired
for him, never made any profession of religion, and think to excuse themselves with that,
shall find that this will not excuse them; nay, this is the thing laid to their charge; they
are atheistical careless people, that live without God in the world; and those that do so
are certainly unworthy to live upon God in the world.
JAMISO , "utterly consume — from a root to “sweep away,” or “scrape off
utterly.” See Jer_8:13, Margin, and here.
from off the land — of Judah.
CALVI , "It might seem at the first view that the Prophet dealt too severely in thus
fulminating against his own nation; for he ought to have begun with doctrine, as this
appears to be the just order of things. But the Prophet denounces ruin, and shows at
the same time why God was so grievously displeased with the people. We must
however remember, that the Prophet, living at the same period with Jeremiah, had
regard to the stubbornness of the people, who had been already with more than
sufficient evidence proved to have been guilty. Hence he darts forth as of a sudden
and denounces the wickedness of the people, which had been already exposed; so
there was to be no more contention on the subject, for their iniquity had become
quite ripe. And no doubt it was ever the object of the Prophets to unite their
endeavors so as to assist one another: and this united effort ought ever to be among
all the servants of God, that no one may do anything apart, but with joined efforts
they may promote the same object, and at the same time strive mutually to confirm
the common truth. This is what our Prophet is now doing.

26. He knew that God would have used various means to restore them, had not the
corruption of the people become now past recovery. Having observed that all others
had spent their labor in vain, he directly attacks the wicked men who had, as it were
designedly, cast aside every fear of God, and shook off every shame. Since, then, it
was openly evident that with determined rebellion they resisted God, it was no
wonder that the Prophet began with so much severity.
But here a difficulty meets us. He said in the first verse, that he thus spoke under
Josiah; but we know that the land was then cleansed from its superstitions. For we
learn, that when that pious king attained manhood, he labored most strenuously to
restore the pure worship of God; and when all places were full of wicked
superstitions, he not only constrained the tribe of Judah to adopt the true worship
of God, but he also stimulated his neighbors who had remained and were dispersed
through the land of Israel. Since, then, the pious king had strenuously and
courageously promoted the interest of true religion, it seems a wonder that God was
still so much displeased. But we must remember, that though Josiah sincerely
worshipped God, yet the people were not really changed; for it has often happened,
that God roused the chief men and leaders, while few, or hardly any, followed them,
but only yielded a feigned obedience. This was no doubt the case in the time of
Josiah; the hearts of the people were alienated from God and true religion, so that
they chose rather to rot in their filth than to return to the true worship of God. And
that this was the case soon appeared by the event; for Josiah did not reign long after
he had cleansed the land from its defilements, and Jehoahaz succeeded him; and
then the people immediately relapsed into their idolatry; and though for three
months only his successor reigned, yet true religion was in that short time abolished.
It is hence an obvious conclusion, that the people had ever been wedded to impiety,
and that its roots were hidden in their hearts; though they apparently pretended to
worship God, and, in order to please the king, embraced the worship divinely
prescribed in their law; yet the event proved that it was a mere act of dissimulation,
yea, of perfidy. Then after Jehoahaz followed Jehoiakim, and no better was their
condition down to the time of Zedekiah; in short, no remedy could be found for
their unhealable wound.
It hence plainly appears, that though Josiah made use of all means to revive the true
and unadulterated worship of God in Judea, he did not yet gain his object. And we
hence clearly learn how hard were the trials he sustained, seeing that he effected
nothing, though at great hazard he attempted to restore the worship of God. When
he found that he labored in vain, he no doubt had to contend with great difficulties;
and this we know by our own experience. When hope of success shines on us, we
easily overcome all troubles, however arduous our work may be; but when we see
that we strive in vain, we become dejected: and when we see that our labor succeeds
only for a few years, our spirit grows faint. Josiah surmounted these two difficulties;
for the perverseness of the people was sufficiently evident, and he was also reminded
by two Prophets, Jeremiah and Zephaniah, that the people would still cherish their
impious perverseness. When, therefore, he plainly saw that his labor was almost in
vain, he might have fainted in the middle of his course, or, as they say, at the
starting-place. And since the benefit was so small during his reign, what could he

27. have hoped after his death?
This example ought at this day to be carefully observed: for though God now
appears to the world in full light, yet very few there are who submit themselves to
his word; and of this small number fewer still there are who sincerely and without
any dissimulation embrace sound doctrine. We indeed see how great is their
inconstancy and indifference. For they who pretend great zeal for a time very soon
vanish and fall away. Since then the perversity of the world is so great, sufficient to
deject the minds of God’s servants a hundred times, let us learn to look to Josiah,
who in his own time left undone nothing, which might serve to establish the true
worship of God; and when he saw that he effected but little and next to nothing, he
still persevered, and with firm and invincible greatness of mind proceeded in his
course.
We may also derive hence an admonition no less useful not to regard ours as the
golden age, because some portion of men profess the pure worship of God: for
many, by no means wicked men, think, that almost all mortals are like angels, as
soon as they testify in words their approbation of the gospel: and the sacred name of
Reformation is at this day profaned, when any one who shows as it were by a nod
only that he is not wholly an enemy to the gospel, is immediately lauded as a person
of extraordinary piety. Though then many show some regard for religion, let us yet
know that among so large a number there are many hypocrites, and that there is
much chaff mixed with the wheat: and that our senses may not deceive us, we may
see here, as in a mirror, how difficult it is to restore the world to the obedience of
God, and utterly to root up all corruptions, though idols may be taken away and
superstitions be abolished. o doubt Josiah had regard to everything calculated to
cleanse the Church, and had recourse to the advice of Jeremiah and also of
Zephaniah; we yet see that he did not attain the object he wished, for God now
became more grievously displeased with his people than under Manasseh, or under
Amon. These wicked kings had attempted to extinguish all true religion; they had
cruelly raged against all God’s servants, so that Jerusalem became almost drenched
with innocent blood: and yet God seems here to have manifested greater displeasure
under Josiah than during the previous cruelty and so many impieties. But as I have
already said, there is no reason why we should despond, though the world by its
ingratitude may close up the way against us; and however much may Satan also by
this artifice strive to discourage us, let us still perseveringly go on according to the
duties of our calling.
But it may be now asked, why God denounces his vengeance on the beasts of the
field, the birds of heaven, and the fishes of the sea; for how much soever the Jews
may have provoked him by their sins, innocent animals ought to have been spared.
If a son is not to be punished for the fault of his father, Ezekiel 18:4, but that the
soul that has sinned is to die, why did God turn his wrath against fishes and other
animals? This seems to have been a hasty and unreasonable infliction. But let this
rule be first borne in mind—that it is preposterous in us to estimate God’s doings
according to our judgment, as froward and proud men do in our day; for they are
disposed to judge of God’s works with such presumption, that whatever they do not

28. approve, they think it right wholly to condemn. But it behaves us to judge modestly
and soberly, and to confess that God’s judgments are a deep abyss: and when a
reason for them does not appear, we ought reverently and with due humility to hook
for the day of their full revelation. This is one thing. Then it is meet at the same time
to remember, that as animals were created for man’s use, they must undergo a lot in
common with him: for God made subservient to man both the birds of heaven, and
the fishes of the sea, and all other animals. It is then no matter of wonder, that the
condemnation of him, who enjoys a sovereignty over the whole earth, should reach
to animals. And we know that the world was not made subject to corruption
willingly—that is, naturally; but because the contagion from Adam’s fall diffused
itself through heaven and earth. Hence the sun and the moon, and all the stars, and
also all the animals, the earth itself, and the whole world, bear marks of God’s
wrath, not because they have provoked it through their own fault, but because the
whole world is involved in man’s curse. The reason then is, because all things were
created for the sake of man. Hence there is no ground to conclude, that God acts
with too much severity when he executes his vengeance on innocent animals, for he
can justly involve in the same ruin with man whatever he has created for his use.
But the reason also is sufficiently plain, why the Prophet speaks here of the beasts of
the earth, the fishes of the sea, and the birds of heaven: for we find that men grow
torpid, or rather stupid in their own indifference, except they are forcibly roused. It
was, therefore, necessary for the Prophet, when he saw the people so hardened in
their wickedness, and that he had to do with men past recovery, to set clearly before
them these judgments of God, as though he had said—"Ye lie down securely, and
indulge yourselves, when God is coming forth prepared for vengeance: but his
wrath shall not only proceed against you, but will also lay hold on the harmless
animals; for ye shall see a horrible judgment executed on your oxen and asses, on
the birds and the fishes. What will become of you when God’s wrath shall be thus
kindled against the unhappy creatures who have committed no sins? Shall ye indeed
escape unpunished?” We now understand why the Prophet does not speak here of
men only, but collects with them the beasts of the earth, the fishes of the sea, and the
birds of the air.
He says first, By removing I will remove all things from the face of the land; he
afterwards enumerates particulars: but immediately after he clearly shows, that
God would not act rashly and inconsiderately while executing his vengeance, for his
sole purpose was to punish the wicked, There shall be, he says, stumblingblocks to
the ungodly; (69) it is the same as though he said—“When I cite to God’s tribunal
both the fishes of the sea and the birds of heaven, think not that God’s controversy
is with these creatures which are void of reason, but they are to sustain a part of
God’s vengeance, which ye have through your sins deserved.” The Prophet then
does here briefly show, that what he had before threatened brute creatures with,
would come upon them on men’s account; for God’s design was to execute
vengeance on the wicked; and as he saw that they were extremely torpid, he tried to
awaken them by manifest tokens, so that they might see God the avenger as it were
in a striking picture. And at the same time he also adds, I will remove man from the
face of the land. He does not speak now of fishes or of other animals, but refers to

29. men only. Hence appears more clearly what I have said—that the Prophet was
under the necessity of speaking as he did, owing to the insensibility of the people. He
now adds—
And the stumblingblocks of the wicked.
The whole verse is poetical in its language; the collective singular, and not the
plural, is used; and the first verb, [ ‫אםף‬ ], in its most common meaning, is very
expressive, and denotes the manner of the ruin that awaited the Jews. They were
“gathered” and led into captivity. The two verses may be thus literally rendered,—
2.Gatherings I will gather everything
From off the face of the land, saith Jehovah;
3.I will gather man and best;
I will gather the bird of heaven and the fish of the sea,
And the stumblingblocks together with the wicked;
And I will cut them off, together with man,
From the face of the land, saith Jehovah.
—Ed.
COFFMA , "Verse 2
"I will utterly consume all things from off the face of the ground, saith Jehovah."
"This is a proclamation of the universal judgment of God."[4] "Ground," as
rendered in this verse would be more clearly rendered "earth" as in the Revised
Standard Version." I will utterly sweep everything from the face of the earth, says
the Lord." This is an assertion of God's sovereign right and power (also his
intention) to judge the whole earth (not land, as in the King James Version)."[5]
Eakin pointed out that the Hebrew in this passage literally means: "I will cut off
mankind ([~'adam]) from the face of the earth ([~'adamah])."[6] This is extremely
illuminating, for it reveals that the primeval sentence upon Adam for his rebellion
against God, which, of course, was death, would at last be executed in the final
judgement and destruction of Adam in the person of his total posterity, the unique
exceptions being the redeemed in Christ.
"Saith Jehovah ..." In the proclamation of final and universal judgment, "The
prophet is merely the vehicle of the Divine announcement."[7] "Those who would
tell us that Zephaniah's prophetic insight came merely from an informed political
prognosticator, do so only by ignoring the prophet's claim."[8] The message is from
God, not from Zephaniah.
COKE, "Verse 2
Zephaniah 1:2. I will utterly consume— I am about to take away. Houbigant, to put

30. to death and destroy. This first chapter contains the general threatening against all
the people whom the Lord had appointed to the slaughter; against Judah, and
against those who leap on the threshold; that is, the Philistines. See 1 Samuel 5:5. In
the second chapter he inveighs against Moab, against Ammon, against Cush, against
the Phoenicians and Assyrians; and there he foretels the fall of ineveh, which
happened in the year of the world 3378. The third chapter has two parts; the first
contains invectives and threatenings against Jerusalem; and the second gives
comfortable assurances of a return from the captivity, and of a happy flourishing
condition. Calmet.
TRAPP, "Verse 2
Zephaniah 1:2 I will utterly consume all [things] from off the land, saith the LORD.
Ver. 2. I will utterly consume all things from off the land] Exordium plane tragicum.
A tragic beginning of a terrible sermon. Hard knots must have hard wedges; hard
hearts, heavy menaces; yea, handfulls of hell fire must be cast into the faces of such,
that they may awake out of the snare of the devil, by whom they are held captive at
his pleasure, 2 Timothy 2:26. It is in the Hebrew, gathering I will gather all things,
&c. q. d. g. I will pack up, I will take mine own, and be gone. Converram et
convasabo omnia, I will sweep away all by the besom of my wrath, and leave a clean
hand behind me, for the sins of those that dwell therein. The doubling of this
denunciation, colligendo colligam, importeth the certainty, verity, and vehemence
thereof.
Saith the Lord] Dictum Iehovae. You may believe it, therefore; for every word of his
is sure, and cannot be broken, John 10:35, may not be slighted or shifted off,
Hebrews 12:25.
BE SO , "Verse 2-3
Zephaniah 1:2-3. I will utterly consume all things, &c. — That is, I will make the
land of Judea quite desolate. I will consume man and beast, &c. — That is, beasts of
the tame and domestic kind. I will consume the fowls of the heaven and the fishes of
the sea — Or of the waters, as we are wont to speak, for the Jews called every large
collection of waters a sea. The meaning is, I will bring a judicial and extraordinary
desolation on the land, which shall extend itself even to the birds and fishes: see
notes on Hosea 4:3; Jeremiah 4:23-25. Virgil speaks of pestilential disorders
affecting both the fishes of the sea and the fowls of the heaven.
“Jam maris immensi prolem, et genus omne natantum Litore in extremo, ceu
naufraga corpora, fluctus Proluit.” GEORG. 3. 50:541.
“Ipsis est aër avibus non æquus; et illæ Præcipites altâ vitam sub nube relinquunt.”
Ib. 50:546.
“The scaly nations of the sea profound, Like shipwreck’d carcasses, are driven
aground: And mighty phocæ, never seen before, In shallow streams, are stranded on
the shore. To birds their native heavens contagious prove, From clouds they fall,
and leave their souls above.” DRYDE .

31. “It is known,” says Bishop ewcome, “that birds are affected by pestilential
disorders arising from putrefied carcasses. They fall dead when they alight on bales
of cloth infected by the plague.” And St. Jerome upon this place says, that there are
sufficient proofs when cities are laid waste, and great slaughter is made of men, that
it creates also a scarcity or solitude of beasts, birds, and fishes; and he mentions
several places which, in those days, bore witness to this, where he says, there was
nothing left but earth and sky, and briers and thick woods. And the stumbling-
blocks with the wicked — In the Hebrew it is, The offences with the wicked; that is,
the idols with their worshippers. I will cut off man from the land — The land shall
be depopulated, either by its inhabitants being slain, or carried away captive.
CO STABLE, "Yahweh revealed that He would completely remove everything
from the face of the earth (cf. 2 Peter 3:10-12). This is one of the most explicit
announcements of the total devastation of planet Earth in the Old Testament (cf.
Isaiah 24:1-6; Isaiah 24:19-23). While it may involve some hyperbole, it seems
clearly to foretell a worldwide judgment.
"Its imminent reference, some think, was to the fact that the barbaric Scythians,
who had left their homeland north of the Black Sea, were sweeping over western
Asia and might be expected to attack Judah at any moment. The ruthless Scythians
employed the scorched earth policy with fury and vengeance." [ ote: Hanke, p884.]
II. THE DAY OF YAHWEH"S JUDGME T1:2-3:8
Zephaniah"s prophecies are all about "the day of the LORD." He revealed two
things about this "day." First, it would involve judgment ( Zephaniah 1:2 to
Zephaniah 3:8) and, second, it would eventuate in blessing ( Zephaniah 3:9-20). The
judgment portion is the larger of the two sections of revelation. This judgment
followed by blessing motif is common throughout the Prophets. Zephaniah revealed
that judgment would come from Yahweh on the whole earth, Judah, Israel"s
neighbors, Jerusalem, and all nations. The arrangement of this judgment section of
the book is chiastic.
A Judgment on the world Zephaniah 1:2-3
B Judgment on Judah Zephaniah 1:4 to Zephaniah 2:3
C Judgment on Israel"s neighbors Zephaniah 2:4-15
B" Judgment on Jerusalem Zephaniah 3:1-7
A" Judgment on the all nations Zephaniah 3:8
PARKER, "The prophets are the same in connecting sin and judgment:—
"I will utterly consume all things from off the land, saith the Lord. I will consume
man and beast" ( Zephaniah 1:2-3).

32. Why? Always because of sin; always because there has been wrong done. The Lord
never shows his omnipotence ostentatiously, as who should say, Behold, a thousand
thunderbolts are mine, yea, twice ten thousand thunderbolts await my word: behold
the artillery of heaven, thunder and lightning and tempest. There is no such display
of resources, no such vapouring of strength. It is when sin is done, and repeatedly
done, yea, done until it rises to heaven"s very gates, that the Lord comes forth in
judgment and in indignation, and overwhelms the adversary. We do not preach this
consuming God now. There are persons who have left the church because the
minister has declared the certainty of punishment. We now like the confectionery
Gospel; specially do we like to be assured that, be lost who may, nothing can hinder
our getting to heaven: as for the outsiders, they are vulgar, blatant atheists, and
perdition is too good for them. We do not say this in words, but as we eat mouthful
after mouthful of divine sweetness: we say it in significant and suggestive action.
Still the great doctrine of judgment must be proclaimed by somebody; now and
again there must arise a Zephaniah who hurls his thunder upon the age, and sees
God enthroned in the majesty of judgment. Poor howling maniac! we will mock him
and sneer at him, and pour upon him our elegant contumely; but he will await the
awards of time; he speaks from the platform of eternity. Zephaniah is sure that
nothing can ever change the law that bad seed means bad harvest. We shall have to
empty the church before we can fill it. It is of no use to condemn the sins of the
fourth century, to expose the heresies of early centuries, and forget the crimes that
disgrace the day in which we live. Why dig up old Arius, drag him out of his grave,
and pelt him with orthodox stones, and thus get a reputation for being extremely
orthodox? I will not do it. If any preacher chooses to fool away his time in talking
about Arius, let him do so. I will speak about the men around about me, the crimes
that darken the day, the winter of injustice that makes it almost impossible to live. If
the Church will make itself a terror to evildoers, it will become what Jesus Christ
meant it to be, the living force of the day, the true tribunal where every man will get
his deserts, whether he be good or whether he be evil.
The prophets were also at one in denouncing ceremonial hypocrisy. The people
performed a good many things with their hands which they did not do with their
hearts; and the Lord disbelieves them. The prophet says:—
PETT, "Verse 2-3
God Will One Day Bring The World Into Judgment (Zephaniah 1:2-3).
These first two verses speak of the apocalyptic future when YHWH will finally
bring His judgment on the world because of their sin. This coming ‘Day of YHWH’
had first been spoken of by Amos (Amos 5:18; Amos 5:20). There the people of
Israel were looking forward to the day when God would act to bring in His final
kingdom and Amos has to warn them that in view of their sinfulness they should
recognise that such a day would be darkness for them rather than light. It is echoed
by Isaiah, although in the latter case more connected with historical events such as
the destruction of Babylon (Isaiah 13:6; Isaiah 13:9) and the destruction of Edom
(Isaiah 34:8). But note Isaiah 2:12 where it is more general and has in mind God’s

33. final judgment on mankind.
The two ideas continually intermingled in the minds of the prophets because each
had the final hope of God establishing His everlasting Kingdom, and each hoped
that the coming ‘Day of the Lord’ that they saw as coming on the nations or on
Israel/Judah might be the final one. So in their minds it had a near and not so near
perspective. Zephaniah also has that idea. Thus he can commence with a declaration
that the final Day of the Lord will come, and move on to deal with a Day of the Lord
coming on Judah and Jerusalem. We must not simply apply every reference to the
Day of the Lord as referring to the final one. They are simply one more portent of
the fact.
Zephaniah 1:2-3
“I will utterly consume all things from off the face of the ground, says YHWH.
I will consume man and beast.
I will consume the birds of heaven and the fish of the sea, and the stumblingblocks
with the wicked.
And I will cut off man from off the face of the ground.”
ote the balance of the verses. All things will be consumed off the face of the ground
(first lien), man will be cut off from the face of the ground (fourth line). Man and
beast will be consumed (second line). All else will be consumed (third line)
This is a general declaration and can be compared with Genesis 6:7 on which it is
probably based. It is a picture of world-wide judgment, with the known world in
mind. Here however the fish replace the creeping things. This will not be by a flood.
It is a general reminder that all creation is subject to the judgment of God, and will
one day be judged and destroyed by Him. The world is temporary and not
permanent. It is dependent upon God’s will.
Such a judgment is also declared in Isaiah 24:1-13; Isaiah 24:17-23 where it will be
by fire (see Zephaniah 1:6 and compare 2 Peter 3:10-12)
But also included are ‘the stumblingblocks together with the wicked’. The
stumblingblocks in this case are probably to be seen as the idols of mankind,
although in Ezekiel 7:19 it is man’s silver and gold, which have gripped their hearts,
which were in mind. So it may mean all things that cause man to stray from God.
Both idols and idolaters are to be swept away, together with all that distracts man
from God, and those who are so distracted. And finally it is emphasised that man
himself will be cut off from the face of the ground.
This is all another way of saying ‘I am the Judge of all the earth (Genesis 18:25),
who will one day bring all into judgment, and will totally destroy sinful mankind
and all creation because they have turned away from me to evil, just as I did in the
days of oah’.
But that does not exclude the sparing of some, for in the days of oah the remnant,

34. that is oah and his family, were spared. It is always understood that the righteous,
the elect of God, will survive (as also in Isaiah 24:23).
In the light of this how we should examine our lives to see how we will stand before
the searching light of the judgment of God when it comes to us, and opens up our
very hearts and inner thoughts. For we will all have to give account, and everything
is open to the eyes of Him with Whom we have to do.
BI, "I will utterly consume all things from off the land.
The menace of Zephaniah
It would not be easy to find words more fully charged and surcharged with terror than
these. Nor do they grow less sombre and dreadful as we consider either the men against
whom they are launched, or the occasion that gave them form. In the time of Zephaniah
the Jews were incredibly corrupt. The occasion of Zephaniah’s writing was the invasion
of Asia by the Scyths. As he looked out from the walls of Jerusalem and saw the goodly
land stripped and devoured before them, and recalled the havoc they had carried
through neigh-bouring kingdoms, he found the very symbol of judgment which would
best express his thought. Jehovah would sweep everything from the face of the whole
earth, even as the Scythians, with fire and sword in their train, were sweeping away the
fruits and the wealth of the East. The conception which the passage suggests is that,
angered beyond endurance by the sins of men, Jehovah is about to storm through the
earth like a mighty Scythian chieftain destroying empire after empire, sweeping the
whole world bare and empty. But these words, when rightly understood, are found to
breathe a most catholic charity, a most tender humanity, and a mercy wholly divine.
I. A most catholic charity. His view extended over the whole civilised world, over the
whole world the prophet knew. We commonly conceive of the Hebrew prophets as the
most narrow and exclusive of men, as devoted solely to the affairs and interests of the
Hebrew race. And in so conceiving of them we do them a grave wrong. They were
patriots, indeed, and patriots of the sincerest and noblest strain. Instead of being the
most exclusive, they were really the most catholic of men. There is no one of them who
does not look beyond the limits of his own country and desire the welfare of the world.
And men ought to rejoice that the judgments of man are abroad in the whole earth,
especially when they can see that Divine judgments veil purposes of mercy. This is the
true catholicity, which desires not only the good of all men, but the highest good of all.
II. A most noble and tender humanity. They exalt man, and yet they take thought for
beasts. They are at once human and humane. It is now too much the fashion to regard
man as the mere creature of the vast natural and cosmic forces amid which he stands
and moves. It is assumed that physical laws govern his whole being. The Hebrew
prophets breathed another, and surely a higher spirit.” “To them it seemed that man was
the lord of natural forces and laws, though himself “under authority.” This high
conception of man, as standing with only God above him, and the whole world beneath
his feet, though it was the conception of a pre-scientific age, accords with the
profoundest intuitions, and satisfies the deepest cravings of our hearts.
III. A mercy wholly Divine. Though the words of the text sound so stem and judicial, all
the Hebrew prophets are rooted and grounded in the conviction that the meaning of
judgment is mercy, that all the sorrows and calamities of human life are designed to
reach an end of compassion and love. That it was the mercy of judgment which
Zephaniah had in mind when he rejoiced that “their offences” were to be swept away

35. with the sinners of his time, that men were to suffer in order that man might be saved, is
evident so soon as we permit him to interpret himself. In passages of an exquisite
tenderness and beauty he expands his opening words. See Zep_2:11; Zep_3:9. It was
because the Hebrew prophets were so strong in this conviction of the beneficent uses of
“judgments” that they could dwell on them, and even exult in them, as they undoubtedly
do. Let us learn of Zephaniah the mercy of the Divine judgments. They simply sheathe
and convey the saving health of the Divine compassion and love. With Zephaniah let us
welcome and rely on the conviction that, when God sweeps the face of the earth, it is that
He may renew the heart of the world, and gladden us with larger disclosures of His
grace. (Samuel Cox, D. D.)
I will consume man and beast; I will consume the fowls of the heaven, and
the fishes of the sea.
Animals sharing the punishments of man
Why did God turn His wrath against fishes and other, animals? This seems to have been
a hasty and unreasonable infliction. But let this rule be first borne in mind, that it is
preposterous in us to estimate God’s dealings according to our judgment, as froward and
proud men do in our day; for they are disposed to judge of God’s works with such
presumption that whatever they do not approve they think it right wholly to condemn.
But it behoves us to judge modestly and soberly, and to confess that God’s judgments are
a deep abyss; and when a reason for them does not appear we ought reverently and with
due humility to look for the day of their full revelation. This is one thing. Then it is meet
at the same time to remember that as animals were created for man’s use, they must
under, go a lot in common with him; for God made subservient to man both the birds of
heaven and the fishes of the sea, and all other animals. It is, then, no matter of wonder
that the condemnation of him who enjoys sovereignty over the whole earth should reach
to animals. The reason is sufficiently plain. Why, the prophet speaks here of the beasts of
the earth, the fishes of the sea, and the birds of heaven; for we find that men grow
torpid, or rather stupid in their own indifference, except as they are forcibly roused. It
was therefore necessary for the prophet, when he saw the people so hardened in their
wickedness, and that he had to do with men past recovery, to set clearly before them
these judgments of God. (John Calvin.)
PULPIT, "I will utterly consume; literally, taking away I will make an end. Jeremiah
(Jeremiah 8:13)uses the same expression. The prophet begins abruptly with this
announcement of universal judgment before he warns Judah in particular of the
punishment that awaits her, because his position is that the way to salvation is through
chastisement. Vulgate, congregans congregabo, where the verb must be used in the sense
of "gathering for destruction." All things. More expressly defined in the following verse.
This awful warning recalls the judgment of the Flood and the preliminary monition
(Genesis 6:7). From off the land; from the face of the earth, not the land of Judah alone.
Saith the Lord; is the saying of Jehovah. The prophet in this is merely the vehicle of the
Divine announcement.

36. 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,
BAR ES, "The stumbling-blocks with the wicked - Not only shall the wicked
be utterly brought to an end, or, in the other meaning of the word, “gathered into
bundles to be taken away,” but all causes of stumbling too; everything, through which
others can fall, which will not be until the end of all things. Then, he repeats, yet more
emphatically, “I will cut off the whole race of man from the face of the earth,” and then
he closes the verse, like the foregoing, with the solemn words, “saith the Lord.” All this
shall be fulfilled in the Day of Judgment, and all other fulfillments are earnests of the
final Judgment. They are witnesses of the ever-living presence of the Judge of all, that
God does take account of man’s deeds. They speak to men’s conscience, they attest the
existence of a divine law, and therewith of the future complete manifestation of that law,
of which they are individual sentences. Not until the prophet has brought this circle of
judgments to their close, does he pass on to the particular judgments on Judah and
Jerusalem.
CLARKE, "I will consume man and beast - By war, and by pestilence. Even the
waters shall he infected, and the fish destroyed; the air become contaminated, and the
fowls die.
GILL, "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

37. 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 ‫את‬ is sometimes used as a sign of the genitive case, as Noldius (i) 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.
JAMISO , "Enumeration in detail of the “all things” (Zep_1:2; compare Jer_9:10;
Hos_4:3).
the stumbling-blocks — idols which cause Judah to offend or stumble (Eze_14:3,
Eze_14:4, Eze_14:7).
with the wicked — The idols and their worshippers shall be involved in a common
destruction.
COFFMA , "Verse 3
"I will consume man and beast; I will consume the birds of the heavens, and the
fishes of the sea, and the stumbling blocks with the wicked; and I will cut off man
from the face of the ground, saith Jehovah."
"The birds of the heavens ... fishes of the sea ..." Even that life which survived the
divine judgement of the great flood would be included in the final destruction. By
such an emphasis as this, Zephaniah shows that, "The approaching judgment will
be general over all the earth, and as terrible as the judgment of the flood (Genesis
6:7)."[9]
"I will cut off man from the face of the ground, saith Jehovah ..." (See Eakin's
comment on this sentence given under Zephaniah 1:2, above.) Barnes translated as
follows:

38. "I will cut off the whole race of man from the face of the earth, saith the Lord" ...
All this shall be fulfilled in the Day of Judgment, and all other fulfillment's are
earnests of the final judgment."[10]
As Hailey warned, "This all-embracing declaration is not to be explained away
simply as hyperbole."[11] That the race of Adam, running wild in their rebellion
against God, will most surely be eventually terminated is, in fact, the theme of the
entire Bible. True, God promised death to Adam "in the day" that he rebelled; but
what is that day? It is the current dispensation, as indicated in the writer of brew's
reference to this whole period as "the seventh day," the very day in which Adam
sinned (Hebrews 4:4-6). An understanding of this also explains why this judgment is
always spoken of by the prophets as being "at hand." Moreover, all of the lesser
judgments that have fallen, throughout history, upon Israel, Judah, Babylon,
Assyria, Jerusalem, and Rome, etc., are but tokens and reminders of the eventual
catastrophe that God has promised as the termination of his Operation Adam! One
of these lesser judgments, which Zephaniah would immediately expound, was upon
Judah and Jerusalem; and all of them are like the ultimate Judgment in that man
himself is to blame for them because of his sin and wickedness.
COKE, "Zephaniah 1:3. I will consume, &c.— I will take away; namely, from the
land of Judah. Houbigant; who, instead of, And the stumbling-blocks with the
wicked, reads, I will bring ruin on the wicked. Others read, The stumbling-blocks of
the wicked; whereby must be meant idols and their worshippers.
TRAPP, "Verse 3
Zephaniah 1:3 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.
Ver. 3. I will consume man and beast] Heb. I will gather {as Zephaniah 1:2} them,
and cast them away as they do the sweepings of the house. See the word used in this
sense, Psalms 26:9, "Gather not my soul with sinners," &c. God gathered his people
for a better purpose; both while they are alive, Psalms 27:10, and when they die,
Isaiah 57:1. The righteous is taken away (Heb. gathered) from the evil to come: as a
shepherd gathereth his sheep when a storm is coming; or as a master of a family
doth his jewels, when his house is on fire. But as for the wicked, they are gathered
too, but it is for slaughter, as beasts in a pound, malefactors in a prison; and at the
last day the tares shall be gathered and bundled up together for hell’s furnace,
Matthew 13:41-42.
I will consume the fowls of the heaven] Made for man’s use, to be to him for food,
Genesis 9:2, for health and for delight, as companions of his life; hence it is
threatened as a judgment to him to lose them, Jeremiah 4:25, and here.
And the fishes of the sea] Made likewise for man’s use to feed him, umbers 11:5;
umbers 11:22, Luke 24:42; hence the Latin piscis of pasco, to feed, and the

39. Hebrew Berechah for a fishpool; the word signifieth a blessing, Genesis 12:2 cf.
ehemiah 2:20. ow the Lord here threateneth destruction to beasts, birds, and
fishes, not by the way of hyperbole, as the Rabbis dream; but because in common
calamities, in warlike tumults, and when God will destroy a people indeed, the
beasts also are killed, the fowls hunted away, the fishpools wasted, &c. Let those
that will not believe this look into Illyricum, Thracia, Macedonia, Greece, and
various parts of Turkey, laid utterly desolate and empty both of men and other
creatures. Jerome upon this text, and likewise upon Hosea 4:3, affirmeth the same of
his native country, wasted so with war, ut praeter coelum et coenum, et crescentes
vipres et condensa silvarum, cuncta perierint, that besides air and earth, and briers
and forests, all was destroyed. And that we may not wonder at this severity of God,
hear what the same Father saith elsewhere of his ungracious countrymen (Epist. ad
Chremat.): In men patria deus Venter est, et in diem vivitur, et sanctior est ille qui
ditior: In my country their belly is their god, their glory is in their shame, they mind
earthly things: and so their end hath been destruction, and utter desolation, as
Philippians 3:19. Gualther’s note here is very good; herein we may observe, saith he,
the judgment of God and his wonderful providence; that whereas we see in
populous places rivers and pools to abound with fish, woods and fields with birds
and beasts, though they be continually caught and carried away; yet where there
lack men to make use of them, there are few or none to be found. For as they were
all made for man, so when men are consumed they also are consumed, as is here
threatened. on ita temere fieri putemus. Let us not think this to happend rashly.
Let God’s hand herein be acknowledged, and his anger appeased by faith in Christ
Jesus and repentance from dead works, that our land may be sowed with the seed of
men and of beasts.
And the stumblingblocks of the wicked] Those Balaam’s blocks, those moments and
monuments of idolatry, that so much offend God, and cause offence and ruin to
those that worship them (as Eucherius interpreteth it), who are here called wicked,
with an accent, and by a speciality.
And I will cut off man from off the land] Even the better sort of men too, who shall
be wrapped up together with the wicked in the common calamity. The good figs as
well as the bad are packed to Babylon; but with this difference that God will there
set his eyes upon the good for good, Jeremiah 24:6, as the grain is cut down as well
as the weeds, but for better purpose.
Saith the Lord] Who hath spoken it twice that you may once well observe it, and lay
it to heart.
ELLICOTT, "(3) The stumblingblocks with the wicked.—i.e., the enticements to sin
together with the sinners. The word macshêlâh is used in Isaiah 3:6 in the sense of
“a ruin.” Here, however, such a signification would not be apposite. It is exactly the
πά ντα τὰ σκά νδαλα of Matthew 13:41, a passage wherein we may perhaps see a

40. reminiscence of the text before us.
CO STABLE, "This verse particularizes the general statement in Zephaniah 1:2
(cf. Genesis 1:1-31). The Lord will remove animal life, not that plants will survive-if
animals die, plants will undoubtedly die too-, but animal life was His focus of
interest. This includes human beings, beasts of all types, birds, and fish, in other
words, animal life on the land, in the air, and in the water. Ruins still standing from
previous destructions, or perhaps false religious practices that have caused people to
stumble, would perish, as would the wicked. The Lord repeated that He would cut
off man to make that fact indisputable. This would be a reversal of Creation (cf.
Genesis 1:20-26) and a judgment similar to the Flood in its scope ( Genesis 6:17;
Genesis 7:21-23).
Does this prophecy refer to the judgments that will come during the Tribulation (
Revelation 6-18) or at the end of the Millennium ( 2 Peter 3:10; Revelation 20:11-
15)? In view of what follows in this section describing judgment, especially
Zephaniah 3:8, the parallel passage to Zephaniah 1:2-3, I think it refers to the
Tribulation judgments.
PULPIT, "Man and beast, etc This is not mere hyperbole to express the utter
wasting and destruction that were impending, but points to the mysterious
connection between man and the lower creation, how in agreement with the primal
curse even material nature suffers for man's sin (Genesis 3:17; Romans 8:22). If we
expect a new heaven and a new earth, we know that God will show his wrath against
the old creation defiled with sin (2 Peter 3:10; camp. Jeremiah 4:25; Jeremiah 9:9,
etc.; Hosea 4:3). And the stumbling blocks with the wicked. ot the sinners only
shall be swept away by this judgment, but also all offences, all causes of stumbling,
whether idols or other incentives to departure from truth and right. Septuagint, καὶ
ἀσθενήσουσιν οἱ ἀσεβεῖς. "and the ungodly shall be weak;" Vulgate, et ruinae
impiorum erunt. These versions seem to have missed the point. I will cut off man. It
is on man's account that this judgment is sent — a truth which the prophet enforces
by reiteration.
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—

41. BAR ES, "I will also stretch out Mine Hand - As before on Egypt . Judah had
gone in the ways of Egypt and learned her sins, and sinned worse than Egypt. “The
mighty Hand and stretched-out Arm” Jer_2:10-11, with which she had been delivered,
shall be again “stretched out,” yet, not for her but “upon” her, “upon all the inhabitants
of Jerusalem.” In this threatened destruction of all, Judah and Jerusalem are singled
out, because “judgment” shall “begin at the house of God” 1Pe_4:17; Jer_25:29. They
who have sinned against the greater grace shall be most signally punished. Yet, the
punishment of those whom God had so chosen and loved is an earnest of the general
judgment. This too is not a partial but a general judgment “upon “all” the inhabitants of
Jerusalem.”
And I will cut off the remnant of Baal - that is, to the very last vestige of it. Isaiah
unites “name and residue” Isa_14:22, as equivalents, together with the proverbial,
posterity and descendant. Zephaniah distributes them in parallel clauses, “the “residue”
of Baal and the “name” of the Chemarim.” Good and evil have each a root, which
remains in the ground, when the trunk has been hewn down. There is “a remnant
according to the election of grace,” when “the rest have been blinded” Rom_11:5, Rom_
11:7; and this is a “holy seed” Isa_6:13 to carry on the line of God. Evil too has its
remnant, which, unless diligently kept down, shoots up again, after the conversion of
peoples or individuals. The “mind of the flesh” remains in the regenerate also. The
prophet foretells the complete excision of the whole “remnant of Baal,” which was
fulfilled in it after the captivity, and shall be fulfilled as to all which it shadows forth, in
the Day of Judgment. “From this place;” for in their phrensy, they dared to bring the
worship of Baal into the very temple of the Lord 2Ki_23:4. Ribera: “Who would ever
believe that in Jerusalem, the holy city, and in the very temple idols should be
consecrated? Whoso seeth the ways of our times will readily believe it. For among
Christians and in the very temple of God, the abominations of the pagan are worshiped.
Riches, pleasures, honors, are they not idols which Christians prefer to God Himself?”
And the name of the Chemarim with the priests - Of the “idolatrous priests”
the very name shall be cut off, as God promises by Hosea, that He will “take away the
names of Baalim” Hos_2:17, and by Zechariah, that He “will cut off the names of the
idols out of the land” Zec_13:2. Yet this is more. Not the “name” only “of the Chemarim,”
but themselves with their name, their posterity, shall be blotted out; still more, it is God
who cuts off all memory of them, blotting them out of the book of the living and out of
His own.
They had but a name before, “that they were living, but were dead” Rev_3:1. Jerome:
“The Lord shall take away names of vain glory, wrongly admired, out of the Church yea,
the very names of the priests with the priests who vainly flatter themselves with the
name of Bishops and the dignity of Presbyters without their deeds. Whence he markedly
says, not, “and the deeds of priests with the priests,” but the “names;” who only bear the
false name, of dignities, and with evil works destroy their own names.” The “priests are
priests of the Lord,” who live not like priests, corrupt in life and doctrine and corrupters
of God’s people (see Jer_2:8;Jer_5:31). The judgment is pronounced alike on what was
intrinsically evil, and on good which had corrupted itself into evil. The title of priest is no
where given to the priest of a false God, without some mention in the context, implying
that they were idolatrous priests; as the priests of Dagon 1Sa_5:5, of the high places as

42. ordained by Jeroboam 1Ki_13:2, 1Ki_13:33; 2Ki_23:20; 2Ch_11:15, of Baal 2Ki_10:19;
2Ki_11:18; 2Ch_23:17, of Bethel Amo_7:10, of Ahab 2Ki_10:11, of those who were not
gods 2Ch_13:9, of On, where the sun was worshiped . “The priests” then were God’s
priests, who in the evil days of Manasseh had manifoldly corrupted their life or their
faith, and who were still evil.
The “priests” of Judah, with its kings its princes and the people of the land, were in
Jeremiah’s inaugural vision enumerated as those, who “shall,” God says, “fight against
thee, but shall not prevail against thee” Jer_1:18-19. “The priests said not, Where is the
Lord? and they that handle the law knew Me not” Jer_2:7-8. In the general corruption,
“A wonderful and horrible thing is committed in the land, the prophets prophesy falsely,
and the priests bear rule at their hands” Jer_5:30-31 : “the children of Israel and the
children of Judah, their kings, their princes, their priests, and their prophets, and the
men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, have turned unto Me the back, and not
the face” Jer_32:32-33. Jeremiah speaks specifically of heavy moral sins. “From the
prophet even unto the priest everyone dealeth falsely” Jer_6:13; Jer_8:10; “both
prophet and priest are profane” Jer_23:11; “for the sins of her prophets, the iniquities of
her” Lam_4:13. And Isaiah says of her sensuality; “the priests and the prophets have
erred through strong drink; they are swallowed up of wine; they are out of the way
through strong drink” Isa_28:7.
CLARKE, "I will cut off the remnant of Baal - I think he refers here, partly at
least, to the reformation which Josiah was to bring about. See the account, 2Ki_23:5
(note).
The Chemarims - The black-robed priests of different idols. See the note on 2Ki_
23:6. These were put down by Josiah.
GILL, "I will also stretch out mine hand upon Judah,.... Under whom the tribe
of Benjamin is comprehended, which are only designed; the ten tribes having been
carried captive in Hezekiah's time many years before this: not "to Judah", as beckoning
to come and hearken to him, as calling to repentance and reformation; this he had done,
but was rejected, and therefore determines to stretch out his hand "upon" them; nor
"over Judah", to protect and defend them; but "upon Judah", exerting his power, stirring
up his wrath, and executing his vengeance; and this is dreadful and intolerable to bear!
and when his hand is stretched out, it cannot be turned back; and when laid on, can
never be removed, till he pleases:
and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem; the metropolis of Judea, the royal seat
of the kings of the house of David; where were the temple of the Lord; the ark, the
symbol of his presence; the altar, where his priests sacrificed, and the place where his
people worshipped; and yet these inhabitants should not escape the hand of the Lord,
having sinned against him; nor should these things be any security to them:
and I will cut off the remnant of Baal from this place; either what of the idolatry
of Baal, or belonging to it, remained among the Jews after the ten tribes were carried
captive; which must be the sense, if this prophecy was before the reformation was begun
by Josiah; or, if after, the meaning is, what was left unremoved by him, as any of the
images of Baal, or altars erected for his worship, or vessels consecrated to his service, or

43. groves that were for his use; all which would be cut off and destroyed by the Chaldeans,
as well as the worshippers of him that remained:
and the name of the Chemarims with the priests; that is, the priests of Baal, with
the priests of the tribe of Levi, who sometimes tampered and officiated with them in
idolatrous service; for the word "Chemarim" is translated "idolatrous priests", 2Ki_23:5
said to be put down by Josiah, in whose days Zephaniah prophesied; and must be the
same with these, and it is used for such in Hos_10:5 so called, either from the black
garments they wore, as some think; or from the colour of their faces, smutted with the
smoke of the incense they frequently offered; or of the fires in which they sacrificed, or
made the children to pass through to Molech. Hillerus (k) thinks they are the same with
those heathen priests called "Phallophori"; deriving the word from one in the Arabic
language, which has the signification of the "Phalli"; which were obscene images, carried
about in an impudent manner by the priests of Bacchus, in the performance of his sacred
rites: the carrying of them was first instituted by Isis, as Plutarch (l) says; and if this was
the case here, it is no wonder they should be so severely threatened. Some take them to
be a sort of servants or ministers to the priests of Baal, who waited on them at the time
of service; and so are distinguished from them in this clause, taking the word "priests" in
it to design the priests of Baal; and the Vulgate Latin version renders it, "the name of
sextons with the priests". The word is used now by the Jews for Popish monks that live
in cloisters; and Elias Levita (m) thinks these here are so called from their living in such
like recluse places. The Targum is,
"and the name of their worshippers with their priests;''
one and the other; priests of Baal, and apostate priests of the Lord; the worshippers of
Baal, and those that attend upon his priests, shall all feel the weight of Jehovah's hand,
and the lighting down of his arm with indignation.
JAMISO , "stretch out mine hand — indicating some remarkable and unusual
work of vengeance (Isa_5:25; Isa_9:12, Isa_9:17, Isa_9:21).
Judah — including Benjamin. These two tribes are to suffer, which thought
themselves perpetually secure, because they escaped the captivity in which the ten tribes
were involved.
Jerusalem — the fountainhead of the evil. God begins with His sanctuary (Eze_9:6),
and those who are nigh Him (Lev_10:3).
the remnant of Baal — the remains of Baal worship, which as yet Josiah was unable
utterly to eradicate in remote places. Baal was the Phoenician tutelary god. From the
time of the Judges (Jdg_2:13), Israel had fallen into this idolatry; and Manasseh lately
had set up this idol within Jehovah’s temple itself (2Ki_21:3, 2Ki_21:5, 2Ki_21:7).
Josiah began his reformation in the twelfth year of his reign (2Ch_34:4, 2Ch_34:8), and
in the eighteenth had as far as possible completed it.
Chemarims — idol priests, who had not reached the age of puberty; meaning
“ministers of the gods” [Servius on Aeneid, 11], the same name as the Tyrian Camilli, r
and l being interchangeable (compare Hos_10:5, Margin). Josiah is expressly said (2Ki_
23:5, Margin) to have “put down the Chemarim.” The Hebrew root means “black” (from
the black garments which they wore or the marks which they branded on their
foreheads); or “zealous,” from their idolatrous fanaticism. The very “name,” as well as
themselves, shall be forgotten.

44. the priests — of Jehovah, of Aaronic descent, who ought to have used all their power
to eradicate, but who secretly abetted, idolatry (compare Zep_3:4; Eze_8:1-18; Eze_
22:26; Eze_44:10). From the priests Zephaniah passes to the people.
K&D 4-6, "The judgment coming upon the whole earth with all its inhabitants will fall
especially upon Judah and Jerusalem. Zep_1:4. “And I stretch my hand over Judah, and
over all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and cut off from this place the remnant of Baal,
the name of the consecrated servants, together with the priests. Zep_1:5. And those who
worship the army of heaven upon the roofs, and the worshippers who swear to
Jehovah, and who swear by their king. Zep_1:6. And those who draw back from
Jehovah, and who did not seek Jehovah, and did not inquire for Him.” God stretches
out His hand (‫ד‬ָ‫)י‬ or His arm ( ַ‫רוֹע‬ְ‫)ז‬ to smite the ungodly with judgments (compare
Zephaniah 6:6, Deu_4:34; Deu_5:15, with Isa_5:25; Isa_9:11, Isa_9:16, Isa_9:20; Isa_
10:4; Isa_14:26.). Through the judgment upon Judah and Jerusalem He will cut off ‫ר‬ፎ ְ‫שׁ‬
‫ל‬ ַ‫ע‬ ַ ַ‫,ה‬ the remnant of Baal, i.e., all that remains of Baal and of idolatry; for Baal or the
Baal-worship stands per synecdochen for idolatry of every kind (see at Hos_2:10). The
emphasis lies upon “the remnant,” all that still exists of the Baal-worship or idolatry,
even to the very last remnant; so that the emphasis presupposes that the extermination
has already begun, that the worship of Baal no longer exists in undiminished force and
extent. It must not be limited, however, to the complete abolition of the outward or
grosser idolatry, but includes the utter extermination of the grosser as well as the more
refined Baal-worship. That the words should be so understood is required by the parallel
clause: the name of the consecrated servants together with the priests. Ke
mârım are not
prophets of Baal, but, as in 2Ki_23:5 and Hos_10:5, the priests appointed by the kings
of Judah for the worship of the high places and the idolatrous worship of Jehovah (for
the etymology of the word, see at 2Ki_23:5). The kōhănım, as distinguished from these,
are idolatrous priests in the stricter sense of the word (i.e., those who conducted the
literal idolatry). The names of both the idolatrous priests of Jehovah and the literal
priests of the idols are to be cut off, so that not only the persons referred to will
disappear, but even their names will be heard no more. Along with the idols and their
priests, the worshippers of idols are also to be destroyed. Just as in Zep_1:4 two classes
of priests are distinguished, so in Zep_1:5 are two classes of worshippers, viz., (1) the
star-worshippers, and (2) those who tried to combine the worship of Jehovah and the
worship of idols; and to these a third class is added in Zep_1:6. The worship of the stars
was partly Baal-worship, the sun, moon, and stars being worshipped as the bearers of
the powers of nature worshipped in Baal and Asherah (see at 2Ki_23:5); and partly
Sabaeism or pure star-worship, the stars being worshipped as the originators of all
growth and decay in nature, and the leaders and regulators of all sublunary things (see at
2Ki_21:3). The worship took place upon the roofs, i.e., on altars erected upon the flat
roofs of the houses, chiefly by the burning of incense (Jer_19:13), but also by the
offering of sacrifices (2Ki_23:12; see the comm. in loc.). “They offered the sacrifices
upon the roofs, that they might be the better able to see the stars in the heavens”
(Theodoret). Along with the star-worshippers as the representatives of literal idolatry,
Zephaniah mentions as a second class the worshippers who swear partly to Jehovah, and
partly by their king, i.e., who go limping on two sides (1Ki_18:21), or try to combine the
worship of Jehovah with that of Baal. Malkâm, their king, is Baal, who is distinctly called
king in the inscriptions (see Movers, Phönizier, i. pp. 171-2), and not the “earthly king of
the nation,” as Hitzig has erroneously interpreted the Masoretic text, in consequence of

45. which he proposes to read milkōm, i.e., Moloch. ‫ע‬ ַ ְ‫שׁ‬ִ‫נ‬ with ְ‫ל‬ signifies to take an oath to
Jehovah, i.e., to bind one's self on oath to His service; whereas ‫ע‬ ַ ְ‫שׁ‬ִ‫נ‬ with ְ‫ב‬ (to swear by a
person) means to call upon Him as God when taking an oath. The difference between the
two expressions answers exactly to the religious attitude of the men in question, who
pretended to be worshippers of Jehovah, and yet with every asseveration took the name
of Baal into their mouth. In Zep_1:6 we have not two further classes mentioned, viz.,
“the vicious and the irreligious,” as Hitzig supposes; but the persons here described form
only one single class. Retiring behind Jehovah, drawing back from Him, turning the
back upon God, is just the same as not seeking Jehovah, or not inquiring after Him. The
persons referred to are the religiously indifferent, those who do not trouble themselves
about God, the despisers of God.
CALVI , "The Prophet explains still more clearly why he directed his discourse in
the last verse against the beasts of the earth and the birds of heaven, even for this
end—that the Jews might understand that God was angry with them. I will stretch
forth, he says, my hand on Judah and on Jerusalem. God, then, by executing his
vengeance on animals, intended to exhibit to the Jews, as in a picture, the
dreadfulness of his wrath, which yet they despised and regarded as nothing. The
stretching forth of God’s hand I have elsewhere explained; and it means even this—
that he stretches forth his hand when he acts in an unusual manner, and employs
means beyond what is common. We indeed know that God has no hands, and we
also know that he performs all things by his command alone: but as everything seen
in the world is called the work of his hands, so he is said to stretch forth his hand
when he mentions a work that is remarkable and worthy of being remembered. In a
like manner, when I intend to do some slight work, I only move my hand; but when
I have some difficult work to do, I prepare myself more carefully, and also stretch
forth my arms. This metaphor, then, is intended only for this purpose, to render
men more attentive to God’s works, when he is set forth as stretching forth his
hand.
But he says, on Judeah and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem. The kingdom of Israel
had now been abolished, and the ten tribes had been led into exile; and a few only of
the lowest and the poorest remained. The Jews thought themselves safe for ever,
because they had escaped that calamity. This is the reason why the Prophet declares
that God’s judgment was impending not only over the kingdom of Judah, but also
over the holy city, which thought itself exempt from all such evil, because there were
the sacrifices performed, and there was the royal city, and, in short, because God
had testified that his habitation was to be there for ever. Since, then, by this vain
confidence the inhabitants of Jerusalem deceived themselves and others, Zephaniah
specifically addresses them. And as he had before spoken of the wicked, he intended
here, no doubt, sharply to reprove the Jews, as though he said by way of
anticipation, There is no reason for you to enquire who are the wicked; for ye
yourselves are they, even ye who are the holy people of God and God’s chosen
inheritance, ye who are the race of Abraham, who flatter yourselves so much on
account of your excellency; ye are the wicked, who have not hitherto ceased to

46. provoke the vengeance of God. And at the same time he shows, as it were by the
finger, some of their sins, though he mentions others afterwards: but he speaks now
of their superstitions.
I will cut off, he says, the remnants of Baal and the name of Chamerim. The severity
of the Prophet may seem here again to be excessive, for being so incensed against
superstitions which had been abolished by the great zeal and singular diligence of
the king; but, as we have already intimated, he regarded not so much the king as the
people. For though they dared not openly to adulterate God’s worship, they yet
cherished those corruptions at home to which they had before been accustomed, as
we see to be done at this day. For when it is not allowed to worship idols, many
mutter their prayers in secret and invoke their idols: and, in short, they are
restrained only by the fear of men from manifesting their own impiety; and in the
meantime, they retain before God the same abominations. So it was in the time of
Josiah; the people were wedded to their corruptions, and this we may easily
conclude from the words of Zephaniah: for the remnants of Baal were not seen in
the temple, nor in the streets, nor in their chapels, nor in the high places; but their
hidden impiety is here discovered by the Spirit of God; and no doubt their sin was
the more heinous and less excusable, because the people refused to follow their pious
leader. It was indeed the most abominable ingratitude; for when they saw that the
right worship was restored to them, they preferred to remain fixed in their own
filth, rather than to return to God, even when they had liberty to do so, and also
when that pious king extended his hand to them.
As to the word ‫,כמרים‬ chemarim, it designated either the worshipers of Baal or some
such men as our monks at this day: and they are supposed by some to have been
thus called, because they were clothed in black vestments; while others think that
they derived this name from their fervor, because they were madly devoted to their
superstitions, or because they had marks on their foreheads, or because they
imposed, as is commonly the case, on the simple by the ardor of their zeal. The name
is also found in 2 Kings 23:1 in the account given of Josiah: for it is said there, that
the ‫,כמרים‬ chemarim, were taken away, together with other abominations of
superstition. But as Zephaniah connects priests with them, it is probable that they
were a kind of people like the monks, who did not themselves offer sacrifices, but
were a sort of attendants, who undertook vows and offered prayers in the name of
the whole people. For what some think, that they were thus called because they
burnt incense, appears not to me probable; for then they must have been priests.
They were then inferior to the sacrificers, and occupying a station between them
and the people, like the monks and hermits of this day, who deceive foolish men by
their sanctity. Such, then, were the Chemarim. (70)
But as Josiah could not attain his object, so as immediately to cleanse the land from
these pollutions, we need not wonder that at this day we are not able immediately to
remove superstitions from the world: but let us in the meantime ever proceed in our
course. Let those endued with authority, who bear the sword, that is, all magistrates,
perform their office with greater diligence, inasmuch as they see how difficult and
protracted is the contest with the ministers of idolatry. Let also the ministers of the

47. gospel earnestly cry against idolatry, and all ungodly ceremonies, and not desist.
Though they may not effect as much as they wish, yet let them follow the example of
Josiah. If God should in the meantime thunder from heaven, let them not be
discouraged, but, on the contrary, know that their labor is approved by him, and
never doubt of their own safety; for though all were destroyed, their godly efforts
would not be in vain, nor fail of a reward before God. Thus, then, ought all God’s
servants to animate themselves, each in his particular sphere and vocation,
whenever they have to contend with superstitions, and with such corruptions as
vitiate and adulterate the pure worship of God.
The “priests” mentioned here were the sacrifices, while the “Chemarim” were the
incense-burners. There were “altars” (not an altar) reared for Baal in the temple;
one, as it seems, for sacrifices, and the other for incense. See 2 Kings 21:3. In 2
Chronicles 34:4, the priests and sacrificers are alone mentioned; but in 2 Kings 23:5,
where the same things are recorded, the Chemarim and incense are alone named.
The Prophet in this passage mentions both.
Some, as Cocceius and Henderson, have been disposed to think that the unfaithful
priests of the true God are here meant. But the other view is more consistent with
the whole passage. If we retain not the original word, we may thus render the line,—
The name of the incense-burners with the priests;
That is, those who burnt incense and those who offered sacrifices to Baal.—Ed.
COFFMA , "Verse 4
"And I will stretch out my 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 Chemarin with the priests."
"I will stretch out my hand upon Judah ..." The popular misunderstanding of the
Judgment Day among the Jews regarded it as a day of personal triumph for
themselves over their Gentile enemies, an error Amos had sought to correct a
century prior to Zephaniah (Zephaniah 5:18-20). It was therefore necessary for
Zephaniah to warn Judah that they would not escape divine judgment while living
in rebellion against the Lord. All the world is wicked; but, "The sin of God's people
is worst of all, precisely because they are God's people. As Peter has it, 'Judgment
must begin at the house of God' (1 Peter 4:17)."[12]
"Cut off the remnant of Baal ..." Reid thought that, "This implies that reform had
begun,"[13] but such an implication is not in the passage at all. As a matter of fact,
some translate it, "The vestige of Baal"; and as Taylor noted (see introduction) it
does not require the deduction that only a vestige of Baal remained, having rather
the meaning that, even the last vestiges of Baal will be rooted out. Furthermore,
many ancient authorities render this place "the name of Baal," including the
Septuagint,[14] thus making it parallel with the "name of the Chemarin" in the next

48. clause. Thus, no valid argument for dating Zephaniah after Josiah's reform can be
made from this.
"And the name of the Chemarin with the priests ..." "Chemarin is the usual
Aramaic word for priest, which comes from a root whose meaning is 'to be
black.'"[15] "It means 'black-robed' and is applied to idolatrous priests (2 Kings
23:5; Hosea 10:5)."[16]
TRAPP, "Verse 4
Zephaniah 1:4 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;
Ver. 4. I will also stretch out mine hand upon Judah] To whom I have so long
stretched out my hand in vain to reclaim them, Isaiah 65:2, Proverbs 1:25. If God do
but put forth his hand to afflict, as Satan solicited him to do against Job, Job 1:11;
Job 2:5, who can abide it? but if he stretch it out as here, woe be to those that must
feel the weight of it! His hand is a mighty hand, 1 Peter 5:6, the same that spans the
heavens, and holds the earth as a very little thing, Isaiah 40:15. "Lord," saith David
(who had felt it in part), "who knoweth the power of thine anger? Even according to
thy fear, so is thy wrath." q.d. Let a man fear thee never so much, he is sure to feel
thee much more who falleth under the stroke of thine heavy hand. Oh keep out of
his fingers, who can crush us to death before the moth, Job 4:19.
And upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem] Who are therefore worse than others
because they should be better; and shall fare the worse for their external privileges
wherein they glory.
And I will cut off the remnant of Baal from this place] That which remained since
Josiah’s reformation, 2 Kings 23:3-5, saith Diodati, shall a nation be born at once?
Isaiah 66:8.
And the name of the Chemarims] Baal’s chimney chaplains, they are translated
idolatrous priests, 1 Chronicles 23:5. But because we find them here mentioned as
distinct from the priests, therefore many expositors hold that they were certain
ministers of their idolatry different from the priests; such as the monks are among
the Papists. The Vulgate rendereth it Aedituos, underlings to the other priests: Elias
in Tisby, saith they were such as were shut up in cloisters, Chemarim Atrati they are
called, either from their black garments, or because they were smutched with
burning incense, or from the brandmarks they had superstitiously set upon their
bodies, or because of their pretended fiery zeal and fervency in their religion, such
as are the Sacrifici Seraphici among the Papists, who falsely and foolishly call them
the lights of the world, sc. to light them into utter darkness.

49. ELLICOTT, "(4) The remnant of Baal.—i.e., Baal worship shall he completely and
utterly abolished. ot even a remnant of it shall be left. The term “remnant” need
not imply, as Kleinert argues, that a large part of the Baal-worship had been
already overthrown, by Josiah’s reformation.
The Chemarims.—In 2 Kings 23:5, this is the designation of the “idolatrous priests
whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense in the high places.” The
term is used again in Hosea 10:5. Even the very name of these intruders is to be
abolished.
The priests.—Are probably a certain section of the Jewish priesthood who had
winked at this establishment of false worship.
BE SO , "Verses 4-6
Zephaniah 1:4-6. I will also stretch out my hand upon Judah — I will manifest my
power upon Judah, as I have done upon Israel. And I will cut off the remnant of
Baal — The altars, or places of worship, dedicated to Baal, which still remain in this
place, namely, Jerusalem; and the name of the Chemarims — Of the idolatrous
priests, for so the same word is rendered 2 Kings 23:5, where see the note; with the
priests — That is, I will destroy these together with the priests of the tribe of Levi,
who have been joined in the worship of idols, in which, as we learn from Ezekiel
8:11; Ezekiel 22:26, some of them were joined. And them that worship the host of
heaven upon the house-tops — They were wont to worship the moon and stars upon
the roofs of their houses, which were made flat. And that swear by the Lord, and by
Malcham — That join the worship of idols to that of the true God. Malcham is the
same with Moloch, to whom many of the people of Judah continued to offer their
children, as Jeremiah upbraids them, Jeremiah 7:31; Jeremiah 19:5; and that, it
seems, after the reformation that Josiah had made. Swearing is an act of religious
worship, or a solemn invocation of God, as a witness and a judge, Deuteronomy
10:20; and therefore the Israelites were expressly forbidden to swear by idols,
Joshua 23:7. And them that are turned back, &c. — That are apostates to idolatry.
And those that have not sought the Lord — That live without any sense of religion,
and, as it were, without God in the world.
CO STABLE, "Verse 4
B. The judgment on Judah1:4-2:3
Zephaniah gave more particulars concerning the fate of Judah ( Zephaniah 1:4 to
Zephaniah 2:3) and Jerusalem ( Zephaniah 3:1-7) than about the fate of the rest of
humanity ( Zephaniah 1:2-3; Zephaniah 2:4-15; Zephaniah 3:8). He did this both in
the section of the book dealing with coming judgment and in the section about
blessing. In the section on blessing he gave only one verse to the purification of the
nations ( Zephaniah 3:9) but11to the transformation of Israel ( Zephaniah 3:10-20).
Verse 4
Yahweh announced that He would stretch out His hand in judgment against Judah

50. and the people of Jerusalem. Stretching out the hand is a figure of speech that
implies a special work of punishment (cf. Exodus 6:6; Deuteronomy 4:34; 2 Kings
17:36; Isaiah 14:26-27; Jeremiah 27:5; Jeremiah 32:17; et al.). He promised to cut
off the remnant of Baal worshippers who remained in Judah, or perhaps the temple
(cf. Deuteronomy 12:5; Deuteronomy 12:11; 1 Kings 8:29-30; Ezekiel 42:13), as well
as the priests of Baal and the unfaithful priests of Yahweh. He would also terminate
their reputations and the memory of them (cf. 2 Kings 23:5; Hosea 10:5).
This reference has suggested to some interpreters that Zephaniah wrote after Josiah
began his reforms since Josiah revived the worship of Yahweh and tried
unsuccessfully to eliminate idolatry ( 2 Chronicles 34:4). However, this verse may
simply mean that the Lord would judge the idolaters in Judah, "Baal" being a
figure (synecdoche) for all idolatry.
"Wherever excitement in religion becomes an end in itself and wherever the cult of
"what helps" replaces joy in "what"s true," Baal is worshiped." [ ote: Motyer,
p912.]
PETT, "Verses 4-6
God’s Particular Judgment Will At This Time Be Applied To Judah and Jerusalem
(Zephaniah 1:4-6).
Zephaniah 1:4-6
“And I will stretch out my hand on Judah,
And on all the inhabitants of Jerusalem,
And I will cut off those who remain of Baal from this place,
And the name of the Chemarim with the priests,
And those who worship the host of heaven on the housetops,
And those who worship who swear to YHWH and swear by Malcam (probably
‘Melek, Moloch’),
And those who are turned back from following YHWH,
And those who have not sought YHWH nor enquired after him.”
Having described the general final judgment of God, Zephaniah now moves on to
the particular judgment that is coming, how God will behave towards Jerusalem
and Judah in the nearer future.
Judah and Jerusalem are to experience the activity of God against them because
they have forgotten YHWH and their covenant with Him. Stretching out the hand is
a figure of speech which implies a special work of God in judgment (see Exodus
3:20; Exodus 6:6; Deuteronomy 4:34; 2 Kings 17:36; Isaiah 14:26-27; Isaiah 31:3;
Jeremiah 6:12; Jeremiah 15:6; Jeremiah 21:5; Jeremiah 51:25; Ezekiel 7 times).
This is in contrast with the stretched out arm, which delivers.
He describes those who will be subject to judgment, and will be cut off. The list is
comprehensive and basically includes all who fail to worship YHWH truly and be
faithful to the covenant:

51. · 1) The remnant (those who remain) of Baal (although some translate as ‘Baal
to the last vestige’). The word for remnant simply means what remains and is not
necessarily a small proportion (see 1 Chronicles 11:8; 1 Chronicles 16:41; Ezra 4:3;
Ezra 4:7; ehemiah 10:28; ehemiah 11:1; Esther 9:12 etc.). It need not thus
suggest that this is after the reforms took place, it simply refers to all who still
worshipped Baal, however large the number.
· 2) ‘The name of the Chemarim with the priests.’ The Chemarim were
burners of incense to the gods (2 Kings 23:5). They were depicted as rejoicing over
the calves of Bethaven (Bethel), those set up by Jeroboam in 1 Kings 12:28-29
(Hosea 10:5). In the few references they are seen in a bad sense. The priests would
therefore be idolatrous priests.
· 3) ‘Those who worship the host of heaven on the housetops.’ The host of
heaven were a prominent feature in Assyrian religion particularly and in idolatrous
religion generally (Deuteronomy 4:19; Deuteronomy 17:3; 2 Kings 17:16; 2 Kings
21:3; 2 Kings 21:5; 2 Kings 23:5; 2 Chronicles 33:3; 2 Chronicles 33:5 Jeremiah 8:2;
Jeremiah 19:13). They were often worshipped in small shrines on the housetops,
from where the host of heaven could be seen (Jeremiah 19:13).
· 4) ‘Those who worship, who swear to YHWH and swear by Malcam.’ These
were the syncretists who combined YHWH and Malcam. Malcam means ‘their king
(or their Melek)’ but should possibly be repointed as Milcom (i.e. the Ammonite god
Melek (Molech) - 1 Kings 11:5; 1 Kings 11:33; 2 Kings 23:13). Melek demanded that
children be ‘passed through the fire’ to him.
· 5) ‘Those who are turned back from following YHWH.’ This covers those
who forsook the covenant and worshipped any other gods.
· 6) ‘Those who have not sought YHWH, nor enquired after Him.’ This covers
anyone else who has not truly worshipped YHWH. They are indifferent and ignore
Him in their lives.
So all who have failed to worship YHWH truly, whether through deliberate act or
through neglect, are to be cut off. eglect and indifference is as great a sin as open
rebellion. It is more insulting to God.
WHEDO , "Verse 4
4. Stretch out mine hand — To smite (Isaiah 5:25; Isaiah 9:12 ff.). Equivalent to
“turn my hand against” (see on Amos 1:8).
Judah,… Jerusalem — Zephaniah prophesies concerning the southern kingdom; the
northern kingdom was destroyed a century before his day.
Remnant of Baal — Literally, remnant of the Baal. The translators of LXX. have
been influenced by Hosea 2:17, “the names of the Baalim”; at any rate, there seems
insufficient reason for doubting the originality of the present Hebrew text. The Baal
is not the Tyrian Baal, but the Canaanitish Baal, or rather Baals (see on Hosea 2:5),
for the noun is used here collectively. Zephaniah may use the term in an even wider
sense, as including all forms of illegitimate worship, all of which were due very
largely to Canaanitish influence. The expression remnant does not presuppose
necessarily the reform of 621 B.C., as if the prophet desired to say that all that was

52. left from that reform would be destroyed in a judgment to come; it means, rather,
“every vestige of Baal worship,” that is, all there is of it (compare Isaiah 14:22). The
expression does not presuppose even a preliminary attempt at purifying the worship
of Jehovah (see p. 508).
From this place — Jerusalem. If Zephaniah prophesied in the capital this expression
is perfectly intelligible even before the concentration of worship in Jerusalem.
The name of the Chemarims with the priests — LXX. simply, “the names of the
priests,” which reading implies the omission of either “Chemarims” or “priests,”
and the omission of one of these words is favored by most recent commentators,
including the cautious Davidson. Both nouns mean priests; the second is the
common Old Testament term, the other is used only three times. Its etymology is
uncertain, but the usage in the other passages (Hosea 10:5; 2 Kings 23:5) shows that
it is applied to the priests at the local sanctuaries, officiating at the counterfeit
Jehovah worship practiced there. If both words are original, the second refers to
priests practicing out-and-out idolatry. Against this interpretation Davidson raises
the objection that “in such a case the term priest would have been more fully
defined.” But such definition is not needed, because the context leaves no doubt as to
the persons in the prophet’s mind. At any rate, the arguments against the originality
of the present Hebrew text are by no means conclusive. May not the omission of
LXX. be due to the failure of the translators to grasp fully the thought of the
prophet and the distinction he desired to make? In Zephaniah 1:5 he distinguishes
between two classes of worshipers; why might he not also make a distinction
between two classes of priests? Counterfeit Jehovah priests as well as out-and-out
idol priests are to be cut off, so that even their names shall be heard no more. If one
name is omitted, the remaining one must include both classes.
PULPIT, "I will also stretch out mine hand. This expression is used when God is
about to do great things or inflict notable punishment (see Exodus 3:20; Exodus
15:12; Deuteronomy 4:34; Isaiah 5:25; Jeremiah 51:25, etc.). Judah. In so far as
Judah was rebellious and wicked, it should incur the judicial punishment. Judgment
was to begin at the house of God (1 Peter 4:17), the sin of the chosen people being
more heinous than that of heathens. Hence it is added, upon all the inhabitants of
Jerusalem, because, having in their very midst the temple of God, with its services
and priests, they ought especially to have abhorred idolatry and maintained the true
faith. The remnant of Baal; i.e. the last vestige. One cannot argue from this
expression that the reform was already carried so far that Baal worship had almost
disappeared. The next verse shows that idolatry still flourished; but the term implies
merely that God would exterminate it so entirely that no trace of it should remain.
The LXX. has, "the names of Baal," τὰ ὀνόµατα τῆς βάαλ (Hosea 2:17). (For
Josiah's reform of these iniquities, see 2 Kings 23:4, etc.) The name of the
Chemarims (Chemarim). The word means "black-robed," and is applied to the
idolatrous priests whom the kings bad appointed to conduct worship in high places
(2 Kings 23:5; Hosea 10:5). "The name," says Dr. Pussy, "is probably the Syriac
name of 'priest,' used in Holy Scripture of idolatrous priests, because the Syrians
were idolaters" ot only shall the persons of these priests be cut off, but their very

53. name and memory shall vanish (Zechariah 13:2). With the priests (kohanim).
Together with the legitimate priests who had corrupted the worship of Jehovah
(Zephaniah 3:4; Jeremiah 2:8; Ezekiel 8:11).DS
BI 4-5, "And that swear by the Lord, and that swear by Malcham
The demonstrativeness of true religion
In this text it is a sort of mixed religion that the Lord declares He will not tolerate.
Impress t he necessity of decision in religion. What is the lowest amount of faith in Jesus
Christ which will avail to save a man’s soul?
1. What definition the Scripture gives us of true Christianity. Mark the distinction
between coming to Christ and following Christ. Coming to Christ costs a man
nothing; but following Christ and remaining with Christ involve the taking up the
cross and the exercise of stern self-denial. True Christianity demands an entire
surrender of the heart to God, a thorough abandonment of wilful sin, an unceasing
vigilance against the wiles of the devil.
2. If a man has cordially embraced, with a living faith, the truth as it is in Jesus, will
he—can he—be undemonstrative? By demonstrativeness is not meant talkativeness,
nor can it be explained by formalism. When forms are allowed to usurp the place of
the heart, they demonstrate too much. Nor is it being charitable, or regularly
attending worship. By demonstrativeness is meant a quiet earnestness, which will
show itself as much by what it does not as by what it does. A man cannot, in a proper
sense, be undemonstrative if he has embraced, with a living faith, the “truth as it is in
Jesus.”
3. To what is the undemonstrativeness of the mere professor of religion traceable? Is
it not that he makes God the offering of half his heart, while he gives the other half to
the world?
4. Are we to call the undemonstrative true Christians, and the demonstrative
advanced Christians? Let God answer. See the text. He who readeth the heart will not
be mocked and trifled with. God will cut off the undecided. In the last great assize
those who in their lives have halted between two opinions shall find no mercy. (W. I.
Chapman, M. A.)
Double-hearted people
A little while ago I was with some friends, going through Her Majesty’s State apartments
in Windsor Castle. At the end of the great banquet-hall we were shown, in a gallery
above our heads, a fine organ. Now this organ, I found, was just like one of the double-
hearted people; for the old man who was taking us round explained carefully that it
performed double duty, having two finger-boards. At the sides from which we saw it it
was played on the occasion of a royal banquet, to the delight and pleasure of those who
feasted below. But on the side which we could not see it had another finger-board, and
performed a wholly different service, for it was in the royal chapel, and pealed forth
strains of sacred music to help the worship of those who gathered there. Well, I despised
that organ for its double-dealing, though, of course, you know the organ could not help
itself. It was only what it had been made, but it seemed to me like “a double-minded
man, unstable in all his ways.” God keep us from having two finger-beards. Do you
understand what I mean. Do you see that we, who are blood-bought and made nigh to

54. God, have the blessed privilege of being brought as worshippers into the holiest? That
there we may be as beautiful instruments, in full tune for the Master’s hand, that, when
He strikes the chords, there may rise rich swelling notes of worship and praise to His ear
and heart. Having, then, a finger-board in the holiest, in the place of worship, let us be
very jealous that there be none to which the revellers of this world can have access, that
no note of sympathy may be ever struck from our hearts by the world, that has rejected
Christ, the David whom we own as Lord. (A. J. Gordon, D. D.)
There ought to be continuity in our religious life
There should be continuity in our religious life. Some people are pious by fits and starts.
They are with God in the sanctuary, but not in the shop; they drink the cup of the Lord
on Sunday, and the cup of the devil on Monday. At the mouths of certain large rivers are
formed what geologists call lagoons. A lagoon is a small lake separated from the sea by a
bar of sand, and is filled with fresh and salt water by turns. Often a lagoon
communicates exclusively with the river for months, and during this period its water is
fresh. Then a breach is made in the bar of sand and there is an eruption of salt water,
which for a season holds undisputed sway. In these lagoons we may find an illustration
of not a few people connected with all our churches. For a time they are seemingly in
communication with God and spiritual things, and these are the forces that shape and
mould and colour their life. But suddenly that communication seems to break off, to be
interrupted; the world rushes in through some breach of their own making, and for a
season, at least, the things that are seen and temporal gain complete mastery over them.
The change in their life and conduct is no less marked than the change in the waters of
the lagoon. This type of Christian, this religious Reuben, will never attain to spiritual
strength and ripeness, the stature of the perfect man Christ Jesus. The true follower of
the Son of Man finds his illustration not in the lagoon, but in the glory of the Shechinah
which shone continuously and with unabated splendour in the temple. (W. B. Sproule.)
5 those who bow down on the roofs
to worship the starry host,
those who bow down and swear by the Lord
and who also swear by Molek,[b]
BAR ES, "And them that worship the best of heaven upon the - (flat)
housetops This was fulfilled by Josiah who destroyed “the altars that were on the top of
the upper chamber of Ahaz” 2Ki_23:12. Jeremiah speaks as if this worship was almost

55. universal, as though well-near every roof had been profaned by this idolatry. “The
houses of Jerusalem, and the houses of Judah, shall be defiled as the place of Tophet,
because of all the houses upon whose roofs they have burned incense unto all the host of
heaven, and have poured out drink-offerings unto other gods” Jer_19:13. “The
Chaldaeans that fight against this city, shall come and set fire on this city, and burn it
with the houses, upon whose roofs they have offered incense unto Baal, and poured out
drink-offerings to other gods, to provoke Me to anger” Jer_32:29. They worshiped on
the house-tops, probably to have a clearer view of that magnificent expanse of sky, “the
moon and stars which” God had “ordained” Psa_8:3; the “queen of heaven,” which they
worshiped instead of Himself. There is something so mysterious in that calm face of the
moon, as it “walketh in beauty” Job_31:26; God seems to have invested it with such
delegated influence over the seasons and the produce of the earth, that they stopped
short in it, and worshiped the creature rather than the Creator. Much as men now talk of
“Nature,” admire “Nature,” speak of its “laws,” not as laws imposed upon it, but inherent
in it, laws affecting us and our well-being; only not in their ever-varying vicissitudes,
“doing whatsoever God commandeth them upon the face of the world in the earth,
whether for correction, or for His land or for mercy!” Job_37:12-13. The idolaters
“worshiped and served the creature more than the Creator, Who is blessed forever”
Rom_1:25; moderns equally make this world their object, only they idolize themselves
and their discoveries, and worship their own intellect.
This worship on the house-tops individualized the public idolatry; it was a rebellion
against God, family by family; a sort of family-prayer of idolatry. “Did we,” say the
mingled multitude to Jeremiah, “make our cakes to worship her, and pour out our
drink-offerings unto her, without our men?” Jer_44:19. Its family character is described
in Jeremiah. “The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women
knead the dough to make cakes to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink-offerings
unto other gods” Jer_7:18. The idolatry spread to other cities. “We will certainly do,”
they say, “as we have done, we and our fathers, our kings and our princes, in the cities of
Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem” Jer_44:17. The incense went up continually “as a
memorial to God” from the altar of incense in the temple: the “roofs of the houses” were
so many altars, from which, street by street and house by house the incense went up to
her, for whom they dethroned God, “the queen of heaven.” It was an idolatry, with which
Judah was especially besotted, believing that they received all goods of this world from
them and not from God. When punished for their sin, they repented of their partial
repentance and maintained to Jeremiah that they were punished for “leaving off to burn
incense to the queen of heaven” Jer_44:2, Jer_44:15, Jer_44:18.
And them that worship ... the Lord - but with a divided heart and service; “that
swear by (rather to) the Lord,” swear fealty and loyal allegiance to Him, while they do
acts which deny it, in that “they swear by Malcham,” better (it is no appellative although
allied to one) “their king” , most probably, I think, “Moloch.”
This idolatry had been their enduring idolatry in the wilderness, after the calves had
been annihilated; it is “the” worship, against which Israel is warned by name in the law
Lev_18:21; Lev_20:2-4; then, throughout the history of the Judges, we hear of the
kindred idolatry of Baal , “the” Lord (who was called also “eternal king” and from whom
individuals named themselves “son of (the) king,” “servant of (the) king” ), or the
manifold Baals and Ashtaroth or Astarte. But after these had been removed on the
preaching of Samuel 1Sa_7:6; 1Sa_12:10, this idolatry does not reappear in Judah until
the intermarriage of Jehoram with the house of Ahab 2Ki_8:16-18, 2Ki_8:26-27; 2Ch_
21:6, 2Ch_21:12-13; 2Ch_22:2-4.
The kindred and equally horrible worship of “Molech, the abomination of the children

56. of Ammon” 1Ki_11:7, was brought in by Solomon in his decay, and endured until his
high place was defiled by Josiah 2Ki_23:13-14. It is probable then that this was “their
king” , of whom Zephaniah speaks, whom Amos and after him Jeremiah, called “their
king;” but speaking of Ammon. Him, the king of Ammon, Judah adopted as “their king.”
They owned God as their king in words; Molech they owned by their deeds; “they
worshiped and sware fealty to the Lord” and they “sware by their king;” his name was
familiarly in their mouths; to him they appealed as the Judge and witness of the truth of
their words, his displeasure they invoked on themselves, if they swore falsely. Cyril:
“Those in error were wont to swear by heaven, and, as matter of reverence to call out, ‘By
the king and lord Sun.’ Those who do so must of set purpose and willfully depart from
the love of God, since the law expressly says, “Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and
serve Him alone, and swear by His Name” Deu_6:13.
The former class who “worshipped on the roofs” were mere idolaters. These
“worshiped,” as they thought, “the Lord,” bound themselves solemnly by oath to Him,
but with a reserve, joining a hateful idol to Him, in that they, by a religious act, owned it
too as god. The act which they did was in direct words, or by implication, forbidden by
God. The command to “swear by the Lord” implied that they were to swear by none else.
It was followed by the prohibition to go after other gods. (Deu_6:13-14; 10:30, compare
Isa_65:16; Jer_4:2). Contrariwise, to swear by other gods was forbidden as a part of
their service. “Be very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the book of the
Law of Moses, neither make mention of the name of their gods, nor cause to swear by
them, neither serve them, but cleave unto the Lord your God” (Jos_23:6-8; compare
Amo_8:14). “How shall I pardon thee for this? Thy children have forsaken Me, and have
sworn by those who are no gods” Jer_5:7. “They taught My people to swear by Baal”
Jer_12:16. They thought perhaps that in that they professed to serve God, did the
greater homage to Him, professed and bound themselves to be His, (such is the meaning
of “swear to the Lord”) they might, without renouncing His service, do certain things,
“swear by their king,” although in effect they thereby owned hint also as god. To such
Elijah said, “How long halt ye between two opinions? If the Lord be God, follow Him;
but if Baal, then follow him” 1Ki_18:21; and God by Jeremiah rejects with abhorrence
such divided service. “Ye trust in lying words, which will not profit. Will ye steal,
murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, and burn incense unto Baal, and walk after
other gods, and come and stand before Me in this house, which is called by My name,
saying, We are delivered to do all these abominations” Jer_7:8-10. And Hosea, “Neither
go ye to Beth-aven, and swear there, The Lord liveth” Hos_4:15.
Such are Christians, Jerome: “who think that they can serve together the world and
the Lord, and please two masters, God and Mammom; who, “being soldiers of Jesus
Christ” and having sworn fealty to Him, “entangle themselves with the affairs of this life
and offer the same image to God and to Caesar” 2Ti_2:3-4. To such, God, whom with
their lips they own, is not their God; their idol is, as the very name says, “their king,”
whom alone they please, displeasing and dishonoring God. We must not only fear, love,
honor God, but love, fear, honor all beside for Him Alone.
CLARKE, "The host of heaven - Sun, moon, planets, and stars. This worship was
one of the most ancient and the most common of all species of idolatry; and it had a
greater semblance of reason to recommend it. See 2Ki_23:6, 2Ki_23:12; Jer_19:13; Jer_
32:29.
That swear by the Lord, and that swear by Malcham - Associating the name of
an idol with that of the Most High. For Malcham, see on Hos_4:15 (note), and Amo_

57. 5:26 (note).
GILL, "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 Jer_
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 (n) 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 Mo, 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.
JAMISO , "worship the host of heaven — Saba: whence, in contrast to
Sabeanism, Jehovah is called Lord of Sabaoth.
upon the housetops — which were flat (2Ki_23:5, 2Ki_23:6, 2Ki_23:12; Jer_19:13;
Jer_32:29).
swear by the Lord — rather, “swear to Jehovah” (2Ch_15:14); solemnly dedicating
themselves to Him (compare Isa_48:1; Hos_4:15).
and — “and yet (with strange inconsistency, 1Ki_18:21; Eze_20:39; Mat_6:24) swear
by Malcham,” that is, “their king” [Maurer]: the same as Molech (see on Amo_5:25), and
“Milcom the god of ... Ammon” (1Ki_11:33). If Satan have half the heart, he will have all;
if the Lord have but half offered to Him, He will have none.
CALVI , "Zephaniah pursues the subject contained in the verse I explained
yesterday. For as the majority of the people still adhered to their superstitions,
though the pure worship of the law had been restored by Josiah, the Prophet
threatens here, that God would punish such ingratitude. As then he had spoken in
the last verse of the worshipers of Baal and their sacrifices, so now he proceeds
farther—that the Lord would execute vengeance on the whole people, who prayed to
the host of heaven, or bowed themselves down before the host of heaven. It is well
known that those stars are thus called in Scripture to which the gentiles ascribed, on
account of their superior lustre, some sort of divinity. Hence it was, that they
worshipped the sun as God, called the moon the queen of heaven, and also paid
adoration to the stars. The people, then, did not only sin in worshipping Baal, but

58. were also addicted to many superstitions, as we see to be the case whenever men
degenerate from the genuine doctrine of true religion; they then seek out various
inventions on all sides, so that they observe no limits and keep within no boundaries.
But he says, that they worshipped the stars on their roofs. It is probable that they
chose this higher place, as interpreters remind us, because they thought that they
were more seen by the stars the nearer they were to them. For as men are gross in
their ideas they never think God propitious to them except he exhibits some proof or
sign of a bodily presence; in short, they always seek God according to their own
earthly notions. Since, then, the Jews thought that there were so many Gods as there
are stars in heaven, it is no wonder that they ascended to the roofs of their houses,
that they might be, as it were, in the sight of their gods, and thus not lose their
labor; for the superstitious never think that their devotion is observed by God,
unless they have before their eyes, as we have just said, some sign of his presence.
We now then see how this verse stands connected with the last. God declares that he
would punish all idolaters; but as the Jews worshipped Baal, the Prophet first
condemned that strange religion; and now he adds other devices, to which the Jews
perversely devoted themselves; for they worshipped also all the stars, ascribing to
them some sort of divinity. Then he mentions all those who worshipped and swore
by their own king, and swore by Jehovah
By these last words the Prophet intimates, that the Jews had not so repudiated the
law of God but that they boasted that they still worshipped the God who had
adopted them, and by whom they had been redeemed, who had commanded the
temple to be built for him, and an altar on mount Sion. They then did not openly
reject the worship of the true God, but formed such a mixture for themselves, that
they joined to the true God their own idols, as we see to be the state of things at this
day under the Papacy. It seems a sufficient excuse to foolish men that they retain the
name of God; and they confidently boast that the true God is worshipped by them;
and yet we see that they mix together with this worship many of the delusions of
Satan; for under the Papacy there is no end to their inventions. When any devise
some peculiar mode of worship, it is then connected with the rest; and thus they
form such a mixture, that from one God, divided into many parts, they bring forth a
vast troop of deities. As then at this day the Papists worship God and idols too, so
Zephaniah had to condemn the same wickedness among the Jews.
We here learn that God’s name was not then wholly obliterated, as though the
world had openly fallen away from God; for though they worshipped Jupiter,
Mercury, Apollo, and other fictitious gods, they yet professed to worship the only
true and eternal God, the Creator of heaven and earth. What then was it that the
Prophet condemned that they were not content with what the law simply and plainly
prescribed, but that they devised for themselves various and strange modes of
worship; for when men take to themselves such a liberty as this, they no longer
worship the true God, how much soever they may pretend to do so, inasmuch as
God repudiates all spurious modes of worship, as he testifies especially in Ezekiel
20:0 —Go ye, he says, worship your idols. He shows that all kinds of worship are

59. abominable to him whenever men depart in any measure from his pure word. For
we must hold this as the main principle—that obedience is more valued by God than
all sacrifices. Whenever men run after their own inventions they depart from the
true God; for they refuse to render to him what he principally requires, even
obedience.
But our Prophet speaks according to the common notions of men; for they
pretended to be the true worshipers of God, while they still adhered to their own
inventions. They did not, indeed, properly speaking, worship the true God; but as
they thought, and openly professed to do this, Zephaniah, making this concession,
says—God will not suffer his own worship to be thus profaned: ye seek to blend it
with that of your idols; this he will not endure. Ye worship the true God, and ye
worship your idols; but he would have himself to be worshipped alone; and this he
deserves. But the partition which ye make is nothing else than the mangling of true
worship; and God will not have himself to be thus in part worshipped. We now
understand what the Prophet means here; for the Jews covered their abominations
with the pretext that their purpose was to worship the God of Abraham: the
Prophet does not simply deny this to be done by them, but declares that this worship
was useless and disapproved by God; nay, he proceeds farther, and says that this
worship, made up of various inventions, was an abominable corruption which God
would punish; for he can by no means bear that there should be such an alliance—
that idols should be substituted in his place, and that a part of his glory should be
transferred to the inventions of men. This is the true meaning.
We hence learn how greatly deceived the Papists are, who think it enough, provided
they depart not wholly from the worship of the only true God; for God allows and
approves of no worship except when we attend to his voice, and turn not aside either
to the left hand or to the right, but acquiesce only in what he has prescribed.
It is nothing strange that he connects swearing with worship, for it is a kind of
divine worship. Hence the Scripture, stating a part for the whole, often mentions
swearing in this sense, as including the service due to God. But the Prophet
pronounces here generally a curse on all the superstitious, who worshipped fictitious
gods; and then he adds one kind of worship, and that is swearing. I shall not here
speak at large, nor is it— necessary, on the subject of swearing. We know that the
use of an oath is lawful when God is appealed to as a witness and a judge, on
important occasions; for God’s name may be interposed when a matter requires
proof, and when it is important; but God’s name is not to be introduced
thoughtlessly. Hence two things are especially required in an oath—that all who
swear by his name should present themselves with reverence before his tribunal,
and acknowledge him to be the avenger if they take his name falsely or
inconsiderately This is one thing. Then the matter itself, on account of which we
swear, must be considered; for if men allow themselves to swear by God’s name
respecting things which are trifling and frivolous, it is a shameful profanation, and
by no means to be borne. For it is a singular favor on the part of God, that he allows
us to take his name when there is any controversy among us, and when a
confirmation is necessary. As then we thus receive through kindness the name of

60. God, it is surely a great favor; for how great is the sanctity of that name, though it
serves even earthly concerns? God then does so far accommodate himself to us, that
it is lawful for us to swear by his name. Hence a greater seriousness ought to be
observed by us in oaths, so that no one should dare to interpose an oath except when
necessity requires; and we should also especially take heed lest God be called a
witness to what is false. For how great a sacrilege it is to cover a falsehood with his
name, who is the eternal and immutable truth! They then who swear falsely by his
name change God, as far as they can, into what he is not. We now sufficiently
understand how swearing is a kind of divine worship, because his honor is thereby
given to God; for his majesty is, as it were, brought before us, and as it is his
peculiar office to know and to discover hidden things, and also to maintain the
truth, this his own work is ascribed to him. ow when any one swears by a mortal,
or by the sun, or by the moon, or by creatures, he deprives God in part of his own
honor.
We hence see that in superstitious oaths there was a clear proof of idolatry. This is
the reason why the Prophet here condemns those who did swear by Jehovah and by
Malkom; that is, who joined their idols with the true and eternal God when they
swore. For it is a clear precept of God’s law, ‘By the name of thy God shalt thou
swear.’ Deuteronomy 6:13. And when the Prophets speak of the renovation of the
Church, they use this form—‘Ye shall swear by the name of God;’ ‘To me shall
bend every knee;’ ‘Every tongue shall swear to me.’ What does all this mean? The
whole world shall acknowledge me as the true God; and as every knee shall bow to
me, so every one will submit himself to my judgment. We may hence doubtlessly
conclude, that God is deprived of his right, whenever we swear by the sun, or by the
moon, or by the dead, or by any creatures.
This evil has been common in all ages; and it prevails still at this day under the
Papacy. They swear by the Virgin, by angels, and by the dead. They do not think
that they thus take away anything from the sovereignty of the only true God; but we
see what he declares respecting them. The Papists therefore foolishly excuse
themselves, when they swear by their saints: for they cannot elude the charge of
sacrilege, which the Holy Spirit has stamped with perpetual infamy, since he has
said, that all those are abominable in the sight of God who swear by any other name
than his own: and the reason is evident, for the sun, moon, and stars, and also dead
or living men, are honored with the name of God, when they are set up as judges.
For they who swear by the sun, do the same as though they said—The sun is my
witness and judge; that is, The sun is my God. They who swear by the name of a
king, or as profane men swore formerly, By the genius of their king, ascribe to a
mortal what is peculiar to the true God alone. But when any one swears by heaven
or the temple, and does not think that there is any divinity in the heavens or in the
temple, it is the same as though he swore by God himself, as it appears from
Matthew 23:20; and Christ, when he forbade us to swear by heaven or by the earth,
did not condemn such modes of swearing as inconsistent with his word, but as only
useless and vain. At the same time he showed that God’s name is profaned by such
expressions: ‘They who swear by heaven, swear also by him who inhabits heaven;
they who swear by the temple, swear also by him who is worshipped in the temple,

61. and to whom sacrifices are offered.’ When one swears by his head or by his life, it is
a protestation, as though he said—As my life is dear to me. But they who swear by
the saints, either living or dead, ascribe to mortals what is due to God. They who
swear by the sun, place a dead created thing on the throne of God himself.
As to the term ‫,מלכם‬ melkom, it may be properly rendered, their king; for ‫,מלך‬
melak, as it is well known, means a king; but it is here put in construction, ‫,מלכם‬
melkom, their king; they swear by their own, king (71) The Prophet, I doubt not,
alludes to the word ‫,מולך‬ Molok, which is derived from the verb, to reign: for though
that word was commonly used by all as a proper name, it is yet certain that that
false god was so called, as though he was a king: and the Prophet increases the
indignity by saying—They swear by Malkom. He might have simply said, They
swear by Moloch; but he says, They swear by Malkom; that is, They forget that I
am their king, and transfer my sovereignty to a dead and empty image. God then
does here, by an implied contrast, exaggerate the sin of the Jews, as they sought
another king for themselves, when they knew that under his protection they always
enjoyed a sure and real safety. Let us now proceed—
The swearing is here differently expressed: it is to [( ‫])ל‬ Jehovah; and by [( ‫])ב‬
Milcam. To swear to, is to make a promise to another by an oath, or, in this
instance, to swear allegiance to God: but to swear by, is to appeal to another as
witness to an engagement. We have the two forms together in Joshua 9:19. The Jews
made a solemn profession of obedience to God, and yet they acknowledged Melcam
as God, by appealing to him as a witness to the truth. It is called the abomination of
the Ammonites, 1 Kings 11:33
The image of this god, according to the Rabbins, was hollow, made of brass, and
had seven compartments. In the first, they put flour—in the second, turtles—in the
third, an ewe—in the fourth, a ram—in the fifth, a calf—in the sixth, an ox—and in
the seventh, a child! All these were burnt together by heating the image in the
inside! To drown the cries and noises that might be made, they used drums and
other instruments. See [ ‫מלך‬ ] in Parkhurst. How cruel is superstition! and yet how
wedded to it is man by nature! Though the Jews had knowledge of the religion of
him who is the God of love and mercy; yet they preferred the religion of savages and
barbarians. How strongly does this fact prove man’s natural antipathy to God!—
Ed.
COFFMA , "Verse 5
"And them that worship the host of heaven upon the housetops; and them that
worship and swear to Jehovah and swear by Malcam."
These verses (Zephaniah 1:4-6) give the reasons why God's judgment would fall
upon Judah. They might all be summed up in a word, "apostasy" from the
knowledge and worship of God.
"Worship the host of heaven ..." Astrology and the worship of the sun, moon, and

62. stars, as practiced by the Assyrians and Babylonians, became common among
Jewish idolaters (2 Kings 23:11; Jeremiah 19:13,32,29; Ezekiel 8:16). As Stephen
said, "God turned and gave them up to serve the host of heaven" (Acts 7:42).
"And swear by Jehovah and swear by Malcam ..." Worshipping God and any other
god, or anything else, adds up to apostasy. The Jews did in fact mention the true
God, but in the same breath they honored and served Baal, Malcam, and other
pagan deities. Hanke and other scholars have identified the "Malcam" of this
passage with "Molech, a Semitic deity honored by the sacrifices of children."[17]
Our Lord himself made it plain that one cannot serve "two masters" (Matthew
6:24).
The syncretism of ancient Israel in their foolish efforts to worship both the true God
and the pagan deities has its counterpart in our own society today. As Gill noted:
"The Assyrian worship of the planets has infected the people of God in their
preoccupation with horoscopes."[18] Christianity today is likewise seeking a
peaceful co-existence and accommodation with Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, etc. "The
World Council of Churches is itself a form of religion syncretism."[19] Colin W.
Williams, dean of the Yale Divinity school stated that, "What is true for the
Buddhist in his situation may be as valid for him as mine is for me"; and Max
Therian, speaking before the World Council in ew Delhi, affirmed that truth and
charity were taught by both Mohammed and Jesus, declaring that both are
"recognized as Master and Prophet."[20] Such views are totally wrong; "There is
none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved."
Of all the pagan deities, none was any more despicable than Molech; and Israel's
participation in his worship is Biblically attested in the fact that at least three of
their kings engaged in it (Ahab, 1 Kings 16:34; Ahaz, 2 Kings 16:3, and Manasseh (2
Kings 21:6). Jeremiah responded to such a situation with the ironic question:
"Will ye steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, burn incense unto Baal, and
walk after other gods, and come and stand before Me in this house, which is called
by my name, saying, we are delivered to do these abominations?" (Jeremiah 7-8-10).
Such also are Christians who fancy, "That they can serve together the world and the
Lord Jesus Christ, and please two masters, God and Mammon."[21]
TRAPP, "Verse 5
Zephaniah 1:5 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;
Ver. 5. And them that worship the host of heaven upon the housetops] Called
elsewhere the Queen of heaven, the constellations and heavenly bodies: whom they
thought to worship so much the more acceptably, if in an open place and on high, in
the very sight of the stars. Observent ista qui hodie Astrologiam iudiciariam
profitentur, saith Gualther, Let those among us observe this who profess judiciary
astrology; for these worship the stars no less than did the heathens of old, and do

63. openly bring in heathenism again; while (first) they call the stars by the names of
those heathenish deities, that ought to be abolished; and next, they subject to those
stars all events of things, yea, man himself as touching all his manners and fortunes,
which the Scripture affirmeth to depend upon the eternal providence of God alone.
This is intolerable impiety, and they that fall into it, shall not escape the just
judgment of God.
And them that worship and that swear by the Lord (or to the Lord, consecrating
themselves as by oath to his service), and that swear by Malcham] That is, by their
king, as the Egyptians did of old, Genesis 42:15. The Spaniards at this day, in the
pride of their monarchy, are grown also to swear by the life of their king. There are
a sort of mongrel Christians in the East called Melchites, as one would say of the
king’s religion, because they resolved to do as Melech the king commanded them,
though it were to make a mixture of religions, as these in the text would, and as our
late moderators, Sancta Clara and others, of whom one said well, that they had
made a pretty show, had there been no Bible, to tell us, that the jealous and just God
hateth and plagueth halting between two, lukewarmness and neutrality in religion,
all dough baked duties, speckled birds, ploughing with an ox and an ass, mingled
seeds, linseywoolsey garments, Leviticus 19:19. Upon which text the Douay doctor’s
note is, here all participation with heretics and schismatics is forbidden. But by
Malcham most understand here an idol of the Ammonites, otherwise called Molech,
served in Tophet near to Jerusalem, and in the mount of Olives, called therefore the
mount of corruption, 2 Kings 23:13. Which God could not but see as often as he
looked out of the sanctuary. These worshippers of Malcham would not utterly
renounce the true God, but they would set up others with him as partners: this
would not be endured. Such were of old the Samaritans among the Jews, the
Ebionites among the Christians, the Papists to this day, who swear by God and
saints, and pray to God and his saints, and commit themselves to them (together
with God) as their tutelars and patrons.
ELLICOTT, "(5) The worship “on the housetops” is mentioned elsewhere as the
cult of a certain class of apostates (see Jeremiah 19:13; Jeremiah 32:29) who
ascended roots and other high places to adore the hosts of heaven. We find it
mentioned as part of Josiah’s reformatory procedure that he removed “the altars
that were on the top of the upper chamber of Ahaz” (2 Kings 23:12). The last half of
the verse should be rendered, And the worshippers who swear to Jehovah, and who
swear (also) by Malcham—i.e., those who divide their allegiance between the true
God and the false. In the title given to the latter we may perhaps see a combination
of “their king” (Hebrew, malcâm) and the name Moloch, or Molech. The name
Malcham, however, occurs elsewhere as the name of an Ammonite deity, probably
identical with Moloch. (See Jeremiah 49:1-3, otes.) In 1 Kings 11:5, moreover, we
have a deity “Milcham,” who is identified two verses later with Molech, “the
abomination of the children of Ammon.” The allusion to the adoration of the “host
of heaven upon the housetops” gains additional force if this deity is identical with
the planet Saturn, as some have supposed. (See Gesenius, sub voce).
CO STABLE, "The Lord would also judge those who worshipped the sun, moon,

64. stars, and planets, which the idolatrous Israelites did on their flat housetops (cf.
Deuteronomy 4:19; 2 Kings 21:3; 2 Kings 21:5; 2 Kings 23:4-5; Jeremiah 19:13). He
would also punish the Judeans who worshipped both Yahweh and the pagan gods of
the nations (cf. 2 Kings 16:3; 2 Kings 21:6; Jeremiah 32:35). "Milcom," (Molech, the
god of Ammon; 1 Kings 11:33), probably represents all foreign gods. Swearing to
and by a deity meant pronouncing an oath that called on that god to punish the
oath-taker if he or she failed to do what he or she promised. Swearing by another
god involved acknowledging its authority, which God forbade in Israel.
WHEDO , "Verse 5-6
Zephaniah 1:5-6 name different classes of worshipers that will be swept away.
Worship the host of heaven — The sun, moon, and stars. This form of idolatry,
which was quite common in Judah during the latter part of the seventh century B.C.
(Jeremiah 8:2; Jeremiah 19:13), was introduced from Assyria. The alliance
consummated by Ahaz (2 Kings 16:7-9) opened the way for its introduction, and
further provision was made for it by Manasseh (2 Kings 21:3; 2 Kings 21:5;
compare 2 Kings 23:12). Josiah sought to abolish it (2 Kings 23:4-5; 2 Kings 23:12),
but he did not succeed completely (Ezekiel 8:16; compare Job 31:26).
Upon the housetops — An indication that the worship was rendered directly to the
heavenly bodies when they were visible, and not to representations of them. The
construction of the rest of Zephaniah 1:5 offers some difficulties. The text may have
suffered, but the ancient versions offer no relief. If the present text is original a
better rendering would be, “those who bow themselves, who devote themselves to
Jehovah but swear by their king.” The first “swear” of A.V. is certainly an
erroneous translation, for the construction is not the same as in the last clause; the
expression means rather “to devote oneself by oath to the service of another,” and
that fits admirably. The people prostrate themselves before Jehovah and vow loyalty
to him; then they go and swear by some other deity, an indication that, in reality,
their affection does not belong to Jehovah. While in this wise acceptable sense can
be gotten from the present text, the latter is undoubtedly awkward and is greatly
improved if the first “and that swear by” is omitted. It might easily have crept in
from the following clause. With this omission 5b will read, “Those who bow
themselves before Jehovah but swear by their king”; that is, nominally they worship
Jehovah, in reality they have transferred their affection to other deities. If this is the
correct interpretation, Zephaniah 1:5 condemns two classes of worshipers, the out-
and-out idolaters and the hypocritical Jehovah worshipers (compare Ezekiel 23:39).
Malcham — Margin R.V., “their king.” The god whom they recognize as their chief
deity, whoever he might be. When many gods are worshiped the individual
worshipers have their favorites among them. Peshitto and some manuscripts of
LXX. read “Milcom” or “Moloch,” the name of the chief deity of the Ammonites.
This presupposes the same consonants but different vowel points in Hebrew; in
Jeremiah 49:1; Jeremiah 49:3, the same vowel points are retained. That Milcom was
worshiped in Judah in Zephaniah’s days is shown by 2 Kings 23:13.

65. A third class of sinners is condemned in Zephaniah 1:6, those who have renounced
entirely Jehovah and his religion.
Turned back from Jehovah — R.V., “turned back from following Jehovah.” They
began as worshipers of Jehovah, but have apostatized.
And those that have not sought — This translation implies that 6b condemns
another class of sinners; it is better, however, to consider the words a
characterization of the people condemned in 6a and translate, “And them who have
turned from following Jehovah, and who do not seek Jehovah nor inquire for him.”
The word rendered here “inquire” is translated in Amos 5:4; Amos 5:6, “seek” (see
there); the other word is translated “seek” in Hosea 5:6, and has practically the
same meaning. These apostates have no longer any concern for Jehovah (Zephaniah
1:12).
PULPIT, "That worship the host of heaven upon the house tops. In this verse two
classes of fame worshippers are mentioned, viz. star worshippers, and waverers.
The worship of the sun, moon, and stars was a very ancient form of error, the
heavenly bodies being regarded as the representatives of the powers of nature and
the originators of events on earth (see Deuteronomy 4:19; Deuteronomy 17:3; Job
31:26, Job 31:27; 2 Kings 17:16). It was especially prevalent in the time of Manasseh
(2 Kings 21:3), On the flat roofs of the houses, which were used as places of
meditation, recreation, or conference (comp. Joshua 2:6; 1 Samuel 9:25; 2 Samuel
11:2; Acts 10:9), they erected altars for family worship of the heavenly bodies. Here
they both burned incense (Jeremiah 19:13) and offered animal sacrifices (2 Kings
23:12). "In Syrian cities," says Dr. Thomson, "the roofs are a great comfort. The
ordinary houses have no other place where the inmates, can either see the sun, smell
the air, dry their clothes, set out their flower pots, or do numberless other things
essential to their health and comfort. During a large part of the year the roof is the
most agreeable place about the establishment, especially in the morning and
evening. There multitudes sleep during the summer". Them that worship and that,
etc.; rather, the worshippers who, etc. These were people who endeavoured to blend
the worship of God with that of Baal, or halted between two opinions (1 Kings
18:21). Swear by the Lord; rather, swear to the Lord; i.e. bind themselves by oath to
him, and at the same time swear by Malcham; swear by their king, Baal, or Moloch;
call upon him as god. Septuagint, κατὰ τοῦ βασιλέως αὐτῶν, "by their king." But it
is, perhaps, best to retain the name untranslated, in which ease it would be the
appellation of the god Moloch, who could hardly be omitted in enumerating the
objects of idolatrous worship (see Jeremiah 49:1, Jeremiah 49:3; and notes on Amos
1:15; Amos 5:26).
6 those who turn back from following the Lord

66. and neither seek the Lord nor inquire of him.”
BAR ES, "
And them that are turned back from - (Literally, have turned themselves back
from following after) the Lord From this half-service, the prophet goes on to the avowed
neglect of God, by such as wholly fall away from Him, not setting His will or law before
them, “but turning away from” Him. It is their misery that they were set in the right way
once, but themselves “turned themselves back,” now no longer “following” God, but
“their own lusts, drawn away and enticed” Jam_1:14 by them. How much more
Christians, before whose eyes Christ Jesus is set forth, not as a Redeemer only but as an
Example that they should “follow His steps!” 1Pe_2:21.
And those that have not sought the Lord, nor inquired for Him - This is
marked to be a distinct class. “And those who.” These did not openly break with God, or
turn away overtly from Him; they kept (as men think) on good terms with Him, but, like
“the slothful servant,” rendered Him a listless heartless service. Both words express
diligent search. God is not found then in a careless way. They who “seek” Him not
“diligently” Mat_2:8, do not find Him. “Strive,” our Lord says, “to enter in at the strait
gate, for many, I say unto you, shall seek to enter in, and shall not be able” Luk_13:24.
She who had lost the one piece of silver, “sought” “diligently” Luk_15:8, until she had
found it.
Thus, he has gone through the whole cycle. First, that most horrible and cruel worship
of Baal, the idolatrous priests and those who had the name of priests only, mingled with
them, yet not openly apostatizing; then the milder form of idolatry, the star-worshipers;
then those who would unite the worship of God with idols, who held themselves to be
worshipers of God, but whose real king was their idol; then those who openly abandoned
God; and lastly those who held with Him, just to satisfy their conscience-qualms, but
with no heart-service. And so, in words of Habakkuk and in reminiscence of his awful
summons of the whole world before God, he sums up;
CLARKE, "Them that are turned back - Who have forsaken the true God, and
become idolaters.
Nor inquired for him - Have not desired to know his will.
GILL, "And them that are turned back from the Lord,.... Who once were
worshippers of him, but now become apostates, and had turned their backs on him and
his worship. Some think this describes those who renewed their covenant with God in
Josiah's time, and after that revolted from him, who must be very abominable to him;
and therefore he threatens to stretch out his hand, and pour out his wrath upon them:
and those that have not sought the Lord, nor inquired for him; profane
abandoned sinners, that lived without God in the world, and as if there was no God;
never concerned themselves about the worship of him, having no faith in him, love to

67. him, or fear and reverence of him; so far were they from seeking him in the first place
diligently, zealously, and with their whole heart, that they never sought him at all; nor
took any pains to get any knowledge of him, or of his mind and will, and manner of
worship; but were altogether careless about these things, and unconcerned for them.
JAMISO , "This verse describes more comprehensively those guilty of defection
from Jehovah in any way (Jer_2:13, Jer_2:17).
CALVI , "The Prophet seems here to include, as it were, in one bundle, the proud
despisers of God, as well as those idolaters of whom he had spoken. It may yet be,
that he describes the same persons in different words, and that he means that they
were addicted to their own superstitions, because they were unwilling to serve God
sincerely and from the heart, and even shunned everything that might lead their
attention to true religion. And this view I mostly approve; for what some imagine,
that their gross contempt of God is here pointed out, is not sufficiently supported. I
therefore rather think that the idolaters are here reproved, that they might not
suppose that they could by subterfuges wash away their guilt; for they were wont to
cover themselves with the shield of ignorance, when they were overcome, and their
impiety was fully proved: I did not think so; but, on the contrary, my purpose was
to worship God. Since, then, the superstitious are wont to hide themselves under the
covering of ignorance, the Prophet here defines the idolatry of the people, and
briefly shows that it was connected with obstinacy and wickedness.
They did not seek Jehovah; but, on the contrary, they turned willfully away from
him, and sought, as it were designedly, to extinguish true religion. or was it to be
wondered at, that so grievous and severe a sentence was pronounced on them; for
they had been taught by the law how God was to be served. How was it, then, that
errors so gross had crept in? Doubtless, God had kindled the light of celestial truth,
which clearly showed the way of true religion; but as men ever seek to perform some
frivolous trifles, the Israelites and the Jews, when they felt ashamed openly and
manifestly to reject the true God, labored at the same time to add many ceremonies,
that their impiety might be thus concealed. This is the reason why the Prophet says
that they turned back; that is, that they could not be excused on the ground of
ignorance, but that they were perfidious and apostates, who had preferred their
own idols to the true God; though they knew that he could not be rightly
worshipped, but according to the rule prescribed in the law, they yet neglected this,
and heaped together many superstitions.
And, doubtless, we shall find that the fountain of all false worship is this—that men
are unwilling truly and from the heart to serve God; and, at the same time, they
wish to retain some appearance of religion. For there is nothing omitted in the law
that is needful for the perfect worship of God: but as God requires in the law a
spiritual worship, hence it is that men seek hiding-places, and devise for themselves
many ceremonies, that they may turn back from God, and yet pretend that they
come to him. While they sedulously labor in their own ceremonies, it is indeed true
that the worship of God and religion are continually on their lips: but, as I have
said, it is all hypocrisy and deception; for they accumulate ceremonies, that there

68. might be something intervening between God and them. It is not, therefore, without
reason that the Prophet here accuses the Jews that they turned back from Jehovah,
and that they sought him not. How so? For there was no need of a long, or of a
difficult, or of a perplexed enquiry; for the Lord had freely offered himself to them.
How, then, was it that they were blind in the midst of light, except that they
knowingly and willfully followed their own inventions? (72)
The same is the case at this day with the Papists: for though they may glamour a
hundred times that they seek to worship God, it is quite evident that they willfully
go astray; inasmuch as they so delight themselves with their own inventions, that
they do not purely and from the heart devote and consecrate themselves to God.
We now, then, see that this verse was added, as an explanation, by the Prophet, that
he might deprive the Jews of their false plea of ignorance, and show that they sinned
willfully; for they would have been sufficiently taught by the law, had they not
adopted their own inventions, which dazzled their eyes and all their senses. It
follows—
COFFMA , "Verse 6
"And them that are turned back from following Jehovah; and those that have not
sought Jehovah, nor inquired after him."
This is addressed to the vast company of the irreligious who have given up all
pretense of serving God or of manifesting any concern whatever regarding God's
will. Taylor stated that this verse might properly be rendered thus: "The wicked, in
the pride of his countenance, does not go to church."[22]
TRAPP, "Verse 6
Zephaniah 1:6 And them that are turned back from the LORD and [those] that
have not sought the LORD, nor enquired for him.
Ver. 6. And them that are turned back from the Lord] ot gross idolaters, but yet
treacherous backsliders, that fall off from their former forwardness, that turn from
the holy commandments, 2 Peter 2:21, that depart a post Dominum, from after the
Lord, as the Hebrew here hath it, apostates, those worst of men, that do not only not
fulfil after the Lord, as Caleb, but utterly forsake him. A heavier judgment awaiteth
such. "God shall lead them forth with the workers of iniquity," Psalms 125:5.
And those that have not sought the Lord, nor enquired after him] Diligently sought
him, Hebrews 11:6, zealously inquired after him, as after a lost jewel, Jeremiah
29:13. God will visit for unzealousness; and curse those that do his work carelessly,
cursorily, in a perfunctory, formal, bedulling way.
ELLICOTT, "(6) Schmieder observes that the enumeration of Zephaniah 1:4-6
extends from gross external to refined internal apostasy. “The Lord will destroy (1)

69. the idols of Baal; (2) their priests; (3) those who openly worship them on housetops;
(4) the secret worshippers; (5) those who, without worshipping idols, have
apostatised in their hearts; (6) those who are indifferent to religion.”
CO STABLE, "Judgment would come, too, on all God"s people who had
apostatized, namely, departed from loving and following Yahweh, and had stopped
praying to Him. They might not have participated in pagan idolatry, but if their
love had grown cold, they were still guilty (cf. Revelation 2:1-7). The Lord
commanded His people to love Him wholeheartedly (cf. Deuteronomy 6:5). They
may have forgotten Him, but He had not forgotten them.
"Sometimes it is the apathetic and indifferent who are more responsible for a
nation"s moral collapse than those who are actively engaged in evil, or those who
have failed in the responsibilities of leadership." [ ote: Peter C. Craigie, Twelve
Prophets, 2:114.]
In this pericope the prophet identified three types of idolatry: "the overtly pagan,
the syncretistic, and the religiously indifferent." [ ote: Hannah, p1526.]
Practitioners of all three would draw punishment from Yahweh.
How does this promise to judge the Israelites harmonize with the earlier prophecy
that God would destroy the whole earth ( Zephaniah 1:2-3)? This is an example of a
prophet"s foreshortened view of the future in which he could not see the difference
in time between some events that he predicted (cf. Isaiah 61:1-3; Daniel 11:35-36; et
al.). God judged Israel when the Babylonians overran Judah and destroyed
Jerusalem in586 B.C. He will also judge the Israelites in the Tribulation (cf.
Jeremiah 30:7; Revelation 6-18; et al.). Zephaniah described God"s judgment of the
people of Judah without specifying exactly when He would judge them. Most of
what Zephaniah prophesied in this pericope found fulfillment, at least initially,
in586 B.C.
PULPIT, "Them that are turned back from the Lord. This is a third class, vie.
apostates and open despisers. Those who follow him no more, renegades who have
left his service. The Vulgate reproduces the original by, qui avertuntur de post
tergum Domini. Those that have not sought the Lord. These are the indifferent, who
do.not trouble themselves about religion. The chief classes mentioned in these two
verses are three, viz. the open idolaters, the syncretists who mingled the worship of
Baal with that of Jehovah, and those who despised religion altogether.
7 Be silent before the Sovereign Lord,
for the day of the Lord is near.

70. The Lord has prepared a sacrifice;
he has consecrated those he has invited.
BAR ES, "Hold thy peace at the presence of the Lord God - (Literally,
“Hush,” in awe “from the face of God.”) In the presence of God, even the righteous say
from their inmost heart, “I am vile, what shall I answer Thee? I will lay mine hand upon
my mouth” Job_40:4. “Now mine eye seeth Thee, wherefore I abhor myself, and repent
in dust and ashes” Job_42:5-6. “Enter not into judgment with Thy servant, O Lord, for
in Thy sight shall no man living be justified” Psa_143:2. How much more must the “man
without the wedding garment be speechless” Mat_22:11-12, and every false plea, with
which he deceived himself, melt away before the Face of God! The voice of God’s
Judgment echoes in every heart, “we indeed justly” Luk_23:41.
For the Day of the Lord is at hand - Zephaniah, as is his custom, grounds this
summons, which he had renewed from Habakkuk, to hushed silence before God, on
Joel’s prophetic warning , to show that it was not yet exhausted. A day of the Lord, of
which Joel warned, had come and was gone; but it was only the herald of many such
days; judgments in time, heralds and earnests, and, in their degree, pictures of the last
which shall end time.
Dionysius: “All time is God’s, since He Alone is the Lord of time; yet that is specially
said to be His time when He doth anything special. Whence He saith, “My time is not yet
come” Joh_7:6; whereas all time is His.” The Day of the Lord is, in the first instance,
Jerome: “the day of captivity and vengeance on the sinful people,” as a forerunner of the
Day of Judgment, or the day of death to each, for this too is near, since, compared to
eternity, all the time of this world is brief.
For the Lord hath prepared a sacrifice - God had rejected sacrifices, offered
amid unrepented sin; they were “an abomination to Him” Isa_1:11-15. When man will
not repent and offer himself as “a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God” Rom_12:1,
God, at last, rejects all other outward oblations, and the sinner himself is the sacrifice
and victim of his own sins. The image was probably suggested by Isaiah’s words, “The
Lord hath a sacrifice in Bozrah, and a great slaughter in the land of Idumea” Isa_34:6;
and Jeremiah subsequently uses it of the overthrow of Pharaoh at the Euphrates, “This
is the day of the Lord of Hosts; that He may avenge Him of His adversaries, for the Lord
God hath a sacrifice in the north country by the river Euphrates” Jer_46:10. “The Lord
hath made all things for Himself, yea even the wicked for the day of evil” Pro_16:4. All
must honor God, either fulfilling the will of God and the end of their own being and of
His love for them, by obeying that loving will with their own freewill, or, if they
repudiate it to the end, by suffering it.
He hath bid His guests - (Literally, sanctified) God had before, by Isaiah, called
the pagan whom He employed to punish Babylon, “My sanctified ones” Isa_13:3.
Zephaniah, by giving the title to God’s instruments against Judah, declares that
themselves, having become in deeds like the pagan, were as pagan to Him. The
instruments of His displeasure, not they, were so far his chosen, His called. Jeremiah

71. repeats the saying, “Thus saith the Lord against the house of the king of Judah;...I have
sanctified against thee destroyers, a man and his weapons” Jer_22:6-7. That is, so far, a
holy war in the purpose of God, which fulfills His will; from where Nebuchadnezzar was
“His servant” Jer_25:9, avenging His wrongs . Cyril: “To be sanctified, here denotes not
the laying aside of iniquity, nor the participation of the Holy Spirit, but, as it were, to be
foreordained and chosen to the fulfillment of this end.” That is in a manner hallowed,
which is employed by God for a holy end, though the instrument, its purposes, its aims,
its passions, be in themselves unholy. There is an awe about “the scourges of God.” As
with the lightning and the tornado, there is a certain presence of God with them, in that
through them His Righteousness is seen; although they themselves have as little of God
as the “wind and storm” which “fulfill His word.” Those who were once admitted to
make offerings to God make themselves sacrifices to His wrath; these, still pagan and
ungodly and in all besides reprobate, are His priests, because in this, although without
their will, they do His will.
CLARKE, "Hold thy peace at the presence of the Lords God - ‫הס‬ has, the
same as hush, hist, among us. Remonstrances are now useless. You had time to acquaint
yourselves with God; you would not: you cry now in vain; destruction is at the door.
The Lord hath prepared a sacrifice - A slaughter of the people.
He hath bid his guests - The Babylonians, to whom he has given a commission to
destroy you. In all festivals sacrifices,
1. The victims were offered to God, and their blood poured out before the altar.
2. The people who were invited feasted upon the sacrifice. See on Isa_34:6 (note).
GILL, "Hold thy peace at the presence of the Lord God,.... When he comes
forth, and appears in the way of his judgments, do not dispute the point with him, or
pretend to offer reasons against his proceedings, or in order to disprove the justice of
them; stand in awe and reverence of him, who is the Lord God omniscient and
omnipotent, holy, just, and true; humble yourselves under his mighty hand; be still, and
know that he is God; and let not one murmuring and repining word come out of your
mouth. The Targum is,
"let all the wicked of the earth perish from before the Lord God:''
for the day of the Lord is at hand; the time of his vengeance on the Jewish nation
for their sins, which he had fixed in his mind, and had given notice of by his prophets:
this began to take place at Josiah's death, after which the Jews enjoyed little peace and
prosperity; and his successor reigned but three months, was deposed by the king of
Egypt, and carried thither captive, and there died; and Jehoiakim, that succeeded him,
in the fourth year of his reign was carried captive into Babylon, or died by the way
thither; so that this day might well be said to be at hand:
for the Lord hath prepared a sacrifice: his people the Jews, who were to fall a
victim to his vengeance, and a sacrifice to his justice, to atone in some measure for the

72. injury done to it by their sins; thus they that had offered sacrifice to idols, and neglected
the sacrifices of the Lord, and especially the great sacrifice of Christ typified by them, the
only proper atoning one, should themselves become a sacrifice to the just resentment of
God; this he had prepared in his mind, determined should be done, and would bring
about in his providence; see Isa_34:6,
he hath bid his guests: or "called ones" (o); the Chaldeans, whom he invited and
called to this sacrifice and feast: or whom he "prepared", or "sanctified" (p); he prepared
them in his purpose and providence; he set them apart for this service, and called them
to it; to be the sacrificers of this people, and to feast upon them; to spoil them of their
goods and riches, and enjoy them. These guests may also design, as Kimchi observes, the
fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the field, invited to feast upon the slain; see Eze_
39:17.
HE RY, "Notice is here given to Judah and Jerusalem that God is coming forth
against them, and will be with them shortly; his presence, as a just avenger, his day, the
day of his judgment and his wrath, are not far off, Zep_1:7. Those that improve not the
presence of God with them as a Father, but sin away that presence, may expect his
presence with them as a Judge, to call them to an account for the contempt put upon his
grace. The day of the Lord will come. Men have their day now, when they take a liberty
to do what they please; but God's day is at hand; it is here called his sacrifice, a sacrifice
of his preparing, for the punishing of presumptuous sinners is a sacrifice to the justice of
God, some reparation to his injured honour. Those that brought their offerings to other
gods were themselves justly made victims to the true God. On a day of sacrifice great
slaughter was made; so shall there be in Jerusalem; men shall be killed up as fast as
lambs for the altar, with as little regret, with as much pleasure: The slain of the Lord
shall be many. On a day of sacrifice great feasts were made upon the sacrifices; so the
inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem shall be feasted upon by their enemies the
Chaldeans; these are the guests God has prepared and invited to come and glut
themselves - their revenge with slaughter and their covetousness with plunder. Now
observe,
JAMISO , "Hold thy peace at the presence of the Lord — (Hab_2:20). Let the
earth be silent at His approach [Maurer]. Or, “Thou whosoever hast been wont to speak
against God, as if He had no care about earthly affairs, cease thy murmurs and self-
justifications; submit thyself to God, and repent in time” [Calvin].
Lord ... prepared a sacrifice — namely, a slaughter of the guilty Jews, the victims
due to His justice (Isa_34:6; Jer_46:10; Eze_39:17).
bid his guests — literally, “sanctified His called ones” (compare Isa_13:3). It
enhances the bitterness of the judgment that the heathen Chaldeans should be
sanctified, or consecrated as it were, by God as His priests, and be called to eat the flesh
of the elect people; as on feast days the priests used to feast among themselves on the
remains of the sacrifices [Calvin]. English Version takes it not of the priests, but the
guests bidden, who also had to “sanctify” or purify themselves before coming to the
sacrificial feast (1Sa_9:13, 1Sa_9:22; 1Sa_16:5). Nebuchadnezzar was bidden to come to
take vengeance on guilty Jerusalem (Jer_25:9).

73. K&D, "This judgment will speedily come. Zep_1:7. “Be silent before the Lord Jehovah!
For the day of Jehovah is near, for Jehovah has prepared a slaying of sacrifice, He has
consecrated His called.” The command, “Be silent before the Lord,” which is formed
after Hab_2:20, and with which the prophet summons to humble, silent submission to
the judgment of God, serves to confirm the divine threat in Zep_1:2-6. The reason for
the commanding Hush! (keep silence) is given in the statement that the day of Jehovah
is close at hand (compare Joe_1:15), and that God has already appointed the executors
of the judgment. The last two clauses of the verse are formed from reminiscences taken
from Isaiah. The description of the judgment as zebhach, a sacrifice, is taken from Isa_
34:6 (cf. Jer_46:10 and Eze_39:17). The sacrifice which God has prepared is the Jewish
nation; those who are invited to this sacrificial meal (“called,” 1Sa_9:13) are not beasts
and birds of prey, as in Eze_39:17, but the nations which He has consecrated to war that
they may consume Jacob (Jer_10:25). The extraordinary use of the verb hiqdiish
(consecrated) in this connection may be explained from Isa_13:3, where the nations
appointed to make war against Babel are called mequddâshım, the sanctified of Jehovah
(cf. Jer_22:7).
CALVI , "The Prophet confirms here what he has previously taught, when he bids
all to be silent before God; for this mode of speaking is the same as though he had
said, that he did not terrify the Jews in vain, but seriously set before them God’s
judgment, which they would find by experience to be even more than terrible. He
also records some of their sins, that the Jews might know that he did not threaten
them for nothing, but that there were just causes why God declared that he would
punish them. This is the substance of the whole.
Let us first see what the Prophet means by the word, silence. Something has been
said of this on the second chapter of Habakkuk. We said then that by silence is
meant submission; and to make the thing more clear, we said that we were to notice
the contrast between the silence to which men calmly submit, and the contumacy,
which is ever clamorous: for when men seek to be wise of themselves, and acquiesce
not in God’s word, it is then said, that they are not silent, for they refuse to give a
hearing to his word; and when men give loose reins to their own will, they observe
no bounds. Until God then obtains authority in the world, all places are full of
clamor, and the whole life of men is in a state of confusion, for they run to and fro in
their wanderings; and there is no restraint where God is not heard. It is for the
same reason that the Prophet now demands silence: but the expression is
accommodated to the subject which he handles. To be silent at the presence of God,
it is true, is to submit to God’s authority; but the connection is to be considered; for
Zephaniah saw then that God’s judgment was despised and regarded as nothing;
and he intimates here that God had so spoken, that the execution was nigh at hand.
Hence he says, Be silent, (73) that is, Know ye, that I have not spoken merely for the
purpose of terrifying you; but as God is prepared to execute vengeance, of this he
now reminds you, that if there be any hope of repentance, ye may in time seek to
return into favor with him; if not, that ye may be without excuse.
We now then understand why the Prophet bids them to be silent before the Lord

74. Jehovah: and the context is a confirmation of the same view; for the reason is added,
Because the day of Jehovah is nigh. For profane men ever promise to themselves
some respite, and think that they gain much by delay: the Prophet, on the contrary,
does now expose to scorn this self-security, and says, that the day of Jehovah was
nigh at hand. It is then the same thing as though he had said, that his judgment
ought to have been quickly anticipated, and even with fear and trembling.
He afterwards employs a metaphor to set forth what he taught,—that God had
prepared a sacrifice, yea, that he had already appointed and set apart his guests. By
the word, sacrifice, the Prophet reminded them, that the punishment of which he
had spoken would be just, and that the glory of God would thereby shine forth. We
indeed know how ready the world is to make complaints; when it is pressed by
God’s hand, it expostulates on account of too much rigor; and many in an open
manner give utterance to their blasphemies. As then they own not God’s justice in
his punishment, the Prophet calls it a sacrifice; and sacrifices, we know, are
evidences of divine worship, and he who offers a sacrifice to God, owns him to be
just. So also by this kind of speaking Zephaniah intimates that God would not act a
cruel part in cutting off the city Jerusalem and its inhabitants; for this would be a
sacrifice, according to the language often employed by the Prophets, and especially
by Isaiah, who says of Bozrah, ‘A sacrifice is prepared in Bozrah,’ Isaiah 34:6;) and
who says also of Jerusalem itself, ‘Oh! Ariel! Ariel!’ Isaiah 29:1, where Jerusalem
itself is represented as the altar; as though he had said, In all the streets, in the open
places, there shall be altars to me; for I will collect together great masses of men,
whom I shall slay as a sacrifice to me. For all who were not willing to render
worship to God, and who did not freely offer themselves as spiritual victims to him,
were to be drawn to the slaughter, and were at the same time called sacrifices. So
the executions on the gallows, when the wicked suffer, may be said to be sacrifices to
God: for the Lord arms the magistrate with the sword to restrain wickedness, that
the wicked may not have such liberty as to banish all equity from the world. The
cities also, which, being forcibly taken, are subject to a slaughter, and the fields,
where armies are slain, become altars, for God makes the rebellious a sacrifice,
because they refuse willingly to offer themselves.
So also in this place the Prophet says, Jehovah has prepared for himself a sacrifice,
—Where? At Jerusalem, through the whole city, as it has appeared from the
quotation from Isaiah; for as they had not rightly sacrificed to God on Mount Sion,
but vitiated his whole worship, God himself declares, that he would become a priest,
that he might slay, as he thought right, those beasts, who had obstinately refused his
yoke: And he has prepared his guests. But I cannot finish today.
7.Silence at the presence of the Lord Jehovah!
For nigh is the day of Jehovah,
For prepared hath Jehovah a sacrifice,
Selected hath he his guests!
The passage is remarkably forcible and striking. Jehovah was coming, and
everything was prepared, and all were to be silent. And then follows what is no less

75. striking and expressive,—
8.And it shall be in the day of Jehovah’s sacrifice,
That I will visit the princes and the king’s sons,
And all who wear foreign apparel.
9.I will also visit, in that day,
Every one who leaps on the threshold,
Who fill the house of their master
By plunder and by fraud.
There is in the last line a metonymy; the act is put for what was acquired by it: they
filled the house of their master by spoils gained by plunder or violence, and by fraud
or cheating.—Ed.
COFFMA , "Verse 7
"Hold thy peace at the presence of the Lord Jehovah; for the day of Jehovah is at
hand: for Jehovah hath prepared a sacrifice, he hath consecrated his guests."
"Hold thy peace ..." Jamieson rendered this, "Let the earth be silent at God's
approach,"[23] similar to the words in Habakkuk 2:20. He also gave Calvin's
comment on this place, thus:
"Thou, whosoever who has been wont to speak against God, as if he had no care
about earthly affairs, cease thy murmurs and self-justifications; submit thyself to
God, and repent in time."
"The day of the Lord is at hand ..." All of the judgments of God are "at hand,"
whether partial and specific, as in the case of the approaching destruction of Judah,
or that eventual day, that Day when Jesus Christ shall appear as the Judge of all
men. In the case of the destruction of Judah, it was "at hand" in the most immediate
sense. "Zephaniah's prophecy of the doom of Israel was fulfilled less than forty
years later in the fall of Jerusalem and the great exile."[24] The final Judgment is
"at hand" in that it will be the terminal of the Adamic race upon the earth, and
toward which the human family is madly rushing in full and reckless speed. In the
dispensational sense, this is still the day in which Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden
fruit. All of the prophets spoke of the final judgment as "at hand."
"Jehovah hath prepared a sacrifice ..."
"This sacrifice is the Jewish nation; those who are invited to the sacrificial meal are
not beasts and birds of prey, as in Ezekiel 39:17, but the nations which God has
consecrated to war that they may consume Jacob (Jeremiah 10:25)."[25]
God's ownership and employment of the destroying nations called to punish Judah
is the same here as in Matthew 22:7 where Jesus indicated the same thing regarding
the Roman armies that would destroy Jerusalem, saying, "The king was wroth, and
sent his armies and destroyed those murderers and burned their city."
It is annoying that so many commentators go out of their way in these verses to tell

76. how Zephaniah believed that the destruction of Jerusalem was about to take place
by the Scythians, paying lip service to the allegation that Zephaniah was no prophet
at all, but merely an astute political prognosticator. As a matter of truth, Herodotus'
vague story does not mention Judah at all, nor is there the slightest proof that
Zephaniah ever heard of the Scythians. If Zephaniah, in reality foretold the
destruction of Jerusalem by the Scythians, who could believe that the Jews gathered
up the words of his prophecy and preserved them in the sacred Canon for over 25
centuries? Dean's comment is:
"The vague account of Herodotus (i. 105) gives no support to the assertion that the
Scythians. invaded Palestine in Josiah's reign; nor is there a trace of knowledge of
such irruption in either Zephaniah or Jeremiah."[26]
As Ironside said, this "sacrificial feast" with Judah as the victim strongly reminds
us of the "Supper of the great God (Revelation 19:17,18)";[27] thus indicating that
the immediate judgment about to fall on Jerusalem and the ultimate Final Judgment
are one, the first being a token of the ultimate.
TRAPP, "Verse 7
Zephaniah 1:7 Hold 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.
Ver. 7. Hold thy peace at the presence of the Lord God] When his hand is upon thy
back let thy hand be on thy mouth. Chat not against him, murmur not at his
menaces, but stand mute before him. He is the Lord God, Three in One, and One in
Three: thou art also always in his presence, which thou canst not flee from them,
Psalms 139:7, therefore see Habakkuk 2:20, {See Trapp on "Habakkuk 2:20"} and
the rather because God stands over thee with his judgments.
For the day of the Lord is at hand] Wherein he will powerfully declare himself to be
a God that cannot lie, and that his wrath is quo diuturnior eo minacior, the longer
in coming the heavier it lands. This was soon after fulfilled in the death of their good
King Josiah, with whom died all the peace and prosperity of that people: and Judea
often changed her masters, but not her miseries, till at length she was carried
captive to Babylon.
For the Lord hath prepared a sacrifice] That is, a bloody slaughter of you, by the
cruel Chaldees, who shall sacrifice you, that have so much gloried in the multitude
of your sacrifices: and God shall glorify himself as much now in your just
destruction as ever he did in your forefathers’ commendable devotion.
He hath bid his guests] The Babylonians, and (after they have filled themselves) the
birds and beasts, as Revelation 19:17-18, so that ye shall have sepulturam
insepultam, a graceless burial.

77. ELLICOTT, "(7) Hold thy peace. . . .—Literally, Hush at the presence of the Lord
God. This peculiar phrase is repeated in Habakkuk 2:20.
A sacrifice.—The word includes the idea of the feast in which it was customary to
consume the remains of the sacrifice. (See Psalms 22:26; Psalms 22:29.) Hence the
clause “He has bid his guests;” or, more literally, He has consecrated [set apart for
himself] his invited ones. (Comp. Isaiah 13:3.) God’s guests are here those foreign
nations whom He has selected to be His ministers of chastisement. They are invited,
as it were, to banquet upon God’s apostate people. The figure is probably borrowed
from Isaiah 34:6.
BE SO , "Verse 7
Zephaniah 1:7. Hold thy peace at the presence of the Lord — Keep silence in token
of an awful reverence toward God. For the day of the Lord is at hand — ow he is
coming to execute his judgments upon the land. Humble thyself under his mighty
hand, without repining or murmuring at his corrections, which thy sins do so justly
deserve. For the Lord hath prepared a sacrifice — The slaughter of the wicked is
called a sacrifice, because it is, in some sense, an atonement to God’s justice. He hath
bid his guests — This is an allusion to the custom of those who offered sacrifices,
which was to invite their friends to partake of the feasts which accompanied them.
So here God is said to invite his guests, that is, the Babylonians, who were to reap
the spoils of the destruction of Judah and Jerusalem, and of the desolation of Judea:
or, as some explain it, the guests may mean ravenous birds, wild beasts, and dogs,
collected to devour the carcasses of the slain.
CO STABLE, "Verse 7
In view of the inevitability of coming judgment for idolatry, it was appropriate for
the Judeans to be quiet before sovereign Yahweh (cf. Habakkuk 2:20).
"This is a call to the people of Judah to cease every manner of opposition to God"s
word and will, to bow down in submissive obedience, in unconditional surrender, in
loving service, to their Covenant God." [ ote: T. Laetsch, The Minor Prophets,
p358.]
This is Zephaniah"s first reference to the day of the Lord, to which he
referred24times in this book. [ ote: For a brief excursus on the day of the Lord, see
Robert B. Chisholm Jeremiah , "A Theology of the Minor Prophets," in A Biblical
Theology of the Old Testament, pp417-18.]
References to the day of the LORD as a time of judgment
References to the day of the LORD as a time of blessing
The day of the LORD Zephaniah 1:7; Zephaniah 1:14 (2)
That day Zephaniah 3:11; Zephaniah 3:16

78. The day of the LORD"s sacrifice Zephaniah 1:8
That time Zephaniah 3:19-20
That day Zephaniah 1:9-10; Zephaniah 1:15
The time Zephaniah 3:20
That time Zephaniah 1:12
A day of the LORD"s wrath Zephaniah 1:18
The day Zephaniah 2:2; Zephaniah 3:8
The day of the LORD"s anger Zephaniah 2:2-3
A day Zephaniah 1:15 (5), Zephaniah 1:16
The day of the Lord was a time when God works, in contrast to man"s day in which
he works.
"As employed by the prophets, the Day of the Lord is that time when for His glory
and in accordance with His purposes God intervenes in human affairs in judgment
against sin or for the deliverance of His own." [ ote: Patterson, p310.]
Here the prophet announced that the Lord"s day was near; He was about to
intervene in human history (e.g, the Flood). The Lord had prepared a sacrifice,
namely, Judah (cf. Isaiah 34:6; Jeremiah 46:10), and He had set apart "guests" to
eat it, namely, the Babylonians (cf. Jeremiah 10:25; Habakkuk 1:6). Another view is
that the invited guests were the Judeans who, ironically, would also serve as the
sacrifice. [ ote: Baker, p95.]
PARKER, ""The Lord hath prepared a sacrifice, he hath bid his guests" (
Zephaniah 1:7).
He turned out the nations—they should not take his banquet—and he called the
heathen. This is what the Church will not do. This is the divine providence. When
the Church did not conduct itself properly, the Lord swept it out, and called in the
pagan, the Gentiles. We are the guests that succeeded those that were bidden, but
who either did not obey or who corrupted the feast. If the people who are in the
Church now are not the right people, get rid of them; go out into the highways and
the hedges, and compel them to come in. Above all things, let us get rid of
respectability. The prophets, and Christ at their head, always condemned the
religious hypocrites of their day.
or would the prophets be content when men substituted even one ceremony for
another in a spirit of heathenish curiosity. When he saw the king"s children clothed

79. with strange apparel, the prophet protested. What was the apparel of Israel? A
band of dark blue upon the fringes, at the four corners of their garments—that was
all; but it marked the Israelite; it was a blue ribbon, but it indicated election,
responsibility, and destiny. What did Israel say in the time of luxury? We will be as
the heathen, as the families of the countries; we will drop all these little signs and
badges of Israelitish vocation, and we will send for the foreign fashions. That is
what men always do in luxurious times. Oh, the fool"s talk we hear about the
fashions from Paris! Be sure that the country is going down when women are foolish
enough to say, "I got this in Paris." Precisely the old heresy. And yet where is the
woman strong enough, broad enough in mind, to say, " o, this is good homespun;"
"This belongs to the mother country;" or, "I spun this myself"? I like to see the
dear old grannies in the country spinning away at their wheels, and they perhaps
never heard that there is such a place as Paris. These are the people that make a
country strong and healthy. When we forget home industries and home necessities
we are in danger of slipping off the badge of liberty, and forgetting the masonic
password of progress. Beware of luxury; beware of unsanctified prosperity. It
ruined Israel; it will ruin any nation. How will God search his people?
ISBET, "IRRESISTIBLE JUDGME T
‘Hold 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.’
Zephaniah 1:7
Zephaniah received his message from the Lord to Judah in the days of Josiah, the
last of the godly and reforming kings, who, after the gross corruption of the
preceding reigns of Manasseh and Aman, restored to a large extent the purity of the
worship of God, and was the means of bringing about a certain kind and degree of
repentance and amendment in the people.
His message is, first, an announcement of the judgment of Jehovah against the
people, which occupies the whole of chapter 1, and Zephaniah 1:7 may be taken as
its central point, containing the lesson of duty, on which all that precede and follow
it converge.
I. The nature of this judgment.—At the very outside it is described in a way fitted to
startle and alarm; for it is to be of a most sweeping and universal nature (Zephaniah
1:2-3). The words remind us of nothing less than the universal deluge, by which the
old world was swept away. A destruction like that is impending over Judah. Because
God had given Israel the land, they thought that some part of it at least must always
be theirs. But now they are warned that this is a false confidence, and that in spite of
the gift of the land to Abraham’s seed, the corrupt race that now inherit it shall be
utterly swept away.
Moreover, this judgment, that is to be so sweeping, is also very near at hand. In the
old world the longsuffering of God waited in the days of oah; but now He has
waited long and sent messenger after messenger, and at last the time of delay is
nearly exhausted, and the judgment is close at hand; for their iniquity is all but full.

80. Then how terrible and irresistible is this judgment! (Zephaniah 1:15-18). Physical
strength and power shall not deliver them. Skill and wisdom shall not be able to
save them. These have often enabled armies very much inferior in numbers to
conquer great hosts; but now there shall be perplexity and dismay; men shall be
groping like blind men in the dark, unable to devise any means of resistance or
escape, bewildered and disheartened.
Israel had often been saved from fierce attacks of mighty nations before, and
enabled to defy their rage; but that had not been because of their wisdom or
courage, but because they trusted in God and had His protection. ow, however,
there was coming on them the day of the Lord’s anger; He was to hide His face from
them, and therefore it would be to them a day of such darkness, dismay, and
despair.
II. The causes of this judgment, announced as so sweeping, near, and terrible. These
are the sins of the land, of which a long and dark catalogue is unrolled (Zephaniah
1:4-12).
First comes what was the great besetting sin of ancient times, as it has ever been of
men who have not or will not receive God’s revelation of Himself—idolatry, the
worship of the seen and earthly as Divine, instead of the only true God Who is
invisible and spiritual; the worshipping and serving the creature more than the
Creator. Such was the corrupt religion of the heathen world, left by God to its own
way; and against this His revelation to Israel was designed to testify, declaring Him
to be a being spiritual and holy, the one living and true God.
But along with gross forms of idolatry there is also condemned the corrupt worship
of Jehovah. The worship at the high places, with which the Chemarims (Zephaniah
1:4) were connected, was indeed a worship of Jehovah, but had become, in course of
time, thoroughly idolatrous in its character: even the pillars placed beside the altars
came to be worshipped as symbols of the Deity; and, as in Bethel and Dan, idols
were identified with Him. Thus the one invisible God was degraded to the likeness
of the idols of the heathen, and this worship at the high places had to be utterly
condemned and swept away.
Another corruption of the pure worship of Jehovah was the combination of it with
that of the heathen deities.
Such are the various forms of evil that are indicated by the prophet as the causes of
the judgment which he announces. Can it be said that they are unknown in our day
and in ourselves? o doubt the outward forms of idolatry and oppression then
rampant are strange and repulsive to us; but are we free from the tendency to
degrade the living God to a mere nature-power, which is the essence of idolatry?
And are not ungodliness, neglect of God’s spiritual worship, selfish ostentation and
luxury, neglect and oppression of the poor, love of money, and careless self-
indulgence, but too well known among us?

81. III. The lesson of all this is expressed in the words, ‘Hold thy peace at the presence
of the Lord God.’—That is the first and most urgent duty. The prophet has further
directions to give in following discourses; but this is the immediate effect that the
announcement of judgment shall have. A silence of awe and humility is what
becomes men in the presence of God, when He rises up to judgment as the Lord of
all the earth.
This implies a recognition on the one hand of the reality, and on the other hand of
the justice, of God’s judgment.
It should be recognised as a real expression of God’s wrath against the sins of men.
Let us be silent also as recognising the justice of this judgment. Let us humbly
acknowledge this; and in so far as these evils of ungodliness and selfishness have
found place in us, let us put our hand on our mouth, acknowledging that we have
nothing to answer to God, and are verily guilty in His sight.
There is hope for us if we confess our sin. There is hope in the very fact that God
announces His judgment against our sin. Because the Lord loves His people with a
jealous affection, in spite of all their unfaithfulness, He will, if they but silently trust
themselves to Him, make the fire of His anger against their sin to purify and perfect
them. Thus this coming of the Lord for judgment is the harbinger of final salvation
to those who desire to be purged from those evils against which His wrath is
revealed. Therefore, ‘Let Israel hope in the Lord, for with the Lord there is mercy,
and with Him is plenteous redemption; and He will redeem Israel from all his
iniquity.’
Illustration
‘From the tenth verse we have a description of the punishments which were about to
befall. The Chaldean troops marched in through the Fish Gate, and, as they
advanced further into the city, cry after cry arose from the terrified populace. These
were terrible prognostications, which were as terribly fulfilled. It would be an
interesting thing if some Christian historian would write a book, connecting the sins
of nations with the judgments that have overwhelmed them. When one visits the
Southern States of America, and sees the results of the old slave-days, and hears the
story of what slavery really meant, one ceases to be surprised that the whole system
was swept away in the great Civil War. Has Great Britain yet received her
punishment for the unmitigated crime of the opium and drink traffics?’
PETT, "Verses 7-18
The Day of YHWH Against Judah and Jerusalem (Zephaniah 1:7-18).
Zephaniah 1:7
‘Hold your peace at the presence of the Lord YHWH.
For the day of YHWH is at hand.

82. For YHWH has prepared a sacrifice.
He has sanctified his guests.’
All are to be silent in awe in the presence of the Lord YHWH (compare Habakkuk
2:20; Lamentations 3:26; Zechariah 2:13; Revelation 8:1). The title the Lord
YHWH is a favourite one of Ezekiel. It stresses His overlordship.
‘For the day of YHWH is at hand.’ This phrase ‘the day of YHWH’ appears in
various forms in much prophetic literature. It can be a past day, a day in the
relatively near future, or a day in the far distant, eschatological future. It is any day
in which God is dynamically at work in human affairs. Wherever ‘the day of
YHWH’ is found it is in contrast with the idea of man’s day (1 Corinthians 4:3), that
is to say, the times when man is allowed relative freedom in his conduct of affairs. It
is a day of God's restraint. ‘The day of YHWH’ is the time when God more directly
takes over and acts. It is a day of God's judgment.
Thus here it is ‘YHWH’s day’ on Judah and Jerusalem fulfilled finally in the
destruction of Jerusalem and the temple.
‘For YHWH has prepared a sacrifice. He has sanctified his guests.’ The grim, ironic
picture is of Judah and Jerusalem being offered as a sacrifice (compare Isaiah 34:6;
Jeremiah 46:10; Ezekiel 39:17 on). The guests are either the people of Judah and
Jerusalem, who will witness what is happening around them; the faithful of Israel
who will watch YHWH, at His invitation, offering His sacrifice; the nations round
about who act as witnesses; or the invaders who will bring it about (the
Babylonians) but are not named. This depends partly on whether we take
‘sanctified’ as grim irony, ‘set apart for the purpose’, or as having its usual genuine
meaning of guests being ‘set apart in purity’ in readiness for a sacrifice (1 Samuel
16:5), in which case it would refer to the true people of God, the remnant, for they
are the ones on whose behalf the sacrifice is made, who have cause to feast because
they are His, and who are set apart in purity.
The idea of the people of Judah and Jerusalem being offered as a sacrifice is stark.
They are being offered by God as a sin offering because they in their turn have
refused to offer the substitutes that God had provided for. The price of sin must be
paid in one way or another. In terms of our own day if we will not turn to the great
Sacrifice provided in Jesus Christ, we will have to bear our sin ourselves.
WHEDO , "7. The judgment is imminent, Jehovah has made all preparation for its
execution, and the people are summoned to wait, in awful silence, the approach of
the judge.
Hold thy peace at the presence — Only one word in Hebrew — hush! (see on
Habakkuk 2:20; Zechariah 2:13).
Day of Jehovah — See on Joel 1:15. For the crisis which Zephaniah considered the
harbinger (see p. 161) of the day of Jehovah see Introduction, p. 511.

83. Hath prepared a sacrifice — The judgment is pictured as a great sacrificial feast
(see on Amos 5:23) prepared by Jehovah himself; the sacrificial animals are the
sinners condemned in Zephaniah 1:4-6 (compare Isaiah 25:6; Jeremiah 46:10).
Hath bid his guests — R.V., “hath consecrated,” or sanctified. Only those who were
clean could participate in a sacrificial meal. In this case the guests were the
Scythians, who were foreigners, and therefore unclean; but Jehovah has purified
them so that they can participate in the feast without fear that the wrath of Jehovah
will smite them. There is a slight inconsistency in the figure, for the invaders are not
content to eat the sacrifice already prepared; they themselves slay and thus help to
prepare the feast.
PULPIT, "This judgment, so fearful, is near at hand, and must needs occasion the
utmost terror and dismay. Hold thy peace at the presence of the Lord God; literally,
Hush, from the face of the Lord Jehovah! εὐλαβεῖσθε; silete a facie Domini Dei
(Vulgate). The expression is like Habakkuk 2:20. The reason of this silent awe is
next given. For the day of the Lord is at hand. The day of judgment is thus called
(Joel 1:15; Isaiah 13:6; Amos 5:18, Amos 5:20; Obadiah 1:15). The Lord hath
prepared a sacrifice. The words are from Isaiah 34:6 (comp. Jeremiah 46:10;
Ezekiel 39:17, Ezekiel 39:19). The sacrifice is the guilty Jewish nation. The
punishment of the wicked is regarded as a satisfaction offered to the Divine justice.
He hath bid his guests; he hath consecrated his called. The "called ones" are the
strange nations whom God summons to execute his vengeance. Septuagint, ἡγίακε
τοὺς κλητοὺς αὐτοῦ. These are said to be "sanctified," as if engaged in a holy war,
when summoned to punish those who had become as heathen. So those who are
called to chastise Babylon are termed "my sanctified ones" (Isaiah 13:3), as being
the instruments appointed and set apart to carry out this purpose (comp. Jeremiah
22:7; Jeremiah 51:27, Jeremiah 51:28; Micah 3:5). The particular agents intended
are not specified by the prophet, whose mission was not directed to any such
definition. He has to speak generally of the judgment to come, not of those whom
God should employ to inflict it. We know from other sources that the Chaldeans are
meant, they or the Assyrians being always announced as the executors of God's
vengeance on his rebellions people. The notion, adopted by Ewald, Hitzig, and
others, that the prophet refers to some supposed invasion of Scythians which took
place about this time, would never have been started had not such authors desired
to eliminate the predictive element from prophetic utterances. The vague account of
Herod; 1:105 gives no support to the assertion that the Scythians invaded Palestine
in Josiah's reign; nor is there a trace of any knowledge of such irruption in
Zephaniah or Jeremiah (see Introduction, § I.).
BI, "The day of the Lord is at hand.
The day of war, the day of horrors
The war day is represented here—
I. As a day of enormous sacrifice.
1. Sacrifice of life. Among several classes.

84. (1) Royalty.
(2) Nobility.
(3) Traders.
(4) The masses.
2. Sacrifice of property.
II. As a day of Divine retribution. All the horrors of war are here represented as
judgments from the Almighty. In using war as a punishment for sin it may be observed—
1. That all who perish in war righteously deserve their fate.
2. That warriors, in executing the Divine justice, demonstrate the enormity of the
evil requiring punishment.
3. War, as an officer of Divine justice, reveals the amazing freedom allowed to the
sinner in this world, and God’s controlling power over hostile forces. (Homilist.)
8 “On the day of the Lord’s sacrifice
I will punish the officials
and the king’s sons
and all those clad
in foreign clothes.
BAR ES, "I will punish - (Literally, visit upon). God seems oftentimes to be away
from His own world. People plot, design, say, in word or in deed, “who is Lord over us?”
God is, as it were, a stranger in it, or as a man, who hath “taken a journey into afar
country.” God uses our own language to us. “I will visit,” inspecting (so to say),
examining, sifting, reviewing, and when man’s sins require it, allowing the weight of His
displeasure to fall upon them.
The princes - The prophet again, in vivid detail (as his characteristic is), sets forth
together sin and punishment. Amid the general chastisement of all, when all should
become one sacrifice, they who sinned most should be punished most. The evil priests
had received their doom. Here he begins anew with the mighty of the people and so goes
down, first to special spots of the city, then to the whole, man by man. Josiah being a
godly king, no mention is made of him. Thirteen years before his death, he received the

85. promise of God, “because thine heart was tender, and thou hast humbled thyself before
the Lord - I will gather thee unto thy fathers, and thou shalt be gathered unto thy grave
in peace, and thou shalt not see all the evil which I will bring upon this place” 2Ki_22:19-
20. In remarkable contrast to Jeremiah, who had to be, in detail and continual pleading
with his people, a prophet of judgment to come, until these judgments broke upon them,
and so was the reprover of the evil sovereigns who succeeded Josiah, Zephaniah has to
pronounce God’s judgments only on the “princes” and “the king’s children.”
Jeremiah, in his inaugural vision, was forewarned, that “the kings Judah, its princes,
priests, and the people of the land” Jer_1:18 should war against him, because he should
speak unto them all which God should command him. And thenceforth, Jeremiah
impleads or threatens kings and the princes together Jer_2:26; Jer_4:9; Jer_8:1; Jer_
24:8; Jer_32:37; Jer_34:21. Zephaniah contrariwise, his office lying wholly within the
reign of Josiah, describes the princes again as “roaring lions” Zep_3:3, but says nothing
of the king, as neither does Micah Mic_3:1, Mic_3:9, in the reign, it may be, of Jotham
or Hezekiah. Isaiah speaks of princes, as “rebellious and companions of thieves” Isa_
1:23. Jeremiah speaks of them as idolaters Jer_31:32-34; Jer_44:21. They appear to
have had considerable influence, which on one occasion they employed in defense of
Jeremiah Jer_26:16, but mostly for evil Jer_37:15; Jer_38:4, Jer_38:16. Zedekiah
inquired of Jeremiah secretly for fear of them Jer_37:17; Jer_38:14-27. They brought
destruction upon themselves by what men praise, their resistance to Nebuchadnezzar,
but against the declared mind of God. Nebuchadnezzar unwittingly fulfilled the
prophets’ word, when he “slew all the nobles of Judah, the eunuch who was over the war,
and seven men of them that were near the king’s person, and the principal scribe of the
host” Jer_39:6; Jer_52:25-27.
And the king’s children - Holy Scripture mentions chief persons only by name.
Isaiah had prophesied the isolated lonely loveless lot of descendants of Hezekiah who
should be “eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon” Isa_39:7, associated only with
those intriguing pests of Eastern courts, a lot in itself worse than the sword (although to
Daniel God overruled it to good) and Zedekiah’s sons were slain before his eyes and his
race extinct. Jehoiakim died a disgraced death, and Jehoiachin was imprisoned more
than half the life of man.
And all such as are clothed with strange apparel - Israel was reminded by its
dress, that it belonged to God. It was no great thing in itself; “a band of dark blue Num_
15:38; Deu_22:12 upon the fringes at the four corners of their garments.” But “the band
of dark blue” was upon the high priest’s mitre, with the plate engraved, “Holiness to the
Lord” Exo_28:36, fastened upon it; “with a band of dark blue” also was the breastplate
Exo_39:21 bound to the ephod of the high priest. So then, simple as it was, it seems to
have designated the whole nation, as “a kingdom of priests, an holy nation” Exo_19:6. It
was appointed to them, “that ye may look upon it, and remember all the commandments
of the Lord and do them, and that ye seek not after your own heart and your own eyes,
after which ye use to go a whoring; that ye may remember and do all My
commandments, and be holy unto your God” Num_15:39-40. They might say, “it is but
“a band of blue;”” but the “band of blue” was the soldier’s badge, which marked them as
devoted to the service of their God; indifference to or shame of it involved indifference to
or shame of the charge given them therewith, and to their calling as a peculiar people.
The choice of the strange apparel involved the choice to be as the nations of the world;
“we will be as the pagan, as the families of the countries” Eze_20:33.
All luxurious times copy foreign dress, and with it, foreign manners and luxuries; from
where even the pagan Romans were zealous against its use. It is very probable that with
the foreign dress foreign idolatry was imported . The Babylonian dress was very

86. gorgeous, such as was the admiration of the simpler Jews. “Her captains and rulers
clothed in perfection, girded with girdles upon their loins, with flowing dyed attire upon
their heads” Eze_23:12, Eze_23:15. Ezekiel had to frame words to express the Hebrew
idea of their beauty. Jehoiakim is reproved among other things for his luxury Jer_22:14-
15. Outward dress always betokens the inward mind, and in its turn acts upon it. An
estranged dress betokened an estranged heart, from where it is used as an image of the
whole spiritual mind Rom_13:14; Col_3:12; Eph_4:24. Jerome: “The garment of the
sons of the king and the apparel of princes which we receive in Baptism, is Christ,
according to that, “Put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ,” and “Put ye on bowels of mercy,
goodness, humililty, patience,” and the rest. Wherein, we are commanded to be clothed
with the new man from heaven according to our Creator, and to “lay aside” the clothing
of “the old man with his deeds” Eph_4:22. Whereas, then we ought to be clothed in such
raiment, for mercy we put on cruelty, for patience, impatience, for righteousness,
iniquity; in a word, for virtues, vices, for Christ, antichrist. Whence it is said of such an
one, “He is clothed with cursing as with a garment” Psa_109:17. These the Lord will visit
most manifestly at His Coming.” Rup.: “Thinkest thou that hypocrisy is “strange
apparel?” Of a truth. For what stranger apparel than sheeps’ clothing to ravening
wolves? What stranger than for him who “within is full of iniquity, to appear outwardly
righteous before men?” Mat_23:28.
CLARKE, "I will punish the princes, and the king’s children - After the death
of Josiah the kingdom of Judah saw no prosperity, and every reign terminated
miserably; until at last King Zedekiah and the king’s children were cruelly massacred at
Riblah, when Nebuchadnezzar had taken Jerusalem.
Strange apparel - I really think this refers more to their embracing idolatrous
customs and heathen usages, than to their changing their dress. They acquired new
habits, as we would say; customs, that they used as they did their clothing - at all times,
and in every thing.
GILL, "And it shall come to pass in the day of the Lord's sacrifice,.... When the
above sacrifice prepared shall be offered, and the slaughter of his people made, when his
wrath shall be poured out upon them, within the time of its beginning and ending:
that I will punish the princes, and the king's children; either the children of
Josiah, who, though a good prince, his children did evil in the sight of the Lord, and
were punished by him: Jehoahaz, after a three months' reign was carried down to Egypt,
and died there; Jehoiakim, his elder brother, that succeeded him, rebelling against the
king of Babylon, in the fourth year of his reign, fell into his hands, and died, and was
buried with the burial of an ass; and Jeconiah his son was carried captive into Babylon,
and there remained to the day of his death; and with him were carried the whole royal
family, and all the princes, and all the mighty men of valour, 2Ki_24:14 or else the
children of Zedekiah, another son of Josiah, and the last of the kings of Judah, who was
carried captive by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, who before his eyes slew his sons,
and all the princes of Judah, and then put out his eyes, and bound him in chains, Jer_
52:10 and thus this prophecy had its accomplishment:
and all such as are clothed with strange apparel; either which they put on in

87. honour of the idols they worshipped, as Jarchi; so the heathens wore one sort of
garments for one idol, and another sort for another; or these were men of a pharisaical
cast, who wore garments different from others, that they might be thought to be very
holy and religious, which sense is mentioned by Kimchi; or they were such, which he
also observes, who, seeing some to have plenty of good clothes, stole them from them,
and put them on; or such who arrayed themselves in garments that did not belong to
their sex, men put on women's garments, and women clothed themselves with men's,
and both strange apparel; or rather this points at such persons, who, in their apparel,
imitated the fashions and customs of foreign nations; which probably began with the
king's children and courtiers, and were followed by others. The Targum is,
"and upon all those that make a noise at the worship of idols.''
HE RY 8-13, " Who those are that are marked to be sacrificed, that shall be visited
and punished in this day of reckoning, and what it is they shall be called to an account
for. 1. The royal family, because of the dignity of their place, shall be first reckoned with
for their pride, and vanity, and affectation (Zep_1:8): I will punish the princes, and the
king's children, who think themselves accountable to God, and that, high as they are, he
is above them. They shall be punished, and all such as, like them, are clothed with
strange apparel, such as, in contempt of their own country (where, probably, it was the
custom to go in a very plain dress, as became the seed of Jacob that plain man), affected
to appear in the fashion of other nations and introduced their modes in apparel,
studying to resemble those from whom God had appointed them, even in their clothes,
industriously to distinguish themselves. The princes and the king's children scorned to
wear any home-made stuffs, though God had provided them fine linen and silks (Eze_
16:10), but they must send abroad to strange countries for their clothes, which would not
please unless they were far-fetched and dear-bought; and even those of inferior rank
affected to imitate the princes and the king's children. Pride in apparel is displeasing to
God, and a symptom of the degeneracy of a people. 2. The noblemen, and their stewards
and servants, come next to be reckoned with (Zep_1:9): In the same day will I punish
those that leap on the threshold, a phrase, no doubt, well understood then, and which
probably signified the invading of their neighbour's rights. Entering their houses by
force and violence, and seizing their possessions, they leap on the threshold, as much as
to say that the house is their own and they will keep their hold of it; and, accordingly,
they make all in it their own that they can lay their hands on, and so fill their masters'
houses with goods gotten by violence and deceit and with all the guilt thereby
contracted. Nor shall it suffice them to say that the ill-gotten gains were not for
themselves but for their masters, and that what they did was by their order; for the
obligations we lie under to keep God's commandments are prior and superior to the
obligations we lie under to serve the interests of any master on earth. 3. The trading
people, and the rich merchants, are next called to account. Iniquity is found in their end
of the town, among the inhabitants of Maktesh, a low part of Jerusalem, deep like a
mortar (for so the word signifies); the goldsmiths lived there (Neh_3:32) and the
merchants; and they are now cut down (they are broken, and have shut up their shops,
and become bankrupts); nay, All those that bear silver are cut off, in the first place, by
the invaders, for the sake of the silver they carry, which is so far from being a protection
to them that it will expose and betray them. The conquerors aimed at the wealthy men,
and carried them off first, while the poor of the land escaped. Or it may be meant of a
general decay of trade, which was a preface and introduction to the general destruction
of the land. It is the token of a declining state when great dealers are cut down, and great
bankers are cut off and become bankrupts, who cannot fall alone, but with themselves

88. ruin many. 4. All the secure and careless people, the sons of pleasure, that live a loose
idle life, are next reckoned with (Zep_1:12); they come from all parts of the country, to
take up their quarters in the head-quarters of the kingdom, where they take private
lodgings, and indulge themselves in ease and luxury; but God will find them out, and
punish them: At that time I will search Jerusalem with candles, to discover them, that
they may be brought out to condign punishment. This intimates that they conceal
themselves, as being either ashamed of the sin or afraid of the punishment of it; when
the judgments of God are abroad they hope to escape by absconding and getting out of
the way, but God will search Jerusalem, as search is made for a malefactor in disguise,
that is harboured by his accomplices. God's hand will find out all his enemies, wherever
they lie hid, and will punish not only the secret idolaters, but the secret epicures and
profane; and those are the persons that are here described, and marks are given by
which they will be discovered when strict search is made for them. (1.) Their dispositions
are sensual: They are settled on their lees, intoxicated with their pleasures,
strengthening themselves in their wealth and wickedness; they are secure and easy, and,
because they have had no changes, they fear none, as Moab, Jer_48:11. They have not
been emptied from vessel to vessel. They fill themselves with wine and strong drink,
and banish all thought, saying, Tomorrow shall be as this day, Isa_56:12. Their being
settled on their lees signifies the same with being enclosed in their own fat, Psa_17:10.
(2.) Their notions are atheistical. They could not live such loose lives but that they say in
their heart, The Lord will not do good, neither will he do evil; that is, He will do
nothing. They deny his providential government of the world: “What good and evil there
is in the world comes by the wheel of fortune, and not by the disposal of a wise and
supreme director.” They deny his moral government, and his dispensing rewards and
punishments: “The Lord will not do good to those that serve him, nor do evil to those
that rebel against him; and therefore there is nothing got by religion, nor lost by sin.”
This was the effect of their sensuality; if they were not drowned in sense, they could not
be thus senseless, nor could they be so stupid if they had not stupefied themselves with
the love of pleasure. It was also the cause of their sensuality; men would not make a god
of their belly if they had not at first become so vain, so vile, in their imaginations, as to
think the God that made them altogether such a one as themselves. But God will punish
them; their end is destruction, Phi_3:19.
II. What the destruction will be with which God will punish these sinners, and what
course he will take with them. 1. He will silence them (Zep_1:7): Hold thy peace at the
presence of the Lord. He will force them to hold their peace, will strike them dumb with
horror and amazement. They shall be speechless. All the excuses of their sin, and
exceptions against the sentence, will be overruled, and they shall not have a word to say
for themselves. 2. He will sacrifice them, for it is the day of the Lord's sacrifice (Zep_
1:8); he will give them into the hands of their enemies, and glorify himself thereby. 3. He
will fill both city and country with lamentation (Zep_1:10): In that day there shall be a
noise of a cry from the fish-gate, so called because near either to the fish-ponds or to the
fish-market. It belonged to the city of David (2Ch_33:14; Neh_3:3); perhaps the same
with that which is called the first gate (Zec_14:10), and, if so, it will explain what follows
here, And a howling from the second, that is, the second gate, which was next to that
fish-gate. The alarm shall go round the walls of Jerusalem from gate to gate; and there
shall be a great crashing from the hills, a mighty noise from the mountains round about
Jerusalem, from the acclamations of the victorious invaders, or from the lamentations of
the timorous invaded, or from both. The inhabitants of the city, even of the closest safest
part of the city, shall howl (Zep_1:11), so clamorous shall the grief be. 4. They shall be
stripped of all they have; it shall be a prey to the enemy (Zep_1:13): Their household
goods, and shop-goods, shall become a booty, and a rich booty they shall be; their

89. houses shall be levelled with the ground and be a desolation; those of them that have
built new houses shall not inherit them, but the invaders shall get and keep possession of
them. And the vineyards they have planted they shall not drink the wine of, but, instead
of having it for the relief of their friends that faint among them, they shall part with it for
the animating of their foes that fight against them, Deu_28:30.
JAMISO , "the princes — who ought to have been an example of good to others,
but were ringleaders in all evil.
the king’s children — fulfilled on Zedekiah’s children (Jer_39:6); and previously,
on Jehoahaz and Eliakim, the sons of Josiah (2Ki_23:31, 2Ki_23:36; 2Ch_36:6;
compare also 2Ki_20:18; 2Ki_21:13). Huldah the prophetess (2Ki_22:20) intimated
that which Zephaniah now more expressly foretells.
all such as are clothed with strange apparel — the princes or courtiers who
attired themselves in costly garments, imported from abroad; partly for the sake of
luxury, and partly to ingratiate themselves with foreign great nations whose costume as
well as their idolatries they imitated, [Calvin]; whereas in costume, as in other respects,
God would have them to be separate from the nations. Grotius refers the “strange
apparel” to garments forbidden by the law, for example, men’s garments worn by
women, and vice versa, a heathen usage in the worship of Mars and Venus (Deu_22:5).
K&D 8-9, "The judgment will fall with equal severity upon the idolatrous and sinners of
every rank (Zep_1:8-11), and no one in Jerusalem will be able to save himself from it
(Zep_1:12, Zep_1:13). In three double verses Zephaniah brings out three classes of men
who differ in their civil position, and also in their attitude towards God, as those who
will be smitten by the judgment: viz., (1) the princes, i.e., the royal family and superior
servants of the king, who imitate the customs of foreigners, and oppress the people
(Zep_1:8, Zep_1:9); (2) the merchants, who have grown rich through trade and usury
(Zep_1:10, Zep_1:11); (3) the irreligious debauchees (Zep_1:12, Zep_1:13). The first of
these he threatens with visitation. Zep_1:8. “And it will come to pass in the day of
Jehovah's sacrifice, that I visit the princes and the king's sons, and all who clothe
themselves in foreign dress. Zep_1:9. And I visit every one who leaps over the threshold
on that day, those who fill the Lord's house with violence and deceit.” The enumeration
of those who are exposed to the judgment commences with the princes, i.e., the heads of
the tribes and families, who naturally filled the higher offices of state; and the king's
sons, not only the sons of Josiah, who were still very young (see the Introduction), but
also the sons of the deceased kings, the royal princes generally. The king himself is not
named, because Josiah walked in the ways of the Lord, and on account of his piety and
fear of God was not to lie to see the outburst of the judgment (2Ki_22:19-20; 2Ch_
34:27-28). The princes and king's sons are threatened with punishment, not on account
of the high position which they occupied in the state, but on account of the ungodly
disposition which they manifested. For since the clauses which follow not only mention
different classes of men, but also point out the sins of the different classes, we must also
expect this in the case of the princes and the king's sons, and consequently must refer
the dressing in foreign clothes, which is condemned in the second half of the verse, to
the princes and king's sons also, and understand the word “all” as relating to those who
imitated their manners without being actually princes or king's sons. Malbūsh nokhrı
(foreign dress) does not refer to the clothes worn by the idolaters in their idolatrous
worship (Chald., Rashi, Jer.), nor to the dress prohibited in the law, viz., “women

90. dressing in men's clothes, or men dressing in women's clothes” (Deu_22:5, Deu_22:11),
as Grotius maintains, nor to clothes stolen from the poor, or taken from them as
pledges; but, as nokhrı signifies a foreigner, to foreign dress. Drusius has already pointed
this out, and explains the passage as follows: “I think that the reference is to all those
who betrayed the levity of their minds by wearing foreign dress. For I have no doubt that
in that age some copied the Egyptians in their style of dress, and others the Babylonians,
according as they favoured the one nation or the other. The prophet therefore says, that
even those who adopted foreign habits, and conformed themselves to the customs of the
victorious nation, would not be exempt.” The last allusion is certainly untenable, and it
would be more correct to say with Strauss: “The prophets did not care for externals of
this kind, but it was evident to them that 'as the dress, so the heart;' that is to say, the
clothes were witnesses in their esteem of the foreign inclinations of the heart.” In Zep_
1:9 many commentators find a condemnation of an idolatrous use of foreign customs;
regarding the leaping over the threshold as an imitation of the priests of Dagon, who
adopted the custom, according to 1Sa_5:5, of leaping over the threshold when they
entered the temple of that idol. But an imitation of that custom could only take place in
temples of Dagon, and it appears perfectly inconceivable that it should have been
transferred to the threshold of the king's palace, unless the king was regarded as an
incarnation of Dagon, - a thought which could never enter the minds of Israelitish
idolaters, since even the Philistian kings did not hold themselves to be incarnations of
their idols. If we turn to the second hemistich, the thing condemned is the filling of their
masters' houses with violence; and this certainly does not stand in any conceivable
relation to that custom of the priests of Dagon; and yet the words “who fill,” etc., are
proved to be explanatory of the first half of the verse, by the fact that the second clause is
appended without the copula Vav, and without the repetition of the preposition ‫ל‬ ַ‫.ע‬ Now,
if a fresh sin were referred to there, the copula Vav, at all events, could not have been
omitted. We must therefore understand by the leaping over the threshold a violent and
sudden rushing into houses to steal the property of strangers (Calvin, Ros., Ewald,
Strauss, and others), so that the allusion is to “dishonourable servants of the king, who
thought that they could best serve their master by extorting treasures from their
dependants by violence and fraud” (Ewald). ‫ם‬ ֶ‫יה‬ֵ‫ּנ‬‫ד‬ ֲ‫,א‬ of their lord, i.e., of the king, not “of
their lords:” the plural is in the pluralis majestatis, as in 1Sa_26:16; 2Sa_2:5, etc.
BI, "I will punish . . . all such as are clothed with strange apparel
The sinfulness of strange apparel
I.
The criminals. Consider the principals, and the accessaries.
II. The crime. Either wearing exotic and foreign apparel, or such as they had newly
invented among themselves.
III. The punishment. This is indefinitely expressed. How, in what way, degree, or
measure, He will punish, He reserves to Himself. (Vincent Alsop, A. M.)
COFFMA , "Verse 8
"And it shall come to pass in the day of Jehovah's sacrifice, that I will punish the
princes and the king's sons and all such as are clothed with foreign apparel."

91. "Punish the princes and the king's sons ..." Some have professed to find a difficulty
here, because Josiah, who was under the age of twenty at the time we believe
Zephaniah was written would not have had any children in the times of Zephaniah
old enough to fall under the criticism given here. However, "The Septuagint
translation used 'house of the king' here, and that may be more accurate."[28] If
that should not be allowed, "the king's sons" might refer to the sons of preceding
kings who would still have been living when Zephaniah wrote. Another possibility is
that Zephaniah here spoke of Judah in a general sense, not focusing upon the reign
of Josiah at all. Certainly a number of "king's sons" died without mercy during
God's terrible judgment upon Judah. For example, Zedekiah who was carried away
to Babylon saw his sons put to death before his eyes, and then he himself was
blinded by the barbarous ebuchadnezzar (2 Kings 25:1-7).
"Such as are clothed with foreign apparel ..." It is hard to believe that God would
have punished his people for any innocent preference of one kind of clothing or
another; so what is meant here is that something most shameful and reprehensible
was involved in the wearing of the "foreign apparel" here mentioned. "Grotius said
this refers to clothing forbidden by the law, e.g., men's garments worn by women,
and vice versa, a heathen usage in the worship of Mars and Venus (Deuteronomy
2:5)."[29] By aping the popular fashions of Assyria and other pagan nations, the
leaders of the people were also showing their willingness to receive the philosophy
and morals of the pagans. It is only a small step between accepting the dress of
pagans and accepting their teachings.
TRAPP, "Verse 8
Zephaniah 1:8 And 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.
Ver. 8. And it shall come to pass in the day of the Lord’s sacrifice] Or, good cheer;
for at their sacrifices they used to feast their friends; and here the Lord is providing
dainties for his guests; viz. the flesh of princes, gallants, courtiers, Zephaniah 1:9,
merchants, Zephaniah 1:11, who use to eat the fat and drink the sweet, "nourishing
their hearts as in a day of slaughter," James 5:5; and now also for a day of
slaughter, when the beasts shall tear their flesh and the birds bare their bones.
That I will punish the princes and the king’s children] Who might seem to be safest
of any, and farthest off from danger; but God’s hand can easily reach them, and
shall do with the first, because their faults fly fast abroad upon those two wings of
example and scandal. See this threatening fulfilled in Josiah’s sons, those degenerate
plants, Heroum filii noxae. Jehoahaz ambitiously stepped into his father’s throne
before his elder brother, and was soon after carried down to Egypt, and there slain.
Jehoiakim, the elder brother, succeeded him; but rebelling against the King of
Babylon, he was carried captive, and dying by the way, was buried with the burial
of an ass, being cast out, to be torn by birds and beasts, according to this prophecy,
Jeremiah 22:19. Jechoniah came after, and was likewise carried into captivity: but

92. because he hearkened to Jeremiah, persuading him to yield, and to go into
voluntary banishment, he had some good days toward his latter end, Jeremiah
52:31-32. Lastly Zedekiah, another son of Josiah, was made king; who as he was
worse than the former, so he sped worse. See Jeremiah 39:6-7. Potentes potenter
torquebantur. The powerful are twisted powerfully.
And all such as are clothed with strange apparel] Those gallants, that imitated in
their raiment those whom they most inclined to; some the Egyptians, others the
Babylonians. A vanity not known in England, they say, till the wars in Holland. And
(as ex malls moribus bonae leges) then first were great ruffs, with huge wide sets,
and cloaks reaching almost to the ankles, no less uncomely than costly, restrained by
proclamation (Camd. Eliz. 215). ow, what so common with our fashion mongers
(against whom this is a stinging and a flaming text) than to be clothed with strange
apparel, a la mode de France especially, and other Popish countries? But what saith
one, borrow not (fashions) of the Egyptians; if you do you may get their boils and
botches; of the Polonians, lest you get the plica Polonica in your hairy scalps; of the
French, lest the lues Gallica befall you. Oh what enemy of thine hath taught thee so
much vanity? said Mr John Fox to his son, returning from his travels, and attired in
a loose outlandish fashion. (Hist. of Modern Divin.) Those that affected the
Babylonian habit were sent captives to Babylon, Ezekiel 23:15, and those proud
dames (whose wardrobe is inventoried, Isaiah 3:16-24) were a cause that the mighty
men fell in battle, Isaiah 3:25-26. Seneca complaineth, that many in his time were
more solicitous of their attire than of their good behaviour; and that they had rather
the commonwealth should be troubled than their locks and set looks. And doth not
our age abound with such fantastic Cincinnatuli?
ELLICOTT, "(8) The king’s children.—The misfortunes which were to befall
Josiah’s children, Jehoahaz and Jehoiakim (see 2 Kings 23, 24), are perhaps in the
prophet’s eye. But if we are correct in our view of the date of writing (see Introd. II.)
these princes must have been as yet mere children, and could hardly have provoked
the prophet’s curse by any extraordinary display of wickedness. It therefore
appears better to suppose that the king’s brothers or uncles are meant. (Comp. the
phrase in 2 Kings 11:2; 2 Chronicles 22:11.)
Clothed with strange apparel.—Zephaniah means those who have imitated the
luxurious dress of foreign nations: e.g., perhaps the gorgeous apparel of Assyria and
Babylonia (Ezekiel 23:12-15). This desire for strange clothing is specially noticed as
a mark of apostasy, because the national dress, with its blue riband at the fringe,
was appointed that the Jews might “look upon it, and remember all the
commandments of the Lord, and do them” ( umbers 15:38-39).
BE SO , "Verse 8-9
Zephaniah 1:8-9. In that day I will punish the princes and the king’s children — In
2 Kings 25:7; 2 Kings 25:21, we read of the fulfilling of both these particulars; the
sons of King Zedekiah, and the principal officers of the state, being slain by the
order of the king of Babylon. And all such as are clothed with strange apparel —

93. Used for idolatrous purposes: see Deuteronomy 22:11. There were peculiar
vestments belonging to the worship of each idol; hence the command of Jehu, 2
Kings 10:22, Bring forth vestments for all the worshippers of Baal. The text may
likewise be explained of such men as wore women’s apparel, and such women as
wore that of men, which was contrary to an express law, Deuteronomy 22:5, and
was a rite observed in the worship of some idols. In the same day will I punish all
those that leap on the threshold — Or rather, over the threshold. The expression is
thought to denote some idolatrous rite, like that which was practised in the temple
of Dagon, where the priests did not tread upon the threshold, 1 Samuel 5:5. Thus
the Chaldee paraphrast interprets it of those who walked after the laws or rites of
the Philistines. Capellus, however, understands it of those who invaded the house of
their neighbours, joyfully bounding on the threshold. “This sense is favoured by
what follows.” — ewcome. Which fill their masters’ houses with violence and
deceit — Who enter into other men’s houses, and take away their goods by fraud or
violence, and carry them to the houses of their masters. The iniquitous officers of
the kings and princes seem to be here intended, who employed all the arts of deceit
and oppression, as well as of open violence, to fill their master’s coffers.
CO STABLE, "When the Lord slew Judah like a sacrifice, He would punish the
king"s sons and those who wore foreign clothing. The king"s sons, the future rulers
of the nation, bore special responsibility for conditions in the land. Josiah"s sons did
indeed suffer Yahweh"s punishment. Jehoahaz was taken captive to Egypt ( 2 Kings
23:34). Jehoiakim was defeated by ebuchadnezzar and died in Jerusalem ( 2 Kings
24:1-6). Josiah"s grandson, Jehoiachin, was taken captive to Babylon ( 2 Kings 24:8-
16). The last son of Josiah to rule over Judah, Zedekiah, was blinded and also taken
captive to Babylon ( 2 Kings 24:18 to 2 Kings 25:7). Wearing foreign garments
evidently expressed love and support for non-Israelite values and so incurred God"s
wrath (cf. umbers 15:38; Deuteronomy 22:11-12).
PETT, "Zephaniah 1:8-9
“And it will be in the day of YHWH’s sacrifice,
That I will punish the princes and the king’s sons,
And all who are clothed with foreign clothing.
And in that day I will punish all those who leap over the threshold,
Who fill their master’s house with deceit and violence.”
It will be a day of punishment for sin. That the princes and the king’s sons did
indeed suffer YHWH's punishment we know. Jehoahaz was taken captive to Egypt
(2 Kings 23:36). Jehoiakim was defeated by ebuchadnezzar and died in Jerusalem
(2 Kings 24:1-6). Josiah's grandson, Jehoiachin, with his princes, was taken captive
to Babylon (2 Kings 24:8-16), and the last son of Josiah to rule over Judah,
Zedekiah, was blinded and also taken captive to Babylon (2 Kings 24:18 to 2 Kings
25:7).
To be ‘clothed with foreign clothing’ may be metaphorical, signifying behaving like
foreigners, or more likely refers to clothing that denoted those who were walking in
foreign ways, in contrast with those who wore clothes which indicated their

94. submission to the covenant (compare umbers 15:38; Deuteronomy 22:11-12).
There may indeed have been something about the clothing that indicated submission
to foreign gods.
‘Those who leap over the threshold.’ The thought may be of those who eagerly leap
into their masters’ houses in order to practise deceit and violence, because hardened
in such ways, or may be descriptive of some religious activity to avoid and placate
the demons seen as haunting the threshold (compare 1 Samuel 5:5).
‘Master’s house’ can refer to the king’ house as representative of his authority (2
Samuel 12:8; 2 Kings 10:3). Thus the thought here may simply be of the deceit and
violence, either of the courtiers, or alternatively of all the people of Judah. Others
have seen it as referring either to the temple, or to a sanctuary of the gods. But the
major point remains the same. The people have revelled in deceitful practises and
violence.
The way we live our lives reveals what we are. Some reveal what they are by the
clothes they wear and their outward behaviour. They reflect their inner hearts.
Others reflect what they are by giving way to superstition, or occult practises. They
trust in magic rather than in God. While others openly sin. But all will have to give
account. The choice before us is stark. It is God or judgment.
WHEDO , "Verse 8-9
8, 9. In agreement with the other pre-exilic prophets Zephaniah names the nobles
and princes as special objects of the divine wrath, because they have sinned most
persistently against the divine will.
Princes — See on Hosea 3:4.
The king’s children — LXX., “the king’s house.” The latter is accepted as original
by some because the other is thought to create a chronological difficulty. The
condemnation presupposes that the children had reached the age of responsibility,
but if the prophecy is dated before 621 B.C. the children of King Josiah must have
been very young at the time of its delivery (compare 2 Kings 23:31; 2 Kings 23:36).
“Children” and “house” are sometimes interchanged in the Old Testament, but such
interchange need not be assumed here, for why restrict the term to the sons of
Josiah? It may be intended to include the sons of the deceased kings, Amon and
Manasseh, and may be equivalent to “royal princes.” What the prophet means to
say is that not even the royal family will escape the judgment. It is worthy of notice
that there is no condemnation of the king. At the time of Zephaniah’s preaching,
Josiah was too young to commit very serious offenses; besides, it is not improbable
that even during the early years of his reign he was under prophetic influence,
which would prevent him from committing the crimes of his predecessors.
Such as are clothed with strange apparel — R.V., “foreign apparel.” An evidence of
indulgence and of disregard of the simplicity characteristic of the ancient Hebrews.
Only the court and the nobles could afford these costly garments (compare Matthew

95. 11:8), and they secured the means with which to purchase them by oppression and
violence (compare Isaiah 2:6-7; Deuteronomy 22:11; Leviticus 19:19). It has been
suggested to place 9b after 8a and 8b after 9a, but this rearrangement is no
improvement over the present text. Zephaniah 1:9 condemns other forms of
wrongdoing.
Those that leap on the threshold — Better, R.V., “over the threshold.” Since this
expression occurs only here, commentators differ widely in their interpretations.
Some think that it refers to a superstitious rite of the idol worshipers (compare 1
Samuel 5:5), but the second part of the verse does not favor this view. There is no
conjunction between the two parts, which indicates that no new transgression is
condemned; the filling of the house with violence and deceit is closely connected
with the leaping over the threshold. Hence Ewald is probably right when he says
that even 9a refers to “dishonest servants of the royal court who seek to serve their
lord well by exacting treasures from his subjects by force and fraud.” It may be a
sort of proverbial phrase for breaking into other people’s houses for purposes of
robbery.
Their masters’ houses — R.V., “their master’s house.” ot the house of Jehovah,
but the house of the chief to whom they render unscrupulous service.
With violence and deceit — With treasures and possessions secured through
violence and fraud. Similar condemnations may be read in all the pre-exilic
prophets (compare Amos 3:10; Micah 3:1-3; Ezekiel 22:25-29). Jehovah must
punish these outrages.
PULPIT, "The prophet names the three classes of people who shall be smitten in
this judgment. First, the princes. In the day of the Lord's sacrifice (see note on ver.
7). God is speaking; so the name of the Lord is employed instead of the pronoun
(comp. Lamentations 3:66). I will punish; literally, visit upon (ver. 12; Amos 3:14).
The princes. The heads of tribes and families, nobles and magistrates. The king's
children (sons); Septuagint, τὸν οἶκον τοῦ βασιλέως, "the house of the king." The
royal family, not specially the sons of Josiah, who, if they were then in existence,
must have been mere children, but princes of the royal house. The reference may be
particularly to the sons of the king reigning when the judgment fell (see 2 Kings
25:7). The king himself is not mentioned as subject to the judgment, inasmuch as he
was pious and obedient (2 Chronicles 34:27, etc.). In the mention of these "children"
Keil finds proof of the late origin of the prophecy. Such as are clothed with strange
apparel. This clause must represent the sin for which the princes are "visited."
"Strange" apparel means "foreign" apparel, and this implied foreign manners and
habits. The Israelites were reminded by their very dress that they were a peculiar
people, consecrated to God's service ( umbers 15:37, etc.; Deuteronomy 22:12).
These nobles, however, assumed the dress of the Egyptians and other nations with
which they came in contact, and, despising their own national customs, copied the
manners and vices of foreigners (comp. Isaiah 3:16-24; Ezekiel 20:32; 1 Macc. 1:11-
15).

96. 9 On that day I will punish
all who avoid stepping on the threshold,[c]
who fill the temple of their gods
with violence and deceit.
BAR ES, "I will punish all those that leap on the threshold - Neither
language nor history nor context allow this to be understood of the idolatrous custom of
Ashdod, not to tread on the threshold of the temple of Dagon. It had indeed been a
strange infatuation of idolatry, that God’s people should adopt an act of superstitious
reverence for an idol in the very instance in which its nothingness and the power of the
true God had been shown. Nothing is indeed too brutish for one who chooses an idol for
the true God, preferring Satan to the good God. Yet, the superstition belonged
apparently to Ashdod alone; the worship of Dagon, although another form of untrue
worship, does not appear, like that of Baal, to have fascinated the Jews; nor would
Zephaniah, to express a rare superstition, have chosen an idiom, which might more
readily express the contrary, that they “leapt “on” the threshold,” not over it.
They are also the same persons, who “leap on the threshold,” and who “fill their
masters’ houses with violence and deceit.” Yet, this relates, not to superstition, but to
plunder and goods unjustly gotten. As then, before, he had declared God’s judgments
upon idolatry, so does he here upon sins against the second table, whether by open
violence, or secret fraud, as do also Habakkuk Hab_1:2-3, and Jeremiah Jer_5:27. All,
whether open or hidden from man, every wrongful dealing, (for every sin as to a
neighbor’s goods falls under these two, violence or fraud) shall be avenged in that day.
Here again all which remains is the sin. They enriched, as they thought, their masters by
art or by force; they schemed, plotted, robbed; they succeeded to their heart’s wish; but,
“ill-gotten, ill-spent!” They “filled their masters’ houses” quite full; but wherewith? with
violence and deceit, which witnessed against them, and brought down the judgments of
God upon them.
CLARKE, "That leap on the threshold - Or, that leap over the threshold. It is
most probable that the Philistines are here meant. After the time that Dagon fell before
the ark, and his hands were broken off on the threshold of his temple, his worshippers
would no more set a foot upon the threshold, but stepped or leaped over it, when they

97. entered into his temple. The Chaldee understands this of the Philistines, without giving
this reason for it. Some understand it of haughtiness and pride: others think that leaping
on the threshold refers to the customs of the Arabs, who used to ride into people’s
houses and take away whatever they could carry; and that this is the reason why, in
several parts of the East, they have their doors made very low, to prevent those
depredators from entering. In this manner, we learn the Persians have frequently
oppressed the poor Armenians, going on horseback into their houses, and taking
whatever they thought proper. Mr. Harmer understands it in this way.
GILL, "In the same day also will I punish all those that leap on the
threshold,.... Not in a ludicrous way, who, by dancing and leaping, made sport for
persons, and brought their masters much gain, as the damsel possessed with a spirit of
divination did, Act_16:16 rather, that entered rashly and irreverently into the house of
God; or else in an idolatrous way, who, when they went into an idol's temple, did not
tread upon the threshold, but leaped over it, as the priests of Dagon, after the fall of that
idol on the threshold, 1Sa_5:4. So the Targum,
"and I will visit all those that walk in the laws (or according to the customs) of the
Philistines;''
whose idol Dagon was: but it seems better to interpret it of such, who, seeing houses full
of good things, in a rude, bold, insolent manner, thrust themselves, or jumped into
them, and took away what they pleased; or when they returned to their masters' houses
with their spoil, who set them on, and encouraged them in these practices, leaped over
the threshold for joy of what they had got, as Aben Ezra observes; which agrees with
what follows:
which fill their masters' houses with violence and deceit; that is, with goods got
by rapine and force, and by fraudulent ways and methods: this is to be understood of the
servants of great men, who, to feed the ambition and avarice of their masters, used very
oppressive methods with inferior persons to get their substance from them, and gratify
their masters. Cocceius interprets these "three" verses of the day of Christ's coming in
the flesh being at hand, when the true sacrifice should be offered up, and God would call
his people to feed by faith upon it; when all civil power and authority in the sanhedrim
and family of David should be removed from the Jews; and all friendship with the
nations of the world, signified by likeness of garments; and the priestly dignity, the
priests, according to him, being those that leaped over the threshold; that is, of the
house of the Lord, the temple, and filled it with the spoil of widows' houses,
unsupportable precepts, and false doctrines.
JAMISO , "those that leap on the threshold — the servants of the princes, who,
after having gotten prey (like hounds) for their masters, leap exultingly on their masters’
thresholds; or, on the thresholds of the houses which they break into [Calvin]. Jerome
explains it of those who walk up the steps into the sanctuary with haughtiness.
Rosenmuller translates, “Leap over the threshold”; namely, in imitation of the Philistine
custom of not treading on the threshold, which arose from the head and hands of
Dragon being broken off on the threshold before the ark (1Sa_5:5). Compare Isa_2:6,
“thy people ... are soothsayers like the Philistines.” Calvin’s view agrees best with the
latter clause of the verse.

98. fill ... masters’ houses with violence, etc. — that is, with goods obtained with
violence, etc.
COFFMA , "Verse 9
"And in that day will I punish all that leap over the threshold, that fill their
master's house with violence and deceit."
Some have tried to make "leap over the threshold" here a reference to some pagan
custom; but we believe that Barnes was correct in viewing the second clause as an
explanation of the first.
" either language, nor history, nor context allow this to be understood of the
idolatrous customs of Ashdod. The same persons who "leap over the threshold" are
those who "fill their master's house with violence."[30]
We believe Hailey was correct: "it is more plausible that the term had become a
common term for burglary and thievery."[31]
Despite our preference for the views of such writers as Hailey and Barnes on this
passage, the possibility remains that some pagan significance might have pertained
to leaping over the threshold. Eakin noted that:
"The threshold was judged in antiquity to be the abode of a demon (or demons),
thus a place of particular danger. In Roman times this belief found expression in the
protective carrying of a bride across the threshold."[32]
COKE, "Zephaniah 1:9. Those that leap on the threshold— Over the threshold.
Houbigant. Calmet observes, that this alludes to the custom of the Philistines, when
they enter the temple of Dagon; but the author of the Observations is of a different
opinion. That notion can have nothing to recommend it, says he, I think, but its
being supposed by so old a writer as the Chaldee paraphrast: he is of opinion, that it
alludes to the custom of riding into the houses, spoken of in the note on Proverbs
17:19 and he observes, that such as are clothed with strange apparel, Zephaniah 1:8
are words which, in this connection, seem only to mean the rich, who are conscious
of such power and influence, as to dare in a time of oppression and danger to avow
their riches, and who therefore were not afraid to wear the costly manufactures of
strange countries, Ezekiel 27:7 though they were neither magistrates, nor of a royal
descent. A great number of attendants is a modern piece of oriental magnificence. It
appears to have been so anciently. See Ecclesiastes 5:11. These servants now, it is
most certain, frequently attend their master on horseback, richly attired, sometimes
to the number of twenty-five or thirty. If they did so anciently, such a number of
servants attending great men, (who are represented by this very prophet, ch.
Zephaniah 3:3 as at that time, in common, terrible oppressors) may be naturally
supposed to ride into the people's houses, and having gained an admission by deceit,
to force from them by violence large contributions; for this riding into houses is now
practised by the Arabs, and consequently might be practised by others too anciently.
It is not now peculiar to the Arabs; for Le Bruyn, after describing the magnificent

99. furniture of several of the Armenian merchants at Julfa, that suburb of Ispahan in
which they live, tells us, that the front door of the greatest part of these houses is
very small, partly to hinder the Persians from entering into them on horseback, and
partly that they may less observe the magnificence within. To which should be
added, what he elsewhere observes, that these Armenians are treated with great
rigour and insolence by the Persians. If this text refers to a violence of this sort, they
are the thresholds of the oppressed over which they leaped; not the thresholds of the
oppressive masters, (which some have supposed,) when they returned home loaden
with the spoil. See Observations, p. 57.
TRAPP, "Verse 9
Zephaniah 1:9 In the same day also will I punish all those that leap on the threshold,
which fill their masters’ houses with violence and deceit.
Ver. 9. In the same day also will I punish all those that leap on the threshold] i.e.
Great men’s officers, who by an absolute power went into other men’s houses, and
to whom no doors were shut, saith Mr Diodati. These leap upon the threshold, that
is, with great impudence and insolence, they invade and spoil other men’s houses,
and do what they wish, like so many lurdaines, or lord danes: neither dare any
question or control them. Lo, such things were done in good Josiah’s days without
his consent or so much as knowledge; for none might be suffered to come to him
with a complaint; always being shut up by those great ones about him, whose houses
were by that means filled with violence and deceit, that is, with those ill-gotten
goods, got by wrench and wile from the right but unrelieved possessors, through the
might and sleight of those unconscionable subordinates.
ELLICOTT, "(9) Their masters’ houses.—Better, their lord’s house, meaning the
temple of their idol-deity. Probably the true interpretation of this obscure verse is
that the idolaters had adopted a usage prevalent in the Philistine temples of
Dagon—that of leaping over the threshold on entering the idol’s temple. (See 1
Samuel 5:5.) When they entered it they filled it with “violence and deceit” by
bringing thither offerings acquired by fraud and oppression. Another interpretation
makes the verse relate exclusively to plunder and unjust acquisition of goods.
“Leaping the threshold” is then expounded as “a sudden rushing into houses to steal
the property of strangers,” and the offenders are identified as “servants of the king,
who thought they could best serve their master by extorting treasures from their
dependants by violence and fraud” (Ewald). It does not seem likely that such
malpractices would have been tolerated among the retainers of the pious Josiah; it is
possible, however, to suppose that he had not yet acquired sufficient authority to
check them.
CO STABLE, "The Lord would also punish those who leaped over the thresholds
of their neighbors in their zeal to plunder them and who filled the temple with gifts
taken through violence and deceit. Another view of leaping over the threshold is
that this expression describes a superstition that anyone who walked on a
building"s threshold would have bad luck (cf. 1 Samuel 5:5). In this case the temple

100. in view might be the temple of Baal. "Their lord" is literally "Their Baal" (cf.
Zephaniah 1:4).
PULPIT, "Those that leap on (over) the threshold. These are the retainers of the
princes, etc; named in ver. 8. There is no allusion to the circumstance of the priests
of Dagon abstaining from treading on the threshold of their temple in consequence
of what happened to the idol at Ashdod (1 Samuel 5:5). It is inconceivable that this
merely local custom, which demonstrated the impotence of the false god, should
hare been imported into Judah. where, indeed, the worship of Dagon seems never to
have made any way. The following clause explains the meaning which the Latin
version intimates, Omnem qui arroganter ingreditur super limen — all those who,
carrying out their masters' wishes, violently invade the houses of others and pillage
them of their contents. The expression, "to leap over the threshold," seems to have
been a common term for burglary and stealing with violence. Which fill their
masters' houses. These retainers plunder and steal in order that they may increase
their masters' treasures. The king (though not Josiah) may be meant, the plural
being the plural of majesty, or the idol temples. The LXX; followed by Jerome,
renders, "who fill the house of the Lord their God." This is plainly erroneous, as
there is no question here about the temple at Jerusalem. Violence and deceit; i.e. the
fruits of, what they have extorted by, violence and fraud (Jeremiah 5:27).
10 “On that day,”
declares the Lord,
“a cry will go up from the Fish Gate,
wailing from the ew Quarter,
and a loud crash from the hills.
BAR ES, "A cry from the fish-gate - “The fish-gate” was probably in the north of
the wall of “the second city.” For in Nehemiah’s rebuilding, the restoration began at the
sheep-gate Neh_3:1 (so called doubtless, because the sheep for the sacrifices were
brought in by it), which, as being near the temple, was repaired by the priests; then it
ascended northward, by two towers, the towers of Meah and Hananeel; then two
companies repaired some undescribed part of the wall Neh_3:2, and then another
company built the fish-gate Neh_3:3. Four companies are then mentioned, who

101. repaired, in order, to the old gate, which was repaired by another company Neh_3:4-6.
Three more companies repaired beyond these; and they left Jerusalem unto the broad
wall Neh_3:7-8. After three more sections repaired by individuals, two others repaired a
second measured portion, and the tower of the furnaces Neh_3:9-11.
This order is reversed in the account of the dedication of the walls. The people being
divided “into two great companies of them that give thanks” Neh_12:31-38, some place
near “the tower of the furnaces” was the central point, from which both parted to
encompass the city in opposite directions. In this account, we have two additional gates
mentioned, “the gate of Ephraim” Neh_12:39, between the “broad wall” and the “old
gate,” and “the prison-gate,” beyond “the sheep-gate,” from which the repairs had begun.
“The gate of Ephraim” had obviously not been repaired, because, for some reason, it had
not been destroyed. Elsewhere, Nehemiah, who describes the rebuilding of the wall so
minutely, must have mentioned its rebuilding. It was obviously to the north, as leading
to Ephraim. But the tower of Hananeel must have been a very marked tower. In
Zechariah Jerusalem is measured from north to south, “from the tower of Hananeel unto
the king’s winepresses” Zec_14:10.
It was then itself at the northeast corner of Jerusalem, where towers were of most
importance to strengthen the wall, and to command the approach to the wall either way.
“The fish-gate” then, lying between it and “the gate of Ephraim,” must have been on the
north side of the city, and so on the side where the Chaldaean invasions came; yet it
must have been much inside the present city, because the city itself was enlarged by
Herod Agrippa on the north, as it was unaccountably contracted on the south. The then
limits of Jerusalem are defined. For Josephus thus describes “the second wall.” (B. J. v.
42): “It took its beginning from that gate which they called “Gennath,” which belonged
to the first wall; it only encompassed the northern quarter of the city and reached as far
as the tower of Antonia.” The tower of Antonia was situated at the northwest angle of the
corner of the temple. The other end of the wall, the Gennath or “garden” gate, must have
opened on cultivated land; and Josephus speaks of the gardens on the north and
northwest of the city which were destroyed by Titus in leveling the ground (B. J. v. 32).
But near the tower of Hippicus, the northwestern extremity of the first wall, no ancient
remains have been discovered by excavation ; but they have been traced north, from “an
ancient Jewish semi-circular arch, resting on piers 18 feet high, now buried in rubbish.”
These old foundations have been traced at three places in a line on the east of the
Holy Sepulchre (which lay consequently outside the city) up to the judgment gate, but
not north of it .
The line from west to east, that is, to the tower of Antonia, is marked generally by
“very large stones, evidently of Jewish work, in the walls of houses, especially in the
lower parts” . They are chiefly in the line of the Via Dolorosa.
“The fish-gate” had its name probably from a fish-market (markets being in the open
places near the gates (see 2Ki_7:1; Neh_13:16, Neh_13:19)) the fish being brought either
from the lake of Tiberius or from Joppa. Near it, the wall ended, which Manasseh, after
his restoration from Babylon, “built without the city of David, on the west side of Gihon,
in the valley” 2Ch_33:14. This, being unprotected by its situation, was the weakest part
of the city. : “The most ancient of the three walls could be considered as impregnable, as
much on account of its extreme thickness, as of the height of the mountain on which it
was built, and the depth of the valleys at its base, and David, Solomon and the other
kings neglected nothing to place it in this state.” Where they had made themselves
strong, there God’s judgment should find them.
And a howling from the second - city, as it is supplied in Nehemiah, who

102. mentions the prefect set over it . It was here that Huldah the prophetess lived , who
prophesied the evils to come upon Jerusalem, after Josiah should be “gathered to” his
“grave in peace.” It was probably the lower city, which was enclosed by the second wall.
It was a second or new city, as compared to the original city of David, on Mount Moriah.
On this the enemy who had penetrated by the fish-gate would first enter; then take the
strongest part of the city itself. Gareb Jer_31:39 and Bezetha were outside of the then
town; they would then be already occupied by the enemy before entering the city.
A great crashing from the hills - These are probably Zion, and Mount Moriah on
which the temple stood, and so the capture is described as complete. Here should be not
a cry or howling only, but an utter destruction . Mount Moriah was the seat of the
worship of God; on Mount Zion was the state, and the abode of the wealthy. In human
sight they were impregnable. The Jebusites mocked at David’s siege, as thinking their
city impregnable 2Sa_5:6; but God was with David and he took it. He and his successors
fortified it yet more, but its true defense was that the Lord was round about His people”
Psa_125:2, and when lie withdrew His protection, then this natural strength was but
their destruction, tempting them to resist first the Chaldaeans, then the Romans.
Human strength is but a great crash, falling by its own weight and burying its owner.
“This threefold cry , from three parts of the city, had a fulfillment before the destruction
by the Romans. In the lower part of the city Simon tyrannized, and in the middle John
raged, and “there was a great crashing from the hills,” that is, from the temple and
citadel where was Eleazar, who stained the very altar of the temple with blood, and in the
courts of the Lord made a pool of blood of divers corpses.”
Cyril: “In the assaults of an enemy the inhabitants are ever wont to flee to the tops of
the hills, thinking that the difficulty of access will be a hindrance to him, and will cut off
the assaults of the pursuers. But when God smiteth, and requireth of the despisers the
penalties of their sin, not the most towered city nor impregnable circuits of walls, not
height of hills, or rough rocks, or pathless difficulty of ground, will avail to the sufferers.
Repentance alone saves, softening the Judge and allaying His wrath, and readily inviting
the Creator in His inherent goodness to His appropriate gentleness. Better is it, with all
our might to implore that we may not offend Him. But since human nature is prone to
evil, and “in many things we all offend” Jam_3:2, let us at least by repentance invite to
His wonted clemency the Lord of all, Who is by nature kind.”
CLARKE, "A cry from the fish-gate - This gate, which is mentioned Neh_3:3,
was opposite to Joppa; and perhaps the way in which the news came of the irruption of
the Chaldean army, the great crashing from the hills.
The second - Or second city, may here mean a part of Jerusalem, mentioned 2Ki_
22:14; 2Ch_34:22.
GILL, "And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord,.... In the day of the
Lord's sacrifice, when he shall punish the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem by the
Chaldeans; which, as well as what follows, shall surely come to pass, because the Lord
has said it; for not one word of his shall pass away, but all be fulfilled:
that there shall be the noise of a cry from the fish gate; a gate of the city of
Jerusalem so called, which suffered as the rest in the destruction of the city by the
Babylonians, and, after the captivity, was rebuilt by the sons of Hassenaah, Neh_3:3

103. according to Jerom, it was on the west side of the city, and led to Diospolis and Joppa;
and was the nearest road to the Mediterranean sea, or any of the roads to Jerusalem,
from whence fish were brought, and brought in by this gate; and very probably the fish
market was near it, from whence it had its name; though Cocceius places it in the north
corner of the east side of the city, and so was nearer Jordan, the sea of Tiberias, and the
city of Tyre, from whence fish might be brought hither, and sold, Neh_13:16 however, be
it where it will, the enemy it seems would attack it, and enter in by it; upon which a
hideous cry would be made, either by the assailants, the Chaldeans, at their attack upon
it, and entrance through it; or by the inhabitants of it, or that were nearest to it, upon
their approach, or both:
and an howling from the second; either from the second gate; and if the fish gate is
the same with the first gate, Zec_14:10 then this may be pertinently called the second.
Jarchi calls it the bird gate, which was the second to the fish gate. So the Targum,
"from the bird, or the bird gate;''
though some copies of it read, from the tower or high fortress: or else this designs the
second wall, and the gate in that which answered to the fish gate; for Jerusalem was
encompassed with three walls; the fish gate was in the outermost, and this was in the
second, to which the Chaldeans came next, and occasioned a dreadful howling and
lamentation in the people that dwelt near it. Kimchi interprets it of the school or
university that was in Jerusalem; the same word is rendered the cottage in which
Huldah the prophetess lived, 2Ki_22:14 and there, by the Targum,
"the house of doctrine or instruction;''
so then the sense is, a grievous outcry would be heard from the university or school of
the prophets; the enemy having entered it, and were slaying the students, or seizing
them in order to carry them captive:
and a great crashing from the hills; either that were in Jerusalem, as Mount Zion
and Moriah, on which the temple stood; or those that were round about it, as Gareb, and
Goath, and others; though some interpret this of the houses of nobles that stood in the
higher parts of the city, where there would be a shivering, a breaking to pieces, as the
word signifies, of doors and windows without, and of furniture within.
JAMISO , "fish gate — (2Ch_33:14; Neh_3:3; Neh_12:39). Situated on the east of
the lower city, north of the sheep gate [Maurer]: near the stronghold of David in Milo,
between Zion and the lower city, towards the west [Jerome]. This verse describes the
state of the city when it was besieged by Nebuchadnezzar. It was through the fish gate
that he entered the city. It received its name from the fish market which was near it.
Through it passed those who used to bring fish from the lake of Tiberias and Jordan. It
answers to what is now called the Damascus gate [Henderson].
the second — namely, the gate which was second in dignity [Calvin]. Or, the second
or lower part of the city. Appropriately, the fish gate, or extreme end of the lower part of
the city, first resounds with the cries of the citizens as the foe approaches; then, as he
advances further, that part of the city itself, namely, its inner part; lastly, when the foe is
actually come and has burst in, the hills, the higher ones, especially Zion and Moriah, on
which the upper city and temple were founded [Maurer]. The second, or lower city,
answers to Akra, north of Zion, and separated from it by the valley of Tyropoeon running

104. down to the pool of Siloam [Henderson]. The Hebrew is translated “college,” 2Ki_22:14;
so Vatablus would translate here.
hills — not here those outside, but those within the walls: Zion, Moriah, and Ophel.
K&D 10-11, "Even the usurers will not escape the judgment. Zep_1:10. “And it will
come to pass in that day, is the saying of Jehovah, voice of the cry from the fish-gate,
and howling from the lower city, and great destruction from the hills. Zep_1:11. Howl,
inhabitants of the mortar, for all the people of Canaan are destroyed; cut off are all
that are laden with silver.” In order to express the thought that the judgment will not
spare any one class of the population, Zephaniah depicts the lamentation which will
arise from all parts of the city. ‫ה‬ ָ‫ק‬ ָ‫ע‬ ְ‫צ‬ ‫,קוֹל‬ voice of the cry, i.e., a loud cry of anguish will
arise or resound. The fish-gate (according to Neh_3:3; Neh_12:39; cf. 2Ch_33:14) was
in the eastern portion of the wall which bounded the lower city on the north side (for
further details on this point, see at Neh_3:3). ‫ה‬ֶ‫נ‬ ְ‫שׁ‬ ִ ַ‫ה‬ (= ‫ה‬ֶ‫נ‬ ְ‫שׁ‬ ִ‫מ‬ ‫יר‬ ִ‫ע‬ ָ‫,ה‬ Neh_11:9), the second
part or district of the city, is the lower city upon the hill Acra (see at 2Ki_22:14). Shebher,
fragor, does not mean a cry of murder, but the breaking to pieces of what now exists, not
merely the crashing fall of the buildings, like za‛ăqath shebher in Isa_15:5, the cry uttered
at the threatening danger of utter destruction. In order to heighten the terrors of the
judgment, there is added to the crying and howling of the men the tumult caused by the
conquest of the city. “From the hills,” i.e., “not from Zion and Moriah,” but from the ills
surrounding the lower city, viz., Bezetha, Gareb (Jer_31:39), and others. For Zion, the
citadel of Jerusalem, is evidently thought of as the place where the howling of the men
and the noise of the devastation, caused by the enemy pressing in from the north and
north-west, are heard. Hammakhtēsh, the mortar (Pro_27:22), which is the name given
in Jdg_15:19 to a hollow place in a rock, is used here to denote a locality in Jerusalem,
most probably the depression which ran down between Acra on the west and Bezetha
and Moriah on the east, as far as the fountain of Siloah, and is called by Josephus “the
cheese-maker's valley,” and by the present inhabitants el-Wâd, i.e., the valley, and also
the mill-valley. The name “mortar” was probably coined by Zephaniah, to point to the
fate of the merchants and men of money who lived there. They who dwell there shall
howl, because “all the people of Canaan” are destroyed. These are not Canaanitish or
Phoenician merchants, but Judaean merchants, who resembled the Canaanites or
Phoenicians in their general business (see at Hos_12:8), and had grown rich through
trade and usury. Ne
tıl keseph, laden with silver.
CALVI , "He confirms here the same truth, and amplifies and illustrates it by a
striking description; for we know how much a lively representation avails to touch
the feelings, when the event itself is not only narrated, but placed as it were before
our eyes. So the Prophet is not content with plain words, but presents a scene, that
the future destruction of Jerusalem might appear in a clearer light. But as I have
elsewhere explained this mode of speaking, I shall not dwell on the subject now.
He says, that there would be the voice of crying from the gate of the fishes. He
names here three places in Jerusalem, and afterwards he adds a fourth. But as we

105. do not understand the situation of the city, sufficient for us is this probable
conjecture,—that he refers to parts opposite to one another; as though he had said,
that no corner of the city would be in a quiet state, when the Lord roused up war.
Let us then suppose it to be triangular, and let the gate of the fishes be one side, and
let the second gate or the school be on the other; and let the part nigh the hills form
the third side. What some say, that the hills mean palaces, I do not approve of; nor
is it consistent with the context: but we ought to bear in mind what I have already
stated, that the Prophet here denounces ruin on every part of the city, so that the
Jews would in vain seek refuges for themselves; for by running here and there, they
would find all places full of crying and howling. There shall be then the voice of
crying from the gate of the fishes. Why the Prophet calls it the gate of the fishes we
cannot for certainty say, except that it is a probable conjecture, that either some
fish-pond was near it, or that the fish-market was nigh.
As to the word ‫,משנה‬ meshene, the majority of interpreters think that it means the
place where the priests explained the law and devoted themselves to the study of it;
and they adduce a passage from 2 Kings 22:14, where it seems, as there is mention
made of priests, the word is taken in this sense. But as gates are spoken of here, and
as the Hebrews often call whatever is second in order by this word, as the second
part in buildings and also in towns and in other places, is thus called, we may take it
here in this sense, that is, as meaning that gate which was next to the first in general
esteem. But as the subject has little to do with the main point, I dismiss it. (78)
He says in the last place, that there would be a great breach in the hills. He refers, I
have no doubt, to that part of the city which was contiguous to the mountains.
However this may be, it was the Prophet’s object to include here the whole city, that
he might shake off from the Jews all vain confidence, and show that there would be
no escape, when the Lord stretched forth his hand to punish their sins. It now
follows—
The word rendered by Calvin “contritio —breach,” and by Henderson,
“destruction,” is [ ‫שבר‬ ]. As “crying” and “howling” are said to proceed from the
other parts, so something similar must have proceeded from “the hills.” The word
means breaking, and it is often applied to the heart—“a broken heart,” Psalms
34:18, etc. It seems to mean here the breaking out into weeping and wailing. The
parallelism of the verse would thus be complete—
d there shall be in that day, saith Jehovah,
The voice of crying from the fish-gate,
And howling from the second gate,
And great wailing from the hills.
Wailing is the breaking out of anguish and pangs. The word is used in Ezekiel 21:6,
for acute pain in the loins, and may be considered as used here metonymically.—Ed.
COFFMA , "Verse 10
"And in that day, saith Jehovah, there shall be the noise of a cry from the fish gate,

106. and a wailing from the second quarter, and a great crashing from the hills. Wail, ye
inhabitants of Maktesh; for all the people of Canaan are undone; all they that are
laden 'with silver are cut off."
"The fish gate ..." This was one of the north entrances to Jerusalem ( ehemiah 3:1-
6). The second quarter was where Huldah the prophetess lived (2 Kings 22:14).
Maktesh is not elsewhere mentioned in the Bible. Perhaps all of these places were in
the north sector of the city, indicating that the invasion would come from the north.
"The hills ..." probably refers to the terrain upon which the city was built.
"All the people of Canaan are undone ..." This is not a reference to the original
Canaanites, but to the Jews who had adopted the customs, the clothing, the religion,
and the immorality of the old Canaanites, thus becoming in themselves another
Canaan. The word for "Canaan" may also be translated Phoenician or trafficker.
(See under Hosea 12:7 for further discussion of this.) It was the shameful
wickedness of the original Canaanites that caused God to remove them from the
land and to re-populate the area with Israel; now that Israel had themselves become
"Canaan," God had no choice but to remove them also.
COKE, "Zephaniah 1:10. A cry from the fish-gate— Which was at the entering of
the city. Some render the next clause, And a howling from the middle part of the
city: but Houbigant renders it, A howling from Misna; or from the second city
which Manasseh built.
TRAPP, "Verse 10
Zephaniah 1:10 And 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.
Ver. 10. There shall be the noise of a cry from the fish gate] Called also the first
gate, Zechariah 14:10, whereat the Chaldeans entered, and caused a great hubbub,
as in such a case is usual.
And an howling from the second] Called by the Chaldee paraphrast the bird gate;
there was also one called the horse gate, Jeremiah 31:40. Some understand the text,
not of any gate, but of the second part of the city: for there was the upper town and
the lower town (whence Jerusalem is of the dual number, Jerushalajim), and the
tower of David, on the hill of Zion. Others, of the college where Huldah dwelt, 2
Kings 22:14, a school of learning, as the Chaldee interpreteth it, and called Mishneh,
as you would say, a place of repetition, or of catechizing the younger sort; with
whom nothing sticks but what is repeated to them over and over, as the knife goeth
over the whetstone. Shanan et Shauah repetere, sicut in acuendo. See Deuteronomy
6:7.
And a great crashing (or shivering, Heb. shebhor) from the hills] Gareb and Goath,
Jeremiah 31:39, and the rest that were round about Jerusalem, Psalms 125:2. The

107. prophet’s scope is to show that all places shall be full of tumult and outcry upon the
approach of the enemy. They, that would not listen to the sweet voice of God,
inciting and enticing them to repentance, have now their ears filled with hideous
and horrid notes and noises.
ELLICOTT, "(10) The fish gate.—See ote on 2 Chronicles 33:14; ehemiah 3:3.
The second.—The word “city” is to be supplied. The new or lower city is meant. The
same expression occurs in 2 Kings 22:14; ehemiah 11:9.
From the hills.—The “hills” are probably, Mount Zion and Mount Moriah, the sites
of the old Davidic city and the Temple. Thus all parts of the city are to be included
in this destruction.
BE SO , "Verse 10-11
Zephaniah 1:10-11. In that day there shall be the noise of a cry from the fish- gate
— Mentioned ehemiah 3:3. It was opposite to Joppa, according to Jerome, and at
the entering of the city from that quarter. The sundry expressions of this verse are
intended to describe the cries and shrieks that should arise from all parts of the city,
upon the taking of it by the Babylonians. The great crashing from the hills might be
intended to signify the noise that should be heard from the palace and temple, which
were situated on the mountains, Zion and Moriah. Howl, ye inhabitants of Maktesh
— The inhabitants of some particular part in or near Jerusalem. The Chaldee
interprets it of the inhabitants near the brook Cedron. Bishop ewcome renders the
clause, Howl ye inhabitants of the lower city, understanding it of the valley in
Jerusalem, which divided the upper from the lower city, “This,” says he, “is
agreeable to the etymology of the word, which signifies a hollow place, a mortar.” In
this sense the word is understood by Buxtorf. For all the merchant people are cut
down — All they who used to traffic with you shall be destroyed. All they that bear
silver are cut off — All the money-changers: the rich merchants in general, or the
money-changers in particular, may be meant.
CO STABLE, "When the Lord brought judgment on Judah, there would be crying
out from various parts of Jerusalem representing the total destruction of the city.
The Fish Gate was the gate through which the fishermen normally entered the city
with their catches. It was a gate that pierced Jerusalem"s north wall close to the fish
market (cf. 2 Chronicles 33:14; ehemiah 3:3; ehemiah 12:39). It was probably
through this gate that ebuchadnezzar entered Jerusalem since he invaded it from
the north. The Second (or ew) Quarter was a district of Jerusalem northwest of
the temple area (cf. 2 Kings 22:14; 2 Chronicles 34:22). The hills may refer to the
hills on which Jerusalem stood or the hills surrounding the city or both. In any case,
the Babylonian army doubtless caused loud crashing on all the hills in and around
Jerusalem as the soldiers destroyed the whole city and its environs.
PETT, "Zephaniah 1:10
“And in that day,” says YHWH,

108. “There will be the sound of a cry from the Fish Gate,
And a howling from the Second Quarter,
And a great crashing from the hills (or ‘The Hills’).”
The Fish Gate was the gate through which fish vendors normally entered the city
with their wares. It was a gate in Jerusalem's north wall close to the fish market
(compare 2 Chronicles 33:14; ehemiah 3:3; ehemiah 12:39). The Second Quarter
appears to have been the name given to the extension to the city on the western ridge
to the north (the Mishneh - 2 Kings 22:14; 2 Chronicles 34:22), protected by an
outer wall but not in the main city. Both these would be the first to receive warning
of ebuchadnezzar’s arrival. (Compare Zechariah 11:3)
‘And a great crashing (or ‘destruction’) from the hills.’ Jerusalem was built in the
hill country, and on hills, and was surrounded by hills. This may be intended to
signify the noise of the cutting down of trees to make siege engines, or the cries of
people being slain who had not reached the shelter of the city. Either way it would
be the evidence of the nearness of the besieging army.
Or ‘The Hills’ may refer to an outer section of Jerusalem, (paralleled with the Fish
Gate and The Second Quarter), possibly seen as already encroached on by the
invader. Or the crashing may be some way of sounding the alarm.
WHEDO , "10. oise of a cry — A loud cry, of anguish and despair.
Fish gate — Mentioned again in 2 Chronicles 33:14; ehemiah 3:3; ehemiah
12:39. It is generally thought that it was in the north wall of the city, not far from
the northwest angle of the same. Through this gate the fishmongers from Tyre are
supposed to have come ( ehemiah 13:16); if so, the fish market may have been
located near it. Since the north was exposed more than the other sides of the city,
hostile attacks might be expected to come from that direction. For this reason the
prophet names localities in the northern section of the city as the places from which
the cries of despair will be heard.
The second — R.V., “the second quarter”; Hebrews mishneh, which might be
translated “new town.” It may be the name of a recent addition to the city proper.
Its exact location is not known, but it is generally thought to have been situated on
the hill Acra. According to 2 Kings 22:14; 2 Chronicles 34:22, the prophetess
Huldah lived there.
Crashing — Or, noise. Since the word stands in parallelism with “cry” and
“howling” in the preceding clauses, it should be understood not of the crash of
falling buildings, but of the noise made by the terror-stricken inhabitants.
The hills — Upon which the city was built, but the prophet is thinking especially of
the hills in the northern section of the city.
PULPIT, "The second class which shall be smitten, viz. the traders and usurers, the
enemy being represented as breaking in upon the localities where these persons

109. resided. The fish gate. This is generally supposed to have been in the north wall of
the city towards its eastern extremity, and to have been so called because through it
were brought the fish from the Jordan and the Sea of Galilee, and there was a fish
market in its immediate neighbourhood (see ehemiah 3:3; ehemiah 12:39; 2
Chronicles 33:14). It was probably on this side that the Chaldeans entered
Jerusalem, us Zedekiah seems to have escaped from the south (Jeremiah 39:4). The
LXX. has, ἀπὸ πύλης ἀποκεντούντων, which Jerome notes as a mistake. From the
second district, the lower city upon the hill Acra, to the north of the old town, Zion.
This is so called, according to one rendering, in 2 Kings 22:14, and ehemiah 11:9.
A great crashing. ot merely the crash of falling buildings, but the cry of men when
a city is taken and the inhabitants are put to the sword. The hills on which the
greater part of the city was built. Keil thinks that the hills surrounding the lower
city are meant, viz. Bezetha, Gareb, etc; as the hearer of the cry is supposed to be on
Zion.
11 Wail, you who live in the market district[d];
all your merchants will be wiped out,
all who trade with[e] silver will be destroyed.
BAR ES, "Howl, ye inhabitants of Maktesh - Literally, “Mortar” , “in which,”
Jerome says, “corn is pounded; a hollow vessel, and fit for the use of medical men, in
which properly ptisans are wont to be beaten (or made). Striking is it, that Scripture
saith not, ‘who dwell in the valley or in the alley,’ but who “dwell in the mortar,” because
as corn, when the pestle striketh, is bruised, so the army of the enemy shall rush down
upon you” (Jerome). The place intended is probably so much of the valley of the
Tyropoeon, which intersected Jerusalem from north to south, as was enclosed by the
second wall, on the north, and the first wall on the south. The valley “extended as far as
the fountain of Siloam,” and united with the valley of Jehoshaphat a little below Ophel.
It was “full of houses,” and, from its name as well as from its situation, it was probably
the scene of petty merchandise, where the occasions in which men could and did break
the law and offend God, were the more continual, because they entered into their daily
life, and were a part of it. The sound of the pestle was continually heard there; another
sound should thereafter be heard, when they should not bruise, but be themselves
bruised. The name “Maktesh” was probably chosen to express how their false hopes,
grounded on the presence of God’s temple among them while by their sins they profaned

110. it, should be turned into true fears. They had been and thought themselves “Mikdash,”
“a holy place,. sanctuary;” they should be Maktesh , wherein all should be utterly bruised
in pieces.
Jerome: “Whoso considereth the calamities of that siege, and how the city was pressed
and hemmed in, will feel how aptly he calls them “the inhabitants of a mortar;” for, as
grains of corn are brought together into a mortar, to the end that, when the pestle
descendeth, being unable to fly off, they may be bruised, so the people flowing together,
out of all the countries of Judaea, was narrowed in by a sudden siege, and through the
savage cruelty of the above leaders of the sedition, was unutterably tortured from within,
more than by the enemy without.”
For all the merchant people are cut down - (Literally, “the people of Canaan”)
that is Ch.: “they who in deeds are like the people of Canaan,” according to that , “Thou
art of Canaan and not of Judah,” and, “Thy father is an Amorite and thy mother a
Hittite” . So our Lord says to the reprobate Jews, “Ye are of your father the devil” Joh_
8:44.
All they that bear silver are cut off - (Literally, “all laden with”). The silver,
wherewith they lade themselves, being gotten amiss, is a load upon them, weighing them
down until they are destroyed.
CLARKE, "Maktesh - Calmet says this signifies a mortar, or a rock in form of a
mortar, and was the name of a quarter of Jerusalem where they hulled rice, corn, etc.,
according to St. Jerome. Some think the city of Jerusalem is meant, where the
inhabitants should be beat and pounded to death as grain is pounded in a mortar.
Newcome translates it, the lower city, and considers it the valley in Jerusalem, which
divided the upper from the lower city.
They that bear silver - The merchants, moneychangers, usurers, rich men.
GILL, "Howl, ye inhabitants of Maktesh,.... The name of a street in Jerusalem, as
Aben Ezra; perhaps it lay low in the hollow of the city, and in the form of a mortar, from
whence it might have its name, as the word (q) signifies; which is used both for a hollow
place and for a mortar, Jdg_15:19 unless it might be so called from such persons
dwelling in it, that used mortars for spice, and other things. The Targum is,
"howl, all ye that dwell in the valley of Kidron;''
and Jerom thinks the valley of Siloah is intended, which is the same; which,
Adrichomius (r) says, was broad, deep, and dark, and surrounded the temple in manner
of a foss, or ditch; and was disposed in the form of a mortar, called in Hebrew
"machtes"; in Latin, "pila"; in which merchants and tradesmen of all kinds dwelt. It is
thought by others to be the same which Josephus (s) calls "the valley of the cheese
mongers", which lay between the two hills Zion and Acra. The reason of their howling is,
for all the merchant people are cut down; either cut to pieces by the sword of the
enemy, and become silent, as the word (t) sometimes signifies, and the Vulgate Latin
version here renders it; become so by death, and laid in the silent grave, and no more
concerned in merchandise; or else stripped of all their wealth and goods by the enemy,

111. and so cut down, broke, and become bankrupt, and could trade no more. The word for
merchant signifies a Canaanite; and the Targum paraphrases it thus,
"for all the people are broken, whose works are like the works of the people of the land of
Canaan:''
all they that bear silver are cut off; that have large quantities of it, and carry it to
market to buy goods with it as merchants; these shall be cut off, and so a great loss to
trade, and a cause of howling and lamentation; or such that wear it in their garments,
embroidered with it; or rather in their purses, who are loaded with this thick clay,
abound with it. The Targum is,
"all that are rich in substance shall be destroyed.''
JAMISO , "Maktesh — rather, “the mortar,” a name applied to the valley of Siloam
from its hollow shape [Jerome]. The valley between Zion and Mount Olivet, at the
eastern extremity of Mount Moriah, where the merchants dwelt. Zec_14:21, “The
Canaanite,” namely, merchant [Chaldee Version]. The Tyropoeon (that is, cheese-
makers’) valley below Mount Akra [Rosenmuller]. Better Jerusalem itself, so called as
lying in the midst of hills (Isa_22:1; Jer_21:13) and as doomed to be the scene of its
people being destroyed as corn or drugs are pounded in a mortar (Pro_27:22) [Maurer].
Compare the similar image of a “pot” (Eze_24:3, Eze_24:6). The reason for the
destruction is subjoined, namely, its merchant people’s greediness of gain.
all the merchant people — literally, the “Canaanite people”: irony: all the merchant
people of Jerusalem are very Canaanites in greed for gain and in idolatries (see on Hos_
12:7).
all ... that bear silver — loading themselves with that which will prove but a burden
(Hab_2:6).
CALVI , "The Prophet addresses the merchants here who inhabited the middle
part of the city, and hence thought themselves farther off from all danger and
trouble. As then they were concealed as it were in their hiding-places, they thought
that no danger was nigh them; and thus security blinded them the more. After
having spoken of the king’s palace and of the princes and their servants, Zephaniah
now turns his discourse to the merchants.
And he calls them the inhabitants of the hollow place, ‫,מכתש‬ mecatesh. The verb ‫כתש‬
, catash, means to be hollow; hence the Hebrews call a hollow place ‫,מכתש‬ mecatesh.
So Solomon calls a mortar by this name, because it is hollow: (79) and we learn also
from other parts of scripture that the word means sometimes either a cavern or
some low place. But we know that merchants have for the most part their streets on
level ground, and it is for their advantage, as they have goods to carry. It may then
have been, that at Jerusalem there was a large company of merchants in that part of
the city, which was in its situation low. But they who regard it as a proper name,
bring nothing either of reason or probability to confirm their opinion: and it is also
evident from the context that merchants are here addressed, for cut off, he says, is
the mercantile people. The word ‫,כנען‬ canon, means a merchant. Some think that the

112. Jews are here, as often elsewhere, called Canaan, because they were become
degenerate, and more like the Canaanites than the holy fathers, from whom they
descended. (80) But the Prophet speaks here no doubt of merchants, for an
explanation immediately follows, all who are laden with money. And he says that
merchants were laden with money, because they would not transact business
without making payments and counting money, and also, because merchants for the
most part engrossed by their gainful arts a great portion of the wealth of the world.
We now then understand what the Prophet means: He threatens howling to the
merchants, who were concealed in their hidden places, for they occupied that part of
the city, as I have already said, which was below the hills; and he then makes use of
the word ‫,כנען‬ canon, a trafficker; and lastly he speaks of their wealth, as it is
probable that they became rich through frauds and most dishonest means, and
shows that their money would be useless to them, for they would find in it no
defense, when the Lord extended his hand to punish them. It now follows—
Howl ye, the inhabitants of the lower part,
For reduced to silence have been all the people of trade,
Cut off have been all the laden with silver.
They are called to howl, as though their calamity had already taken place, a mode of
speaking often used by the Prophets. That the event was future is clear from the
context, especially from the next verse. “Reduced to silence”—[ ‫נדמה‬ ], is literally the
meaning, not “destroyed;” and appropriate is the term, as people of trade create
much bustle and noise. “The laden with silver,” may be rendered, as ewcome does,
“the bearers of silver:” and silver is here for money.—Ed.
COKE, "Zephaniah 1:11. Maktesh— This may be interpreted, says Houbigant,
rock; what follows points out the place of the city where the merchants and
silversmiths lived, and which perhaps was so named from a certain rock that was
situated there. Instead of, All they that bear silver, Houbigant reads, All they that
are loaded with silver.
TRAPP, "Verse 11
Zephaniah 1:11 Howl, ye inhabitants of Maktesh, for all the merchant people are
cut down; all they that bear silver are cut off.
Ver. 11. Howl, ye inhabitants of Maktesh] Or, of the mortar, or of the low and
hollow place, of the base town, where grain was ground in mortars, before mills
were in use. These are here called upon to "turn their laughter to mourning, and
their joy into heaviness, to weep and howl for the evils that shall come upon them,"
James 4:9; James 5:1, but especially for their sins, the cause of those miseries; for
God’s judgments upon sinners are feathered from themselves: as a fowl shot with an
arrow feathered from her own body.

113. For all the merchant people are cut down] The merchant men were wont to furnish
the mortar men, such as dealt in grain, spicery, and the like. These shall be cut
down, as being more like Canaanites (a people devoted to destruction) than
Israelites, a people saved by the Lord, the shield of their help, and the sword of their
excellency, Deuteronomy 33:29. See Hosea 12:13. {See Trapp on "Hosea 12:13"} He
is a merchant, the balances of deceit are in his hand, he loveth to oppress, see Amos
8:5-6, Micah 6:10-12. Merchandise well managed is of great use to kingdoms and
states, for many reasons. 1. For determining the counsels and strength of other
nations. 2. For procuring the love and friendship of foreign princes and people. 3.
For exchanging of commodities; for non omnis fert omnia tellus. not everything is
born from all ground. 4. For gaining experience of many and great matters; this
caused Thales, Hippocrates, and Solon to exercise merchandise. 5. It occasioned the
building of many famous cities: Massilia for one, as Plutarch writeth. evertheless
this honourable profession is much abused by those whom ahum calleth
cankerworms, ahum 3:16, for their covetousness, luxury, oppression, bringing in
unnecessary wars (that emasculate and dissolve men’s spirits), and heretical books
that undo their souls; and, lastly, for their carrying out the wealth of their country
to strangers, yea, to enemies sometimes. Hence they are justly cut down by God, and
are to be ordered by the magistrates according to Leviticus 19:35-36, Deuteronomy
25:15, Ezekiel 45:9-12.
All they that bear silver are cut off] The rich traders, that had marsupia plena full
purse, and carried money in great burdens, these shall be also cut off or silenced,
have nothing to say for themselves why they should not be destroyed with the rest,
as those that have been involuti argento, as the Vulgate translation hath it here, so
wrapped up in their money, and affected to it, as that it hath rather possessed them
than they it. Cor habent in aere non in aethere, "their heart goeth after their
covetousness," Ezekiel 33:31. Here they are called portatores argenti, silver carriers,
sumpter horses, laden with thick clay. Silver is that which the basest element
yieldeth, the most savage Indians get, servile apprentices work, Midianitish camels
carry, miserable muck worms admire, covetous Jews swallow, unthirsty ruffians
spend. It is to be wondered (saith one) that treading upon these minerals we cannot
condemn them. They lie furthest from heaven; and the best of them are in India,
furthest from the Church; and yet how many doth money make to run quick to the
devil on an errand, and pays them home for their pains?
ELLICOTT, "Verse 11
(11) Maktesh.—Better, the mortar, a term indicating probably some part of the city
lying in a hollow: perhaps that part which was in the valley of Tyropœon. This
quarter is described by Josephus as “full of houses” (B.J. V. iv. § 1). Hence some
detect in the name “mortar” an allusion to the noisy din of the commerce here
conducted. The name occurs here only. Some suppose that it is a term coined by
Zephaniah, to signify how everything in Jerusalem should be bruised to pieces as in
a mortar.
Merchant people.—Literally, people of Canaan, a phrase used elsewhere for traders

114. and merchants, and therefore not to be restricted to its original signification here.
All they that bear silver.—Literally, all they that are laden with silver. Another
mode of designating this commercial class.
CO STABLE, "Zephaniah called the inhabitants of the Mortar, the market or
business district of Jerusalem, to wail because judgment was coming. This section of
Jerusalem may have received the name "mortar" (bowl) because it lay in the
somewhat geographically depressed Tyropoeon Valley. The Canaanites who did
business there would fall silent because business would cease. Those who weighed
silver as they conducted commercial transactions would also perish from the city.
PETT, "Zephaniah 1:11-13
“Howl, you inhabitants of Maktesh (The Mortar) for all the merchant people (or
‘people of Canaan’) are undone.
All those who were laden with silver are cut off.
And it will be at that time, that I will search Jerusalem with lamps,
And I will visit on the men who are thickened on their lees (are lazy),
Who say in their heart, ‘YHWH will not do good, nor will he do evil.’
And their wealth will become a spoil, and their houses a desolation.
Yes, they will build houses, but will not inhabit them.
And they will plant vineyards but will not drink their wine.”
The inhabitants of The Mortar, a business section of Jerusalem, are called on to
howl because of the effect on their profits of the invasion. Those who were piling up
wealth will be cut off. Then what benefit will they have from their wealth? Their
businesses will collapse, and they will possibly be killed. Certainly the opportunity
of trading will cease, and their silver will be taken from them.
‘The Mortar’ Probably a section of Jerusalem in the upper part of the Tyropoeon
valley within the walls of Jerusalem which was a centre of trade and industry.
‘Cana‘an’. Canaan or merchant. Cananean came to mean a merchant (Proverbs
31:24; Zechariah 14:21). In the context, in parallel with those laden with silver, the
latter meaning seems more probable.
‘I will search Jerusalem with lamps.’ The picture is of YHWH going out on a night
search to find the wastrels who are not abed preparing for the next day’s work, but
frolicking and having a good time.
‘And I will visit (judgment) on the men who are thickened on their lees’, that is
those who are lazy and dissolute, and living stagnant, ‘carefree’ lives. Wine
thickened on its lees when it was left for a long time without being stirred or poured
into another container. It became syrupy and sweet, lacking in strength and taste
(see Jeremiah 48:11). The lees are the sediment at the bottom of the wine vat.
‘Who say in their hearts, “YHWH will not do good, nor will He do evil.” ’ They

115. have settled into a somnolent state and think lazily and dissolutely, convinced that
YHWH is like themselves, not ready to do anything (how easily we make God like
ourselves). They think that as He has never interfered in their experience, He will
not do so now. They are morally indifferent, and seek their consolation in wine.
Compare Isaiah 32:9; Ezekiel 30:9; Amos 6:1.
‘Their wealth will become a spoil, and their houses a desolation,. Yes, they will build
houses, but will not inhabit them. And they will plant vineyards but will not drink
their wine.’ Such people were usually of well-to-do families. But they will lose their
wealth, taken from them by the plundering of the invaders, and their houses will be
destroyed. Though they build houses (probably for renting as idle landlords) and
plant vineyards they will not benefit from them (compare Amos 5:11). (The building
of the houses and the planting of the vineyards is, of course, seen as having been
done earlier. ow they would see the fruits of their efforts disappear).
WHEDO , "11. Maktesh — This must be another portion of the city. The context
suggests that it was the quarter of the merchants, but its location is uncertain; it is
not improbable, however, that it also should be looked for in the northern part of
Jerusalem. Targum reads “in the ravines of the Kidron,” but that is purely a guess.
The noun means “depression” (Judges 15:19) or “mortar” (Proverbs 27:22); hence
it is probable that some valley or depression in the city is referred to. Most writers
think of the northern end of the Tyropoeon valley. The name may have been
selected because of its suggestiveness; the inhabitants are to be crushed as in a
mortar.
The merchant people — Literally, the people of Canaan; but the interpretation
embodied in the translation of A.V. is correct (see on Hosea 12:7).
They that bear silver — R.V., “they that were laden with silver,” that is, possessed
silver in large quantities. The reference is to the rich merchants.
PULPIT, "Maktesh; the Mortar; Septuagint, τὴν κατακεκοµµένην, "her that is
broken down." The word is found in 15:19 of a hollow place in a rock, and it is here
used in the sense of "valley," and probably refers to the Tyropoeum, or part of it,
the depression that ran down the city, having Aera and Zion on its west side, and
Moriah and Ophel on its east, and extended south as far as the pool of Siloam. It
does not seem a very appropriate appellation for a lengthy valley like the
Tyropceum, nor is there any trace of such a name being applied to it elsewhere. It
may have been a name affixed to a certain locality where a bazaar was situated or
certain special industries had their seat; or it may have been invented by Zephaniah
to intimate the fate that awaited the evil merchants, that they should be, as it were,
brayed in a mortar by their enemies. The merchant people; literally, people of
Canaan. So Septuagint and Vulgate (comp. Hosea 12:7; Hist. of Susannah 56;
Zechariah 14:21). The iniquitous traders are called "people of Canaan," because
they acted like the heathens around them, especially the Phoenicians, who were
unscrupulous and dishonest in their transactions. Are cut down; are silenced;
Vulgate, conticuit (Isaiah 6:5; Hosea 10:7). They that bear (are laden with) silver.

116. Those who have amassed wealth by trade and usury. The LXX. has, οἱ ἐηρµένοι
ἀργυρίῳ "those who are elated with silver;" St. Jerome, involuti argento.
12 At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps
and punish those who are complacent,
who are like wine left on its dregs,
who think, ‘The Lord will do nothing,
either good or bad.’
BAR ES, "I will search - (Literally, “diligently”). The word is always used of a
minute diligent search, whereby places, persons, things, are searched and sifted one by
one in every corner, until it be found whether a thing be there or no . Hence, also of the
searching out of every thought of the heart, either by God Pro_20:27, or in repentance
by the light of God Lam_3:40.
Jerusalem with candles - so that there should be no corner, no lurking-place so
dark, but that the guilty should be brought to light. The same diligence, which Eternal
Wisdom used, to “seek and to save that which was lost Luk_15:8, lighting a candle and
searching diligently,” until it find each lost piece of silver, the same shall Almighty God
use that no hardened sinner shall escape. Cyril: “What the enemy would do, using
unmingled phrensy against the conquered, that God fitteth to His own Person, not as
being Himself the Doer of things so foreign, but rather permitting that what comes from
anger should proceed in judgment against the ungodly.” It was an image of this, when, at
the taking of Jerusalem by the Romans, they “dragged out of common sewers and holes
and caves and tombs, princes and great men and priests, who for fear of death had hid
themselves.”
How much more in that Day when “the secrets of all hearts shalt be revealed” by Him
who “searcheth the hearts and reins, and to Whose Eyes” Psa_7:9; Psa_26:2; Jer_11:20;
Jer_17:10; Jer_20:12; Rev_2:23, “which are like flashing Fire, all things are naked and
open!” Rev_1:14. The candles wherewith God searcheth the heart, are men’s own
consciences Pro_20:27, His Own revealed word Psa_119:104; Pro_6:23; 2Pe_1:19, the
lives of true Christians Phi_2:15. Those, through the Holy Spirit in each, may enlighten
the heart of man, or, if he takes not heed, will rise in judgment against him, and show
the falsehood of all vain excuses. : “One way of escape only there is. If we judge
ourselves, we shall not be judged. I will “search out my” own “ways” and my desires, that
He who “shall search out Jerusalem with candles,” may find nothing in me, unsought

117. and unsifted. For He will not twice judge the same thing. Would that I might so follow
and track out all my offences, that in none I need fear His piercing Eyes, in none be
ashamed at the light of His candles! Now I am seen, but I see not. At hand is that Eye, to
whom all things are open, although Itself is not open. Once “I shall know, even as I am
known” 1Co_13:12. Now “I know in part,” but I am not known in part, but wholly.”
The men that are settled on their lees - Stiffened and contracted . The image is
from wine which becomes harsh, if allowed to remain upon the lees, unremoved. It is
drawn out by Jeremiah, “Moab hath been at ease from his youth, and he hath settled on
his lees, and hath not been emptied from vessel to vessel, neither hath he gone into
captivity; therefore his taste remained in him, and his scent is not changed” Jer_48:11.
So they upon whom “no changes come, fear not God (see Psa_55:19). The lees are the
refuse of the wine, yet stored up (so the word means) with it, and the wine rests, as it
were, upon them. So do men of ease rest in things defiled and defiling, their riches or
their pleasure, which they hoard up, on which they are bent, so that they, Dionysius: “lift
not their mind to things above, but, darkened with foulest desires, are hardened and
stiffened in sin.”
That say in their heart - Not openly scoffing, perhaps thinking that they believe;
but people “do” believe as they love. Their most inward belief, the belief of their heart
and affections, what they wish, and the hidden spring of their actions, is, “The Lord will
not do good, neither will He do evil.” They act as believing so, and by acting inure
themselves to believe it. They think of God as far away, “Is not God in the height of
heaven? And behold the height of the stars, how high they are! And thou sayest, How
doth God know? Can He judge through the dark cloud? Thick goads are a covering to
Him, that He seeth not; and He walketh in the circuit of heaven” Job_22:12-14, “The
ungodly in the pride of his heart” (thinketh); “He will not inquire; all his devices”
(speak), “There is no God. Strong are his ways at all times; on high are Thy judgments
out of his sight” Psa_10:4-5. “They slay the widow and the stranger, and murder the
fatherless, and they say, The Lord shall not see, neither shall the God of Jacob regard it”
Psa_94:5-6.
“Such things they did imagine and were deceived, for their own wickedness blinded
them. As for the mysteries of God, they knew them not” (Wisd. 2:21-22). “Faith without
works is dead” Jam_2:20. Faith which acts not dies out, and there comes in its stead this
other persuasion, that God will not repay. There are more Atheists than believe
themselves to be such. These act as if there were no Judge of their deeds, and at last
come, themselves to believe that God will not punish Isa_5:19; Mal_2:17. What else is
the thought of all worldlings, of all who make idols to themselves of any pleasure or gain
or ambition, but “God will not punish?” “God cannot punish the (wrongful, selfish,)
indulgence of the nature which He has made.” “God will not be so precise.” “God will not
punish with everlasting severance from Him, the sins of this short life.” And they see not
that they ascribe to God, what He attributes to idols that is, not-gods. “Do good or do
evil, that we may be dismayed and behold it together” . “Be not afraid of them, for they
cannot do evil, neither also is it in them to do good” Jer_10:5. These think not that God
does good, for they ascribe their success to their own diligence, wisdom, strength, and
thank not God for it. They think not that He sends them evil. For they defy Him and His
laws, and think that they shall go unpunished. What remains but that He should be as
dumb an idol as those of the pagan?
CLARKE, "I will search Jerusalem with candles - I will make a universal and

118. thorough search.
That are settled on their lees - Those who are careless, satisfied with the goods of
this life; who trust in their riches, and are completely irreligious; who, while they
acknowledge that there is a God, think, like the Aristotelians, that he is so supremely
happy in the contemplation of his own excellences, that he feels it beneath his dignity to
concern himself with the affairs of mortals.
GILL, "And it shall come to pass at that time, that I will search Jerusalem
with candles,.... To find out the sins of the inhabitants of it, and the authors of them,
and punish them for them, however hid and concealed from the eyes of others, or
thought to be: this must be understood consistent with the omniscience of God, who
knows all persons and things; nothing is hid from him; men may fancy their sins are hid,
being privately and secretly committed; but all will be manifest, sooner or later; if not
now, yet at the day of judgment; and sometimes they are made manifest by God in this
life, as here; for what the Lord here says he would do, he did it by instruments, by the
Chaldeans, whom he sent to Jerusalem; and to whom the gates of the city, the doors of
houses, and the innermost recesses of them, were opened and plundered by them; and
all for the sins of the people, which were hereby exposed. So the Targum,
"and it shall be at that time that I will appoint searchers, and they shall search
Jerusalem, as they that search with candles;''
and no doubt but this was literally true of the Chaldeans, who with candles might search
vaults and cellars, and such like dark places, where they supposed goods and riches were
concealed. The allusion may be to the searching with lamps for leaven on the fourteenth
of Nisan, when the passover began, in every corner of a house, and, when they found it,
burnt it (u); or in general to searching for anything which lies concealed in dark places,
where the light of the sun comes not, and can only be discovered by the light of candles;
and denotes that nothing should escape the sight and knowledge of God, by whom a full
discovery would be made of their persons and sins, and cognizance taken of them in a
vindictive way, as follows:
and punish the men that are settled on their lees; like wine on the lees, quiet and
undisturbed; in a good outward estate and condition, abounding in wealth and riches,
and trusting therein; and which, as the Targum paraphrases it, they enjoy in great
tranquillity; Moab like, having never been emptied from vessel to vessel, Jer_48:11 and
so concluded they should ever remain in the same state, and became hardened in sin, or
"curdled", and thickened, as the word (w) signifies; and were unconcerned about the
state of religion, or the state of their own souls; and fearless and thoughtless of the
judgments of God; but should now be visited, disturbed in their tranquil state, and be
troubled and punished:
that say in their heart; not daring to express with their lips the following atheism and
blasphemy; but God, who searched and tried their hearts, knew it:
The Lord will not do good, neither will he do evil; which is a flat denial of his
providence; saying that he takes no notice of what is done by men on earth, whether
good or bad; and neither rewards the one, nor punishes the other. So the Targum, as
Kimchi quotes it,

119. "it is not the good pleasure of God to do good to the righteous, or to do evil to the
wicked;''
than which nothing is more false! the Lord does good to all in a providential way, and to
many in a way of special grace; and rewards with a reward of grace all good men, both
here and hereafter; and though he does not do any moral evil, yet he executes the evil of
punishment in this world, and in that to come, on evildoers.
JAMISO , "search ... with candles — or lamps; so as to leave no dark corner in it
wherein sin can escape the punishment, of which the Chaldeans are My instruments
(compare Zep_1:13; Luk_15:8).
settled on their lees — “hardened” or crusted; image from the crust formed at the
bottom of wines long left undisturbed (Jer_48:11). The effect of wealthy undisturbed
ease (“lees”) on the ungodly is hardening: they become stupidly secure (compare Psa_
55:19; Amo_6:1).
Lord will not do good ... evil — They deny that God regards human affairs, or
renders good to the good; or evil to the evil, but that all things go haphazard (Psa_10:4;
Mal_2:17).
K&D 12-13, "The debauchees and rioters generally will also not remain free from
punishment. Zep_1:12. “And at that time it will come to pass, that I will search
Jerusalem with candles, and visit the men who lie upon their lees, who say in their
heart, Jehovah does no good, and no evil. Zep_1:13. Their goods will become plunder,
and their houses desolation: they will build houses, and not dwell (therein), and plant
vineyards, and not drink their wine.” God will search Jerusalem with candles, to bring
out the irreligious debauchees out of their hiding-places in their houses, and punish
them. The visitation is effected by the enemies who conquer Jerusalem. Jerome observes
on this passage: “Nothing will be allowed to escape unpunished. If we read the history of
Josephus, we shall find it written there, that princes and priests, and mighty men, were
dragged even out of the sewers, and caves, and pits, and tombs, in which they had
hidden themselves from fear of death.” Now, although what is stated here refers to the
conquest of Jerusalem by Titus, there can be no doubt that similar things occurred at the
Chaldaean conquest. The expression to search with candles (cf. Luk_15:8) is a figure
denoting the most minute search of the dwellings and hiding-places of the despisers of
God. These are described as men who sit drawn together upon their lees (‫א‬ ָ‫פ‬ ָ‫,ק‬ lit., to
draw one's self together, to coagulate). The figure is borrowed from old wine, which has
been left upon its lees and not drawn off, and which, when poured into other vessels,
retains its flavour, and does not alter its odour (Jer_48:11), and denotes perseverance or
confirmation in moral and religious indifference, “both external quiet, and carelessness,
idleness, and spiritual insensibility in the enjoyment not only of the power and
possessions bestowed upon them, but also of the pleasures of sin and the worst kinds of
lust” (Marck). Good wine, when it remains for a long time upon its lees, becomes
stronger; but bad wine becomes harsher and thicker. She
mârım, lees, do not denote “sins
in which the ungodly are almost stupefied” (Jerome), or “splendour which so deprives a
man of his senses that there is nothing left either pure or sincere” (Calvin), but “the
impurity of sins, which were associated in the case of these men with external good”
(Marck). In the carnal repose of their earthly prosperity, they said in their heart, i.e.,

120. they thought within themselves, there is no God who rules and judges the world;
everything takes place by chance, or according to dead natural laws. They did not deny
the existence of God, but in their character and conduct they denied the working of the
living God in the world, placing Jehovah on the level of the dead idols, who did neither
good nor harm (Isa_41:23; Jer_10:5), whereby they really denied the being of God.
(Note: “For neither the majesty of God, nor His government or glory, consists in
any imaginary splendour, but in those attributes which so meet together in Him that
they cannot be severed from His essense. It is the property of God to govern the
world, to take care of the human race, to distinguish between good and evil, to
relieve the wretched, to punish all crimes, to restrain unjust violence. And if any one
would deprive God of these, he would leave nothing but an idol.” - Calvin.)
To these God will show Himself as the ruler and judge of the world, by giving up their
goods (chēlâm, opes eorum) to plunder, so that they will experience the truth of the
punishments denounced in His word against the despisers of His name (compare Lev_
26:32-33; Deu_28:30, Deu_28:39, and the similar threats in Amo_5:11; Mic_6:15).
CALVI , "The Prophet addresses here generally the despisers of God, who were
become hardened in their wickedness. But before he openly names them, he says
that the visitation would be such, that God would search every corner, so that no
place would remain unexplored. For to visit with candles, or to search with candles,
is so to examine all hidden places or coverts, that nothing may escape. When one
intends to plunder a city, he first enters into the houses, and takes away whatever he
finds; but when he thinks that there are some hidden treasures, he descends into the
secret cells; and then if there be no light there, he lights a candle, and carefully looks
here and there, that he may not overlook anything. By this comparison then God
intimates, that Jerusalem would be so plundered, that nothing whatever would
remain. Hence he says, I will search it with candles. We indeed know that nothing is
hid from God; but it is evident, that he is constrained to borrow comparisons from
the common practice of men, because he could not otherwise express what is
necessary for us to know. The world indeed deal with God as men do with one
another; for they think that he can be deceived by their craftiness. He therefore
laughs to scorn this folly, and says, that he would have candles to search out
whatever was concealed.
ow, as impiety had possessed the minds of almost all the people, he says, I will visit
the men, who on their lees are congealed. This may indeed be only understood of the
rich, who flattered themselves in their prosperity, and feared nothing, and were thus
congealed on their lees: but Zephaniah shows in the words which follow, that he had
in view something more atrocious, that is, that they said that neither good nor evil
proceeded from God. At the same time, these two things may be suitably joined
together—that he reproves here their self-security, produced by wealth—and that
he also accuses the careless Jews of that gross contempt of God which is afterwards
mentioned. And I am disposed to take this view, that is, that the Jews, inebriated
with prosperity, became hardened, as men contract hardness often by labor—and
that they so collected lees through too much quietness and abundance of things, that
they became wholly stupid, and could be touched by no truth made known to them.

121. Hence in the first place the Prophet says, that God would visit with punishment a
carelessness so extreme, when men not only slumbered in their prosperity, but also
became congealed in their own stupidity, so as to be almost void of sense and
understanding. When one addresses a dead mass, he can effect nothing: and so the
Prophet compares careless men to a dead and congealed mass; for stupidity had so
bound up all their senses, that they could not be either allured by the goodness of
God, or terrified by his threatenings. Congealing then is nothing else but that
hardness or contumacy, which is contracted by self-indulgences, and particularly
when the minds of men become almost stupefied. (81) And by lees he means sinful
indulgences, which so infatuate all the senses of men, that no light nor sincerity
remains.
He then mentions what they said in their hearts. He expresses here what that
carelessness which he condemned brings with it—even that wicked men fearlessly
mock God. What it is to speak in the heart, is evident from many parts of Scripture;
it means to determine anything within: for though the ungodly do not openly
proclaim what they determine in their minds, they yet reason within themselves, and
settle this point—that either there is no God, or that he rests idly in heaven. ‘Said
has the ungodly in his heart, o God is.’ Why in the heart? Because shame or fear
prevents men from openly avowing their impiety; yet they cherish such thoughts in
the heart and assent to them. ow here is described by the Prophet the height of
impiety, when he says, that men drunk with pleasures robbed God of his office as a
judge, saying, that he does neither good nor evil. And it is probable that there were
then many at Jerusalem and throughout Judea who thus insolently despised God as
a judge. But Zephaniah especially speaks of the chief men; for such above all others
deride God, as the giants did, and look down as from on high on his judgments.
There is indeed much insensibility among the common people; but there is more
madness in the pride of great men, who, trusting in their power, think themselves
exempt from the authority of God.
But what I have just said must be borne in mind, that an unhealable impiety is
described by the Prophet, when he accuses the Jews, that they did not think God to
be the author either of good or of evil; because God is thus deprived of his dignity;
for except he is owned as the judge of the world, what becomes of his dignity? The
majesty, or the authority, or the glory of God does not consist in some imaginary
brightness, but in those works which so necessarily belong to him, that they cannot
be separated from his very essence. It is what peculiarly belongs to God, to govern
the world, and to exercise care over mankind, and also to make a difference between
good and evil, to help the miserable, to punish all wickedness, to check injustice and
violence. When any one takes away these things from God, he leaves him an idol
only. Since, then, the glory of God consists in his justice, wisdom, judgment, power,
and other attributes, all who deny God to be the governor of the world entirely
extinguish, as much as they can, his glory. Even so do heathen writers accuse
Epicures; for as he dared not to deny the existence of some god, like Diagoras and
some others, he confessed that there are some gods, but shut them up in heaven, that
they might enjoy there their leisure and delights. But this is to imagine a god, who is
not a god. It is then no wonder that the Prophet condemns with so much sharpness

122. the stupidity of the Jews, as they thought that neither good nor evil proceeded from
God. But there was also a greater reason why God should be so indignant at such
senselessness: for whence was it that men entertained such an opinion or such a
delirious thought, as to deny that God did either good or evil, except that they
attempted to drive God far away from them, that they might not be subject to his
judgment. They therefore who seek to extinguish the distinction between right and
wrong in their consciences, invent for themselves the delirious notion, that God
concerns not himself with human affairs, that he is contented with his own celestial
felicity, and descends not to us, and that adversity as well as prosperity happens to
men by chance.
We hence see how men seek willfully and designedly to indulge the notion, that
neither good nor evil comes from God: they do this, that they may stupefy their own
consciences, and thus precipitate themselves with greater liberty into sin, as though
they were free to do anything with impunity, and as though there was no judge to
whom an account is to be rendered.
And hence I have said, that it is the very summit of impiety when men strengthen
themselves in this error, that God rests in heaven, and that whatever miseries they
endure in this world happen through fortunes and that whatever good things they
have are to be ascribed either to their own industry or to chance. And so the
Prophet briefly shows in this passage that the Jews were past recovery, that no one
might feel surprised, that God should punish with so much severity a people who
had been his friends, and whom he had adopted in preference to the whole world:
for he had set apart the race of Abraham, as it is well known, as his chosen and holy
people. God’s vengeance on the children of Abraham might have appeared cruel or
extremely rigid, had it not been expressly declared that they had advanced so far in
impiety as to seek to exclude God from the government of the world, and to deprive
him of his own peculiar office, even that of punishing sin, of defending his own
people, of delivering them from all evils, of relieving all their miseries. Since, then,
they thus shut up God in heaven, and gave the governing power on earth to fortune,
it was an intolerable stupidity, nay, wholly diabolical. It was therefore no wonder
that God was so severely indignant, and stretched forth his hand to punish their sin,
as their disease had become now incurable.
COFFMA , "Verse 12
"And it shall come to pass at that time, that I will search Jerusalem with lamps; and
I will punish the men that are settled on their lees, that say in their heart, Jehovah
will not do good, neither will he do evil."
"I will search Jerusalem with lamps ..." Here is the reason why ancient and
mediaeval artists depicted Zephaniah as the man with a lamp or candle, thus
missing the main point that it is not Zephaniah who will search Jerusalem, but the
Lord God Almighty. This verse deals particularly with people who hide from
responsibility; and the thrust of it is that God will find and punish them anyway. In
the fall of Jerusalem depicted here, it doubtless happened exactly as it did in 70
A.D., an event described by Josephus:

123. "Princes and priests and chieftains were dragged from sewers, pits, caves, and
tombs, where they had hidden themselves in fear of death, and were mercilessly
slain wherever they were found."[33]
"I will punish the men that are settled on their lees ..." As explained in the next
clause, these were the people who were totally indifferent to God, the practical
atheists who did not take God into account as either a plus or minus factor in their
lives. They simply lived as if God were not.
The figure of being "settled on their lees" is most appropriate. Laetsch commented
on it thus:
"Judah had settled down on its dregs and impurities (the "lees" is the solid waste
that settles to the bottom in the wine-making process; and unless the wine is
periodically removed from these, it is ruined), until the lusts of its wicked flesh had
completely permeated the good wine of sanctification and obedience to the Lord and
had changed God's chosen people to a nation of hardened iniquity, equaling and
surpassing the Gentiles in moral impurities, shameless vices, and self-satisfied lip-
service."[34]
The classical comment of George Adam Smith has also been cited by many
commentators in this context:
"We have today the same mass of obscure, nameless persons, who oppose their
almost unconquerable inertia against all vital religion. The great causes of God and
humanity are not defeated by the hot assaults of the devil, but by the slow, crushing,
glacier-like mass of thousands and thousands of indifferent nobodies. God's causes
are never destroyed by being blown up, but by being sat upon."[35]
This figure of being settled "on their lees," described by Taylor as, "perhaps the
most striking in the whole book,"[36] was also used by Jeremiah:
"Moab hath been at ease from his youth, and he hath settled on his lees, and hath
not been emptied from vessel to vessel, neither hath he gone into captivity: therefore
his taste remaineth in him, and his scent is not changed (Jeremiah 48:11)."
In a word, the Judah of Zephaniah's day was permeated by a large class of those
revealed in the ew Testament as Laodiceans, "neither cold nor hot," and fit only to
be spat out.
COKE, "Zephaniah 1:12. The men that are settled on their lees— The prophet here
describes those men, who, trusting in their riches, paid very little regard to the
threats of the prophets, and seemed intirely safe in their own eyes, while they kept
their beloved treasures near them.
TRAPP, "Verse 12
Zephaniah 1:12 And 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.

124. Ver. 12. I will search Jerusalem with candles] Which yet he needs not do, sith the
"darkness hideth not front him, but the night shineth as the day; the darkness and
the light are to him alike," Psalms 139:12 cf. Job 34:22, Jeremiah 23:24. Deo
obscura lucent, muta respondent, silentium confitetur, ight will convert itself into
noon before God, and silence become a speaking evidence. His eyes also are "a
flaming fire," that needs no outward light, but sees by sending out a ray; but when
Jerusalem is threatened to be searched with lights, the meaning is, that it shall be set
all upon a light fire, and the inhabitants ferreted out of their lurking holes, their
princes and potentates pulled out of privies and sepulchres by the pursuing enemy,
as Jerome out of Josephus here affirmeth they once were. Besides that, they shall be
brought to a particular and punctual account for their sins; God will be very exact
and accurate with them that way; setting all their evil deeds in order before their
eyes, Psalms 50:21, and bringing wrath upon them to the utmost, 1 Thessalonians
2:16. This is fearful, Psalms 130:3, and shall be fulfilled especially at the last day,
when wicked men shall give an account of every detail, of all their atheistical
thoughts, Psalms 14:1, ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of
all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him, 1:15, with
the whole world flaming about their ears, 2 Peter 3:7; 2 Peter 3:10; 2 Peter 3:12, 1
Corinthians 4:5, 2 Thessalonians 1:8.
And punish the men that are settled on their lees] Coagulati, curded or thickened,
congealed and condensed; that are habituated and hardened in their evil practices;
that have got a sward, nay, a hoof upon their hearts; that have brawny breasts and
horny heartstrings; that stick stiffly in the mire of their sins, as Moab, Jeremiah
48:11, and being deeply drowned in the world, are desperately divorced from God,
whom they basely fancy to be a God of clouts. one that, however he speak big words,
yet will do neither good nor hurt.
That say in their heart] As that sapless fellow doth, Psalms 14:1, ‫נבל‬ . Some set their
mouths against heaven, and shame not to utter their reasonings and resolutions of
this kind. These are Epicuri de grege porci; such as was Lucretius, Diagoras, Horace
with his
-- credat Iudaeus Apella.
on ego, namque deos didici securum agere aevum.
Let the Jews believe a providence; not I, &c., saith that profane poet. But behold
here were Jews, yea, and that in good Josiah’s days, that said in their hearts (those
feculent hearts of theirs, full of dregs and dross),
The Lord will not do good, neither will he do evil]

125. “ ec bene pro meritis capitur, nee tangitur ira. ”
Of such practical atheists, that say in their hearts there is no God, and live
thereafter, there are great store even among us; of such dust-heaps we may find in
every corner. And when men are once arrived at this Terra del Fuego, this desperate
degree of atheism, what wonder though they run riot in all sinful licentiousness.
ELLICOTT, "(12) The men that are settled on their lees.—The figure is taken from
wine which has become harsh from being allowed to stand too long on the lees. The
persons intended are selfish sybarites, whose souls have stagnated in undisturbed
prosperity, and whose inexperience of affliction has led them to deny the agency of
God in the world: men like the rich fool in the parable of Luke 12:16-20.
BE SO , "Verse 12-13
Zephaniah 1:12-13. At that time, I will search Jerusalem with candles — I will
deliver up Jerusalem into the hands of the Chaldeans, who shall let no corner of it
escape them, but shall diligently search the houses, even with lights or torches, that
they may plunder them of every thing. And punish the men that are settled on their
lees — Who live securely in ease and plenty: see notes on Jeremiah 48:11, and Amos
6:1. That say in their heart, The Lord will not do good, &c. — Who have not God in
all their thoughts, or imagine that he doth not concern himself with the affairs of the
world, and that neither good nor evil is brought to pass by his providence. The
prophet especially describes those men, who, trusting in their riches, paid very little
regard to the threats of the prophets, and seemed entirely safe in their own eyes,
while they kept their beloved treasures. Therefore their goods shall become a booty,
&c. — The enemy shall plunder their goods, and turn them out of their houses and
possessions, so that they shall not inherit the houses they have built, nor drink the
wine of the vineyards which they have planted.
CO STABLE, "The Lord would search among the residents of Jerusalem carefully
then, as one searches by using a lamp (cf. Luke 15:8). He would punish the people
whose love for Him had stagnated, like wine left undisturbed too long (cf.
Revelation 3:15-16), and who concluded indifferently that He was complacent and
would not act (cf. Isaiah 32:9; Ezekiel 30:9; Amos 6:1).
PARKER, ""I will search Jerusalem with candles" ( Zephaniah 1:12).
Observe the minuteness; take note of the detail. It shall not be a general inspection
of surface, but "I will search Jerusalem with candles": every hole and corner shall
be looked into—motive, thought, purpose, far-away outlines of possible policies;
they shall be discovered in their plasmic beginning, their first inceptions and
suggestions. The Lord does not look generally over the world, and say, "It is very
good"—he goes into detail. The analysis of the Lord is terrible, unsparing; but if it
be terrible in the process it may be comforting in the result, for, blessed be God,
there are some men who have the best of themselves hidden far away under much
superincumbent infirmity and sort of conduct that they themselves are unable to
approve. There are men whose hearts can only be discovered by the candle of the

126. Lord, and the Lord himself will say to some, "You are last, but you shall be first.
There is in you a seed you yourselves hardly knew of; you have been looking at your
external infirmities and difficulties, and struggles and temptations, and you have
forgotten that right away down below all these there was a seed pod that shall grow
up into fruitfulness and beauty in your Father"s heaven. God"s criticism is terrible
because it is gentle—gentle because it is terrible; it may even be a terror to evildoers,
or an infinite comfort to those who want to do well.
How terrible is the searching of this candle! It finds out some who say in their heart,
"The Lord will not do good, neither will he do evil." That is the atheism we have to
be on our guard against; unavowed atheism; men who say one thing with their
mouths and another with their hearts. In this case the men are professing to believe
in God, and yet they are saying in their hearts in silence, "The Lord will not do
good, neither will he do evil." The outward atheist can do the Church no harm; the
man who is an avowed unbeliever, a vulgar assailant of faith, reverence, and
religious purity, can do no harm; but the man who is inside the Church, who has a
lip orthodoxy and a heart heterodoxy, he is the Iscariot who would sell his Lord. If
you are not orthodox in your hearts, say so; if you do not believe these sublime
verities of Revelation , declare your unbelief, and go outside and assail the Church
from an external position; do not remain in the Church and cause dry-rot in the
sanctuary. If you have any doubts or difficulties about the holiness and the moral
beauty and spiritual necessity of Christianity, out with them, speak them boldly;
then they may be answered, and you may be comforted; but do not be professing to
serve God with your hand while he is not in your heart. Better a blundering
speculating faith and an intense moral sincerity, than a beautiful speculating creed,
and a heart that has lost its integrity.
So the old prophets are still amongst us in their spirit, in their appeal, in their claim
for righteousness, and in their proclamation of judgment for wrongdoing. The worst
of us may repent. Christ Jesus, God the Song of Solomon , died for me, for you, for
the whole world, in every age,—the just, for the unjust that he might bring us to
God. I do not understand it, but I feel it; I could not fully explain it, but I need all
the Cross. If there is a sinner out of the final punishment who needs all Calvary, I
am the man. There be those who say, "How could Paul call himself the chief of
sinners?" o man can call himself anything else who knows his heart, and feels
what he might have been and perhaps what he would be if he could. I proclaim the
everlasting Gospel—salvation by sacrifice; life by death; peace by the atonement
wrought on Calvary. Oh, mystery of righteousness; mystery of love!
SIMEO , "THE SECURE A D ATHEISTICAL CO DEM ED
Zephaniah 1:12. 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.
SUCH was the state of the Jews for a long time previous to the Babylonish captivity,
that the prophets had little to do, but to denounce the judgments of God against

127. them. The promises which they were inspired to utter had respect to a different and
distant period, a period for the most part yet future; shadowed forth indeed by their
deliverance from Babylon, but to be realized only by their future conversion to the
faith of Christ. evertheless, the warnings given to them are of use to the Church of
God in all ages. The Christian Church at this time is in a state not very dissimilar to
that of the Jews in the land of Canaan. We are externally the chosen people of God:
we enjoy the ordinances of religion in their purity: and we have all the means of
grace richly afforded us. But we rest in external services, as they did; and have as
little of real piety as the generality of that infatuated nation. Whilst we call ourselves
the people of the Lord, we differ but little from the nations that know not God. We
conform in many things to customs most repugnant to true religion; and in the spirit
and habit of our minds, shew, that, whatever we may retain of “the form of
godliness, we are strangers to its power.” The evils which God reproved amongst
them, are to be found in no less degree amongst us also: and the judgments that
were denounced against them shew what reason we also have to dread the
displeasure of God. In confirmation of this truth, we will consider,
I. The characters here described—
Such we behold in every place; persons sunk in,
1. Carnal security—
[The metaphor by which the state of these persons is depicted exhibits it in a most
striking point of view. Wine, when “settled on its lees,” retains for a long time its
strength and flavour, which, if it were emptied from vessel to vessel, it would soon
lose. In like manner, when, through a long period of ease and prosperity, persons
have their natural dispositions fixed, and inveterate habits formed, they retain
throughout their whole man, and manifest throughout their whole conduct, a savour
of earthly things. The very habit of sin hardens them in sin; and the forbearance
which God in his mercy exercises towards them, confirms in them an expectation of
final impunity. This is the description which the Prophet Jeremiah gives of Moab
[ ote: Jeremiah 48:11.]; and with it agrees the testimony of David respecting the
ungodly in all ages: as long as they have no changes “to awaken them from their
slumber, they fear not God.” How true this is, we cannot but see in all around us.
How securely do men live in a total neglect of their everlasting concerns! They have
no dread of God’s displeasure; no anxieties about the future judgment; no
alternations of hope and fear as arising from an examination of their state before
God. Whatever God may say in his word, they regard it not. If he tell them, that
“broad is the road that leadeth to destruction, and that many,” even the great mass
of mankind, “walk therein; but that narrow is the way that leadeth unto life, and
few there be that find it;” they account it worthy of not the least attention: they
cannot believe that they are in any danger; and they hold fast their delusions with a
confidence that nothing can shake.]
2. Atheistical presumption—

128. [Persons, the more effectually to exclude all misgivings from their minds, deny that
God takes any cognizance of their state. “Tush, say they, how shall God know? is
there knowledge in the Most High [ ote: Ps. 73 11.]?” They think it would be
dishonouring God to conceive of him as marking all the ways of the children of men
in order to a future judgment. True indeed, they hear him denounce many
threatenings against the ungodly: but they will not believe that he will execute them.
They hear him, too, promising many things to his humble and obedient people: but
they cannot persuade themselves that he will fulfil them. They imagine that he has,
as it were, “forsaken the earth [ ote: Ezekiel 8:12.]:” and quite contented are they
that he should do so, since the very thought of his presence would disquiet them.
Thus do they, in fact, “say like the fool, ‘There is no God [ ote: Psalms 14:1.]’”
ot that this is the language of their lips: they would be ashamed to avow such
sentiments as these. But it is the language of their hearts: “they say in their hearts,
The Lord will not do good; neither will he do evil.” If they believed in their hearts
the promises and threatenings of God, they would manifest a suitable regard to
them in their lives: but, as they neither delight themselves in the one, nor tremble at
the other, they shew beyond all doubt what the secret feeling of their hearts is, and
that the construction which God puts upon their conduct is true. They may be moral
and decent in their outward conduct; but radically in their hearts they are “Atheists
in the world [ ote: Ephesians 2:12. See the Greek.].”]
After this view of the persons described in our text, we shall not wonder at,
II. The judgments denounced against them—
Two things God declares in the words before us;
1. That however hidden they may suppose their state to be, God will search it
out—
[The Jews at the passover would search every corner of their houses with candles, in
order to find the smallest portion of leaven which might lie concealed: and God will
search with candles, not Jerusalem only, but every place, yea and every heart, to
find the abominations which have been just described. They may not betray
themselves by any overt acts, so as to excite the attention of men: they may even
exist where all the outward conduct is correct; even as the most offensive masses of
corruption are hid under a whited sepulchre. But God will not be deceived by any
appearances, however specious; “The darkness is no darkness with him; but the
night is as clear as the day:” before him all things are naked and opened: the
thoughts and intents of the heart are discerned by him: and “he will make manifest
its most hidden counsels.” “He searcheth the heart, and trieth the reins,” and
“weigheth the spirit” as in a balance; and will interpret as infallibly the language of
the heart, as if it had been manifested by ten thousand acts. Let this be duly
considered. We may deceive others, and we may deceive ourselves: but we cannot
deceive our God; for “he knows the things that come into our mind, every one of
them.”]

129. 2. That however innocent they may suppose their state to be, God will punish
it—
[God cannot look upon persons of this description without the deepest resentment:
for they place him on a level with the basest idol, whose proper character is, that “it
can do neither good nor evil [ ote: Jeremiah 10:5.].” And how can a holy and
jealous God endure this? Be it so: their wickedness is only, as it were, of a negative
kind; and consists rather in a neglect of what is good, than in a perpetration of what
is evil: but was this unpunished in the antediluvian world? “They ate, they drank;
they planted, they builded; they married, and were given in marriage:” and, What
harm, it may be asked, was there in all this? one: but the evil was, that they lived
without any regard for God: and therefore God sent a deluge, and swept them all
away. And so will he do with respect to those who now cast off all fear of him, and,
in heart at least, banish him from the world which he has created. See in what light
he views such conduct: he declares “the iniquity of it to be exceeding great [ ote:
Ezekiel 9:9.];” and denounces against it his heaviest indignation [ ote:
Deuteronomy 29:19-20.]. And so far are these persons from being out of danger,
that the more secure they apprehend themselves to be, the greater and more
imminent their danger is. They may say, Peace and safety; but “sudden destruction
will come upon them, as travail upon a woman with child, and they shall not escape
[ ote: 1 Thessalonians 5:3.];” they may sleep; but “their judgment lingereth not,
and their damnation slumbereth not.” “The sins of some are open beforehand, going
before to judgment: but they that are otherwise cannot be hid [ ote: 1 Timothy
5:24-25.].” It is in vain to say that they do no harm: for the unprofitable servant, no
less than the openly wicked, shall be “cast into outer darkness, where is weeping,
and wailing, and gnashing of teeth.”]
Address—
1. Those who are living in the state above described—
[I will appeal to you yourselves respecting the wickedness of your lives. Judge ye
between God and your own souls. Consider yourselves but as creatures; and does it
become you to live without any regard for your Creator? But view yourselves as
sinners redeemed by the blood of God’s only dear Son; and then say, whether a life
of carnal security and atheistical presumption be such an one as your condition calls
for? — — — Look into the Scriptures, and see whether you can find any
countenance for such a life, either in the commands of God, or in the examples of his
saints? — — — Think whether your own opinion of such a state will always remain
what you now profess it to be? Do you find that any awakened soul looks back on
such a life with complacency? Does it appear to him a light matter to have lived all
his days as without God in the world? If you continue to harden yourselves against
God, he may give you up to your own delusions, and leave you under the power of
them in your dying hour: but what think you will be your views of such a life the
very instant your eyes are opened on the invisible world? What will be your views of
it when standing in the presence of your Judge? and what will be your views of it,

130. when you are eating the fruit of your own ways in that place from whence there is
no return, and in which your residence will be fixed to all eternity? If in your hearts
you think that you will then rejoice in the retrospect of a carnal life, go on; and sleep
out the little remainder of your days. But if conscience tell you, that in that day you
will have far different views from those which you now profess, then awake from
your slumbers, and turn unto God without delay. God has given you a candle
wherewith to search yourselves; (for “the spirit of man is the candle of the Lord,
searching all the inward parts of the belly [ ote: Proverbs 20:27.]:”) make use of it
then with all diligence: “search and try your ways, and turn unto the Lord your
God:” and doubt not but that in Christ you shall find a full and complete
redemption. “Awake, thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead; and Christ shall
give thee light.”]
2. Those who have attained deliverance from it—
[Blessed be God, if any of you have been quickened from your death in trespasses
and sins: and now beware, lest ye relapse again into your former state of atheistical
supineness. It is no uncommon thing for persons to run well for a season, and then
turn back again; to “begin in the Spirit, and end in the flesh.” But to you also will I
make my appeal: Is it “a vain thing to serve the Lord?” Will he not do good to those
who seek him in sincerity and truth? Is he not, as he has said, “the Rewarder of all
such?” Does he not even now impart to the soul blessings that are of more value
than ten thousand worlds? Does he not answer prayer? Does he not communicate to
the soul a peace that passeth all understanding? Does he not lift up the light of his
countenance on the poor and needy? Does he not shed abroad his love in the heart?
Does he not give the witness of his Spirit to the soul, and seal it unto the day of
redemption? On the other hand, does he not hide his face when you become remiss,
and leave you to feel what “an evil and bitter thing it is to depart from him?” Yes:
you can testify that there is a God that ruleth in the earth; you can testify how rich
his grace is, and how abundant his mercy in the Son of his love. You can testify that
Christ “reveals himself to his people as he does not unto the world;” and that he
dwells in them, and gives them, by the manifestations of his love, an earnest and a
foretaste of their future inheritance. Go on, then, living by faith upon him, and
cleaving unto him with full purpose of heart; and shew to all around you what the
Christian life is. Run, as in a race, for an incorruptible crown: wrestle as one that is
striving against all the principalities and powers of hell: and fight manfully till all
your enemies are put under your feet. So shall you be living witnesses for God in
this world, and partakers of all his blessedness in the world to come.]
WHEDO , "12. o one will escape, for Jehovah will penetrate the darkest recesses
and bring out the guilty to deliver them to the destroyer.
With candles — Better, R.V., “with lamps,” or lanterns, such as watchmen carry
when they look for criminals.
The men that are settled on their lees — Or, as margin R.V., “thickened on their
lees.” The figure is taken from wine that has been left undisturbed until it has

131. thickened; it describes the apathy, the spiritual insensibility, of the rich (compare
Jeremiah 48:11-12).
Say in their hearts — Think within themselves.
Will not do good, neither… evil — They refuse to believe that Jehovah has anything
to do with the affairs of this world (compare Isaiah 5:18-19; Malachi 2:17). “Those
referred to are men who have lived at ease, without trouble or vicissitude in life, and
who have therefore sunk down into unfeeling indifference or even into incredulity
regarding any interference of a higher power in the affairs of mankind.”
PULPIT, "The third class which shall be smitten, viz. the profligate and riotous. I
will search Jerusalem with candles (lights). o evil doer shall escape. The enemy
whom God summons to execute his wrath shall leave no corner unsearched where
the debauchees hide themselves (comp. Luke 15:8). Jerome and commentators after
him refer to Josephus's account of the last siege of Jerusalem for a parallel to these
predicted proceedings of the Chaldeans. Here we read how princes and priests and
chieftains were dragged from sewers, and pits, and caves, and tombs, where they
had hidden themselves in fear of death, and were mercilessly slain wherever they
were found (Josephus, 'Bell. Jud.,' 6:9). The men that are settled on their lees; i.e.
confirmed, hardened, and inveterate in their evil habits. The metaphor is derived
from old wine not racked off; which retains all its flavour and odour, and becomes
thick and viscid (see Isaiah 25:6; Jeremiah 48:11). The LXX. paraphrases, υοὺς
καταφρονοῦντας ἐπὶ τὰ φυλάγµατα αὐτῶν, which Jerome renders, qui contemnunt
custodias suas. That say in their heart. They do not openly scoff at religion, but
think within themselves these infidel thoughts. The Lord will not do good, ere. Just
what God says of idols (Isaiah 41:23). These "fools" (Psalms 14:1) deny God's moral
government of the world; they will not see the working of Divine providence in all
that happens, but, secure and careless in their worldly prosperity, they assign all
events to chance or natural law, placing Jehovah in the same category as the idols
worshipped by heathens (comp. Job 22:12, etc.; Psalms 10:4, etc.; Psalms 94:7).
BI, "At that time.
At that time
The day of the Lord is any season in which He reveals Himself in a special manner. Of
the dealings of God with His visible Church on that day the text presents a striking
description.
I. The party here spoken of—jerusalem.
1. In the day of the Lord the visible Church is not exempted from His special notice
and appropriate dealings.
2. The grounds of God’s procedure towards His Church may be the following. To
whom much is given, of them shall much be required. With the visible Church the
interests of the world are entrusted. With the visible Church, in a sense, the honour
and glory of God’s name are entrusted. God, having loved His Church, is jealous of
His Church’s love.

132. 3. These views not only satisfy as to God’s procedure, but furnish strong
inducements to faithfulness to the Church.
4. When God shall come, it will be to His Church specially
II. The peculiar aspect of the Day of the Lord towards Jerusalem. That is, the particular
character of His dealings towards His Church—He shall “search with candles.”
1. This expression proves the existence of suspicion.
2. It shows that the Church has hidden her sin.
3. It teaches that the search is close and narrow and prying. Illustration—The
woman seeking her lost piece of silver, candle in hand.
4. It teaches that God Himself will search His Church. Not to satisfy Himself, but to
indicate His complete knowledge, and to lead the Church to seek knowledge.
5. God searches by various means or agencies.
1. Ministers of the Gospel.
2. Individuals or churches.
3. Events of providence.
4. All these by the candle of His Word. Are you prepared to be searched by God?
III. the result of this search in Jerusalem is the discovery of the men that are “settled on
their lees.”
1. The class described (Jer_48:11).
2. The cause of this feature of their character. Quiescence of one and another class of
feeling.
3. This is infidelity of heart.
4. There is not necessarily a quiescence of worldly feelings.
IV. The Divine treatment of this class. Their punishment may be judicial blindness. In
eternity it will be God’s wrath. (James Stewart.)
I will search Jerusalem with candles.
Searching with candles
The Lord threatens, in the taking of the city, to take order with all atheists and epicures,
who, abounding in wealth, lay secure and at ease (like wine on its dregs when it is not
removed), in their heart denying God’s providence, or that He took any care of things
beneath, to reward good or punish evil; and therefore neither loved nor believed His
promises, that they might walk in His way, nor feared His justice, so as to abandon sin.
Concerning these the Lord threatens, that as a man searcheth what is hid or lost with a
candle, so He would narrowly search out their sins, and themselves so as to punish them
for their sins, so as none should escape; and their goods to give them for a spoil;
whereby their houses should become desolate, and they should be disappointed of all
their expectations from their enjoyments, according to His sentence pronounced of old
in His law (Deu_28:30; Deu_28:39). Doctrine—
1. Ease and prosperity slayeth the fool, and breeds such distempers of security, and

133. settling on the earth, as justly provokes God to smite.
2. Prosperity and want of exercise, by vicissitudes of dispensations, is a great feeder
of atheism, and an enemy to the observation and making use of Divine providence;
and this again doth embolden and harden men yet more in their secure and wicked
courses.
3. Secure atheists and contemners of God and His providence may expect that God
will refute them in a language which they will understand, and make them know His
providence at their own expense.
4. When the Lord strips a sinful person or people of any mercies which they enjoyed
they will find upon narrow search that their enjoyment thereof hath been a snare to
them, to lead them into sin; and they should read this in the stroke.
5. The holy justice of God is to be adored in disappointing men of any happiness or
contentment they expected in these things for which they hazard their souls, and so
rendering them twice losers who will not serve Him. (George Hutcheson.)
Soul searching
It seems to be commonly thought that the one fear and the one foe in these days is
infidelity. Two things only have to be remembered by those who preach against infidelity
to ordinary congregations,—the one is, that they do not, in furnishing answers, suggest
the doubt with them; the other is, that they he careful to deal fairly and charitably with
opponents in a place where, of course, there can be no reply.
I. Indifference is practical infidelity. Without disparaging the prevalence in these days of
an intellectual and specu lative infidelity, we must feel that there are other dangers and
other impediments to the life of souls which may make less demand upon the logic or
the rhetoric of preachers, but which are at least as serious in their nature, and even more
likely to be found in an assembly of worshippers. There is indifference. Indifference and
infidelity have a closer affinity than is implied in their natures. For one person who is
made sceptical by thinking or reading, twenty and a hundred persons are made sceptics
by indifference. They “care for none of these things,” and therefore they can amuse
themselves by playing with those edge-tools of sarcasm over things sacred which they
would rather die than do, if they knew what may be the consequences to others now, and
some day to themselves. The figure of the text is taken from the experience of vintners
and wine merchants who have suffered some of the necessary processes of their business
to be too long delayed, with the effect of making the wine what the margin represents the
Hebrew original to call curded or thickened. The general idea seems to be that of the
Psalm, “Because they have no changings, therefore they fear not.” It may be the sad,
remorseful feeling of some one whom I address, that there is gradually sinking down
upon him something of the dull, drowsy, stupid indifference towards the three
paramount realities—God, the soul, and eternity, which, if it should become permanent,
if it should become inveterate, will be in the most terrible of senses the very sleep of
death.
II. Causes of spiritual decline. This state has many histories. It is a dangerous thing,
dangerous even for the soul, to live always on one spot, in one society, a life of routine,
whether that routine be of pleasure or of business. The life of what is called society not
only lays a heavy weight on the soul, of weariness, of depression, of simple worldliness;
it has a dissipating, it has an enfeebling action upon the vigorous energy, upon the

134. sturdy independence, upon the pure affection of mind and heart. There is a wonderful
inequality in this matter of human experience. One life has its even tenor from year to
year, another life is lacerated by a succession of sorrows. There is nothing of fatalism in
saying that the never being emptied by providential discipline from vessel to vessel, the
never going into captivity under a chastisement not joyous but grievous, is a less
advantageous treatment, morally and spiritually, than the opposite. How graphic the
description of the man who is “settled on his lees”; the man who has lost all freshness
and liveliness of feeling, in the monotony of comfort and luxury, of health and habit, of
regular alternation and unbroken routine! They say in their heart, “The Lord will not do
good, neither will He do evil.” This is the Nemesis of long forgetfulness. God, the living,
acting God, disappears at last from the scene of being Then let us try earnestly to bring
God back into our lives; let us try to do or forbear each day some one thing quite
definitely and quite expressly because of God; because He wills, and it will please Him;
or because He wills not, and therefore we will forbear. It is wonderful how this kind of
self-treatment will spread and grow, till at last the blessed habit has become ours of
setting God always before us, and doing all things as in His sight. (Dean Vaughan.)
Divine judgments
To the Hebrew prophets the world was without meaning if it was not moral.
Righteousness—the desire for it, the endeavour after it, was at the heart of things. We
may thank Matthew Arnold for the phrase “The power that makes for righteousness” as
a definition of God. The Hebrew prophet was a moral philosopher, a statesman, a
preacher of righteousness, a declarer of God’s will as expressed in the laws and
tendencies of human history. He was a scientist as well as a seer, discerning the face of
the sky and the signs of the times, and predicting the rise and fall of states. It was the
fate of Zephaniah to fall on evil times.
I. The subject of Divine judgments.
1. They embrace the whole earth. God’s moral law is co-extensive with the whole
world. God’s commandments are one and the same all the world over.
2. It is just as true that, though universal, God’s judgments are sometimes particular
and special. “I will search Jerusalem.”. God begins at home. When God comes to
make inquisition for sin He begins at the sanctuary.
3. The prophet leads us into yet inner circles—“I will punish the men that are settled
on their lees.” The metaphor is drawn from the manufacture. By the expression two
classes are intended—
(1) The indifferent and ease-loving.
(2) The carnally-minded.
The man who settles down upon the sediment that is in him takes his tone and standard
from the worse and not from the better part of his nature.
3. The innermost circle of all is occupied by those who say “in their heart, the Lord
will not do good, neither will He do evil,”—the practical atheists of the Church who
swear by the Lord, but relegate Him to a distant corner of His domain.
II. The method of god’s judgments. “Search with candles.” No half-measures, no
compromise with evil will satisfy Jehovah.

135. III. The purpose of God’s judgments is not simply penal, but purifying and remedial.
Our God is just to forgive, loving to punish. Let the Lord work His gracious fatherly will
in your life. (J. D. Thompson.)
Punish the men that are settled on their lees.—
Religious indifferentism
We have it here—
I. Divinely portrayed. It is marked by two elements.
1. Carnality. “The men that are settled on their lees.” The image is taken from the
crust that is formed on the bottom of wines that have been long left undisturbed. It is
marked by—
2. Atheism. “They say in their heart, The Lord will not do good, neither will He do
evil.” This atheism is—
(1) Not a theoretical denial of the existence of God. “They say in their heart, The
Lord will not do good.” They assume His existence, they have no intellectual
conviction for or against. The most popular and pernicious atheism is that which
theoretically admits the being of God. It is a stupid, stolid, thoughtless state of
mind, and you cannot argue with it. This atheism is—
(2) A heart misrepresentation of God. “They say in their heart, The Lord will not
do good,” etc. They have a God; but He is inactive, dormant, and concerns
Himself with neither good nor evil. He is a mere fiction of their depraved heart.
We have religious indifferentism here—
II. Divinely detected. “I will search Jerusalem with candles,” or lamps. The language, of
course, is highly figurative. Omniscience does not require lamps to light Him, or to
employ any effort to discover. He sees all things. “There is not a word on my tongue but
lo, O Lord, Thou knowest it altogether.” The language means, God’s complete knowledge
of this religious indifferentism wherever it exists. He sees it.—
1. He sees it though it may not reveal itself in any palpable forms to men. Though it
may conform to all the rules of social morality and popular religion, He sees it.
2. He sees it though it may be robed in the forms of religious devotion. It may attend
churches, join in liturgies, sing psalms,—yet He sees it.
III. Divinely punished. I Will “punish the men that are settled on their lees.” “Though
they hide themselves in the top of Carmel, I will search and take them out” (Amo_9:3).
The religiously indifferent must be punished sooner or later. How? By burning moral
convictions. Convictions—
1. As to the absurdity of their conduct. They will one day have the miserable god of
their own hearts and the God of the universe brought into contact within them.
2. As to the wickedness of their conduct.
3. As to the ruinousness of their conduct. “Because I called and ye refused, I
stretched out My hand and ye would not; therefore I will laugh when your fear
cometh, and mock at your day of calamity.” (Homilist.)

136. Stagnant upon their lees
This starts questions for ourselves. Here is evidently the same public temper which at all
periods provokes alike the despair of the reformer and the indignation of the prophet,
the criminal apathy of the well-to-do classes sunk in ease and religious indifference. We
have to-day the same mass of obscure nameless persons, who oppose their almost
unconquerable inertia to every movement of reform, and are the drag upon all vital and
progressive religion. The great causes of God and humanity are not defeated by the hot
assaults of the devil, but by the slow, crushing, glacier-like mass of thousands and
thousands of indifferent nobodies. God’s causes are never destroyed by being blown up,
but by being sat upon. It is not the violent and anarchical whom we have to fear in the
war for human progress, but the slow, the staid, and the respectable. And the danger of
these does not lie in their stupidity. Notwithstanding all their religious profession, it lies
in their real scepticism. Respectability may be the precipitate of unbelief. Nay, it is that,
however religious its mask, wherever it is mere comfort, decorousness, and
conventionality; where, though it would abhor articulately confessing that God does
nothing, it virtually means so—“says so” (as Zephaniah puts it) “in its heart,” by refusing
to share manifest opportunities of serving Him, and covers its sloth and its fear by
sneering that God is not with the great crusades for freedom and purity to which it is
summoned. In these ways respectability is the precipitate which unbelief naturally forms
in the selfish ease and stillness of so much of our middle-class life. And that is what
makes mere respectability so dangerous. Like the unshaken, unstrained wine to which
the prophet compares its obscure and muddy comfort, it tends to decay. To some extent
our respectable classes are just the dregs and lees of our national life; like all dregs, they
are subject to corruption. A great sermon could be preached on the putrescence of
respectability,—how the ignoble comfort of our respectable classes and their indifference
to holy causes lead to sensuality, and poison the very institutions of the home and
family, on which they]pride themselves. A large amount of the licentiousness of the
present day is not that of outlaw and disordered lives, but is bred from the settled ease
and indifference of many of our middle-class families. It is perhaps the chief part of the
sin of the obscure units, which form these great masses of indifference, that they think
they escape notice and cover their individual responsibility. At all times many have
sought obscurity, not because they are humble, but because they are slothful, cowardly,
or indifferent. Obviously it is this temper which is met by the words, “I will search out
Jerusalem with lights.” (Geo. Adam Smith, D. D.)
The danger of uninterrupted prosperity
God is omniscient. Why, then, should He represent Himself as searching Jerusalem with
candles, as though there were the remotest possibility of any acts escaping His
detection? These representations are simply intended to work powerfully on our minds.
For whom is it that the Almighty institutes this close and piercing search? Not the
perpetrators of any very secret and hidden sin; but men who are “settled on their lees,”
whom prosperity has lulled into a kind of practical atheism, so that they deny the
providence of God or His interference in human affairs. God would not employ this
strong figure if there may not be a great deal of this sensual indifference, this haughty
indolence, even in those in whom prosperity may not seem to us to have acted
injuriously.
I. The natural tendencies of a state in which there is no adverse change. Take the case of

137. a man on whom, from his youth up, everything has seemed to smile. When there is not
unbroken prosperity there is often a sudden tide of success. This may apply to both
public and private life. To these the description “settled on their lees” may apply.
Prosperity is really far harder to bear than adversity. It is a great touchstone, and
marvellously exposes the weakness of man’s virtues. There is a direct tendency in
prosperity to the fostering and strengthening the corruptions of our nature. The more a
man obtains, the more will he desire. The bent of our dispositions being towards the
earth, if nothing ever happen to turn them from earth there is little ground for expecting
that they will centre themselves on heaven. Prosperity has a tendency to keep men at a
distance from God. A religious man may be prosperous, and prosperity not prove the
grave of his religion; but the prosperous man who is yet a stranger to religion is amongst
the moot unpromising of subjects for moral attack.
II. What advantages follow upon uncertainties and reverses of fortune.
1. Change admonishes us of the transitory nature of terrestrial good. Every change,
but yet more a succession of changes, speaks, saying, “Arise ye, and depart hence, for
this is not your rest.” It is a gracious appointment of Providence for most of us that
we are not permitted to “settle on our lees.” The great practical, personal truth is, the
necessity, the paramount necessity, of moral renewal. To disciples the Lord
presented the necessity of being converted. Regeneration is no argument against the
need for conversion. (Henry Melvill, B. D.)
That say in their heart, The Lord will not do good, neither will He do evil.—
The unheeding God
There was widespread apathy and unresponsiveness, a temper which seemed to make
the judgments preached by Zephaniah inevitable. Even those who had a theoretical faith
in the supremacy of Jehovah looked upon Him as of little practical account in history.
This apathetic temper miserably disqualified both for worship and reform. Zephaniah,
like others of his goodly fellowship, demanded not only formal allegiance to the
authority of Jehovah, but a thousand loyalties of the secret and the solitary thought.
I. The prophet reminds us of the habit of life out of which this distorted view of the
Divine character often grows—gross indolence. This condition of character is described
by an Eastern metaphor that has become one of the commonplaces of religious speech,
“settled upon their lees.” The figure brings before us one of the progresses of the Jewish
vintage. The fermented wine was poured back upon the thick sediment of the grapes
from which it had been pressed, and in this way the wine gathered to itself greater
strength. But the process needed care and watch fulness, for if left upon the lees for an
undue length of time the wine became highly intoxicating, and incurably harsh in
flavour. It needed to be separated, by careful and repeated strainings, from the husk and
sediment with which it had been mixed for a time. The man whose soul has sunk into
moral and religious stupor is just like that. In his daily life and consciousness the coarse
and the fine, the earthly and the spiritual, the brutish and the God-like, lie mixed
together in contiguous layers. There are the base deposits of animalism within the man,
and not far off there are likewise elements of purity., reverence, and righteousness. In
those who are godly and zealous for the things of God an effectual separation between
these opposing qualities has been brought about. The soul is no longer touched,
inflamed, stupefied by the grossness of the blood. On the other hand, one who is careless
of God and the things of God derives the dominating tone of his thought and life from

138. the things that address the senses. A man, of course, is compounded of flesh and blood,
and there are legitimate needs that must be satisfied. He is providentially placed in
social relations, and he may rightly feel pleasure in the warmth and sunshine of those
relation ships, But the type of man described in this Jewish metaphor finds in mean and
sensuous things the satisfactions that fix the qualities of his personality. No separating
crisis has come to save the man from his dregs and his animalisms. These words imply
that men of the inert and careless type are accustomed to make the pleasant monotony
of their outward lives an occasion for encouraging themselves in apathetic tempers and
traditions. Intellectual and moral life stagnates in the race that is cut off by some high
dividing wall from surrounding nations. We have the highest possible securities for our
temporal happiness and well-being. Our national habit tends to become more and more
luxurious, self-contented, imperturbable. We build ourselves up in our sleek and well-
insured respectability. Nations themselves play the rich fool, saying, “Soul, take thine
ease.” All such things tend to beget the temper of a lethargic materialism within us, and
to favour our unconfessed belief that God is just as apathetic as ourselves. That, of
course, applies to the individual as well as to the nation. For some in our midst life is
comparatively even, although as a rule Providence sooner or later provides us with many
sharp antidotes to the coma which steals upon us. Few changes may have come since the
first position in business was attained. It is only at rare intervals that death creeps into
our homes. Life is genial and soul-satisfying, and we should like to keep things as they
are for generations to come. We discountenance new movements, because they might
disturb the regime that has worked so smoothly in the past. Men settle down into a
refined sensuousness that is fatal to stern conviction, keen consciousness of spiritual
facts, and consuming zeal for righteousness. No wonder that the children of elegant and
not entirely godless somnambulists should grow up apathetic and come to believe in an
apathetic God, if indeed they hold to any figment of a God at all. And this description
applies too often to the man who was once religious after the best pattern. In the earlier
stages of his history many things combined to keep him active, prayerful, strenuous. His
life was one of struggle, sacrifice, hardness, disappointment. But smoother and more
prosperous days came to him, and he met the temptation that deteri orated the best
fibres in his character. He is nominally religious still, but a model Laodicean. The danger
of this condition is great, and perhaps no surer sign of it is to be found than in the
change it makes in a man’s view of God. A self-contented Laodicean is always under the
temptation to believe that God must be more or less like himself, since he has ceased to
feel any necessity to become like God.
II. The prophet ventures to put into articulate speech vague laodicean creed of the heart.
“The Lord will not do good, neither will He do evil.” Men sometimes hold contradictory
and antagonistic creeds at one and the same period of their history, and the creed fenced
in with whispered reserves is often the more significant and decisive of the two. There is
a sceptic and a believer, a pagan and a theist in most of us, and a depraved will
sometimes imposes itself on a sound and healthy creed. All that is a part of the dualism
of human nature Those supine and well-to-do citizens of Jerusalem denounced by the
prophet may have had reserves of orthodoxy and of pious patriotism behind their time-
serving expediency and supineness. God does not interfere even for the nation supposed
to be under His special protection. He lets Hezekiah and Manasseh, Amen and Josiah,
do as they like, and neither frowns nor smiles upon the national fortunes. The pains and
pleasures of human life have no fine correspondence to character. Good and evil befall
men without any special relation to the kind of lives they live. It is not easy to see any
sign of God’s judicial dealings with the children of men. We need not stay to discuss the
question whether it is the habit of life or a dishonouring idea of God against which the

139. prophet threatens sharp and discerning penalty. The two things are inseparable. A
careless life always fosters an irreverent creed, and an irreverent creed is formulated as
excuse or sanction for a careless and self-indulgent life, and makes the carnal sleep
doubly sound. It is something in the character which is to be punished, but a vice which
shows itself in twofold form, disabling from all reforming enterprise on the one hand,
and turning the creed into a blasphemy on the other. The wickedness of a supine and
self-indulgent temper culminates when it engenders a base conception of the Most High.
Sometimes a man may make God in the image of an ideal that is far loftier than anything
to be found in his own character, but in the case of the man who is “settled upon his lees”
such ideals are extinct. We cannot be tepid in our moral sensibilities without making
God tepid also. The strenuous man will believe in a strenuous God, and will turn atheist
if asked to do homage to an Olympian dilletante who lounges on a couch of ivory with
cupbearers at his side. It is perhaps a more insulting thing to make God a Laodicean like
ourselves than to think of Him as a fiction of the imagination. A denial of His existence
may be better than wholesale misrepresentation. If God seems slow to act, it is because
He is waiting for our repentance. Natural law is so widespread and inexorable that there
is no room for moral interpositions. We can understand a being who never concerns
himself with human affairs because of the limitations of his intelligence, but to concede
intelligence and deny the will or the capacity for moral interest in human affairs looks
like an insult of supreme shamefulness. We refuse to the Being behind and above and
within the universe that which is greatest and most honourable in ourselves. We accept
the broad dogma of a God, for the universe would be too much of a tangle without that,
and then make His sway theoretical, secretly questioning whether He cares to exercise
retributive power over the realms subject to His sway. That compromise is necessary to
our mental comfort. It is often said that in comparison with the universe, man is such an
insignificant atom that, even assuming the existence of a God, it would not be worth
God’s while either to reward or punish him. Is it too much to say that the least thing in
the world of animate is greater than the sum of all things in the world of inanimate life?
The ant, after all, is more wonderful than the sun with its unfathomable marvel of
brightness. Mere magnitude cannot become a true standard of value for the estimate of
that which is moral and intellectual. Most of us have come to learn that there is an
arithmetic which deals with quality as well as quantity, and it is perhaps the more
important of the two. There is a power and possibility of feeling in God to which no
conceivable term can be put. He does care even for ants, and has shown that by
bestowing upon them a wonderful talent for caring for themselves and their kind. He
does think about me, and it is rank blasphemy to say He cares about every side of my
nature but its moral side. History teems with the rewards and punishments He never
fails to administer for our encouragement and warning. If His kingship is living,
competent, righteous, it is impossible He should forget His duties to those whom He
governs. If we accept the message of modern science, evolution itself in its higher ethical
stages is a sufficient refutation of this Laodicean travesty of God. We are told that the so-
called sense of right and wrong has been slowly awakened within men, and that it has its
primitive roots in an elementary susceptibility to pleasure and pain. That theory implies
that through the untold cycles of the past, retributive activities have been playing upon
the sense of pleasure and pain, till at last, when the animal emerged into the human, this
complex and marvellous faculty appeared. For ages upon ages some unseen power has
been patiently reading into the consciousness of mankind the blessings and curses of the
law, and enforcing the message with lavish bounty on the one hand and strokes of the
rod on the other, till at last mind-stuff quivered into the Divine thing we call conscience.
That looks as though God had intervened in the past times without number, and as
though His righteousness were always unresting in asserting itself. The analogies of our

140. imperfectly ordered social life often give some kind of colour to these false and insulting
estimates of God and His ways. It is said that the passing age has been one of
exaggerated individualism. Men have been so much occupied in asserting the sacredness
of the individual and his separate fights that they have forgotten the responsibilities of
each member of the community to the organic whole. They repudiate the duties of
citizenship. “They will not do good, neither will they do evil.” For those in authority over
us to pursue a policy of masterly inaction in times of national peril and demoralisation
would be a capital crime, and can it be accounted less shameful in Him whom we assume
to be King of kings and Lord of lords? A man may sometimes excuse him self from
taking part in public affairs, because he trusts the aggregate good sense and virtue of his
fellow-citizens, and assumes things will not go very far wrong. But God cannot abstain
from intervening in human history on the ground that the course of affairs will move on
in the same way, whether He come upon the scene or not. We loathe the wretch for
whose arrest the Poor Guardians offer a reward because he has deserted his family, and
that kind of man as well as the man brought to book by the Society for the Prevention of
Cruelty to Children is punished. God would be just as guilty and shameless if He were to
show no concern for our moral discipline and upbringing, and abstain from all
interposition in our lives; and His greatness would aggravate and not excuse the
misdemeanour. If we believe in a God we must believe in His moral earnestness. Is it not
possible that this tendency to attenuate God’s moral earnestness may underlie the half
beliefs and the limp, amiable theology of the hour? If it be true that the God in whom we
have come to believe would satisfy the Laodicean ideal, the call to repentance loses its
urgency, and sin neither needs specific forgiveness upon a basis of righteousness nor will
the sinner have to dread an awaiting punishment, keen, overwhelming, irremediable. We
can disburden ourselves of the rigid and uncomfortable doctrines of the past. He will not
trouble Himself about our peccadilloes. Those thoughts concerning God to which we
lean in our silent meditations, and which influence us in the critical and tempted
moments of life, will be subject-matter of Divine judgment. We cannot separate this
whispered creed of the heart from selfish and neglectful courses of conduct, for it is that
by which we excuse ourselves. The fluid creed within us crystallises into a superstructure
of character. The creed of the heart, more over, must be judged because we belong to
invisible more essentially than to visible spheres. The man who says, “I believe in a
Laodicean God,” is not only inert and selfish himself, but is bent on making his own
characteristic vice dominant on the throne of the supreme sovereignty.
III. We are reminded of the far-reaching and inevitable judgment that will one day over
take those who are lethargic in character. “I will search Jerusalem with candles, and
punish the men who are settled on their lees.” These lethargic souls had said God was
slack to fulfil His promise, and careless as to the chastise ment of every hind of
transgression. God will answer the libel by inexorable punishment. Their evil creed had
been cherished in secret, but God will bring wrath upon them for their half-formulated
aspersions upon His holy zeal, and will find them out in the dim places to which they
have fled. This half-articulate murmur which makes God magnificently inert may have a
power of mischief in it sufficient to wreck a universe. These minute blasphemies and
scepticisms God will search out with an illuminating severity nothing can escape. This
sin was more or less veiled, for at one time Jerusalem had been religious to the verge of
fanaticism. And in one party in the state there was still enough of zeal to make it
expedient for unbelief to be wary and reticent. With the spread of religion and the
growth of a strong public opinion there is always a danger lest men should be driven into
secret irreligion and unbelief. Pagan contaminations are sometimes latent where there is
a devout and zealous exterior. (T. G. Selby.)

141. Practical atheism in denying the agency of Divine Providence exposed
Practical atheism brought the judgments of God upon the Jews.
These were “fully executed in the Babylonish Captivity. By being “settled on their lees”
we may understand their riches; for wine grows rich by being kept on the lees. So, by a
long scene of peace and prosperity, the inhabitants of Jerusalem were arriving at very
great riches. Or it may signify a state of security; like wine settled on the lees, they have
been undisturbed. I will punish” should be “I will visit.” The charge here brought against
the Jews amounts to this—that their temper and practice were such as would not at all
agree to the practical belief of a Providence. They thought and acted as if it were their
real and professed belief that the Lord would do neither good nor evil, nor meddle with
human affairs. This atheistical affectation of independency, and secret or practical
renunciation of Divine Providence, is the fatal thing that generally overturned the
empires, and impoverished, enslaved, and ruined the nations of the earth.
I. The doctrine of a Divine providence. Maybe you already speculatively believe this
doctrine, but the grand defect lies in the efficacy of this belief on your hearts and lives.
We may argue from the perfections of God, and His relations to us. We may argue from
our confessed obligations to religion and the worship of God. The testimony of Scripture
is plain. New and unexpected witnesses may be found in the heathen,—such as
Nebuchadnezzar, Cyrus, Plato, Horace, Cicero, and various poets and philosophers.
II. Things in temper and conduct which argue a secret and practical disbelief of the
doctrine of providence.
1. Would there be so little prayer among us, if we were generally affected with this
truth?
2. Is not the general indulgence of vice, and neglect of religion, a plain evidence of
the general disbelief of a Divine providence over the country?
3. Is not the general impenitence, notwithstanding the many public calamities under
which our country has groaned, a melancholy evidence of this practical atheism?
4. Is not the general ingratitude a plain evidence of the general disbelief of a
providential government over the world?
5. How little serious and humble acknowledgment of the providence of God in our
disappointments and mortifications is to be found among us.
III. The wickedness of this atheistical temper and conduct. To deny the agency of
providence is the most daring rebellion against the King of heaven; it is to abjure His
government in His own territories, in His own world which He has made. What
unnatural ingratitude! What intolerable pride and arrogance! What impiety and
insolence! This atheistical spirit is the source of all vice and irreligion. (S. Davies, A. M.)
Moral scepticism
Beyond a doubt there is a great deal of moral scepticism in our own time and in regard to
our own lives. And there is excuse enough, explanation enough, of this sort of moral
scepticism when we look round at national and political life. We think of the Armenians,
of a nation massacred. It passes by, it is half-forgotten, and God is silent. Where is the

142. God of Judgment? Surely He does not care! “The Lord will not do good, neither will He
do evil.” And from a number of other sources we may feel inclined to draw that same
lesson. Of course, those who look deeper will tell us the reasoning is shallow. Look, they
will say, at the very empire of the Sultan. It is, by the confession of all men, on its way to
ruin. It cannot stand, simply because it is corrupt and vicious and cruel. The mill of God
grinds slowly, but it grinds at last, sure and small. Yes, it is certainly true, if you look at
any section of human life in the political field you may draw the conclusion that there is
no judgment and no moral God governing the nation. It is not so if you take a long
enough view of history down its long region. Where there is a luxury and an undue love
of pleasure there you sap the roots of steadfast industry, and where industry fails the
nation fails. Where commercial dishonesty goes beyond a certain point, there the
reputation and therefore the position of the nation suffers, Certainly there is always in
national vice a tendency, an inevitable tendency, towards national decay. It is sin that is
first the reproach and then the disaster of any nation. There is a tendency towards
judgment, a tendency very imperfect at present in its manifestation, but even in the great
national regions the tendency is there. You cannot, unless you are shallow-hearted, say
that the Lord doth not good, neither doth He do evil. But let us leave the wide sphere of
national life and think of this moral scepticism as it touches individual lives only. Here,
too, the excuse for it is apparent enough. It is only sometimes that honesty appears to be
the best policy. There are men whom we would not trust, because we believe they are
hard-hearted. And yet they come to no abrupt or signal ruin; they seem to flourish as
well as anybody else. There are moral collapses, disgraceful, disgusting to our moral
sense, and yet a little while, and without any appearance of repentance, simply by lapse
of time, the subjects of them seem to creep back into respectability or even credit. There
are struggles, persevering as it seems, against vice and sin which never seem to become
effectual or to succeed. The Lord in the region of our own lives, as we watch human life
in experience, the Lord surely doth not in fact do good, neither doth He do evil. But,
once again, the scepticism is shallow. You cannot take this as a complete account of
human life. There is that in all human consciousness and in all-human experience which
rebels against the conclusion. Call no man’s life happy till you have seen the whole;
watch the life to the end. Even cautious sin is found to ruin persons and families. And
sin—is it not true?—is very seldom always cautious. So it is that we look around, and in
all classes, in our own experience, we see the victims, the manifest victims, of lust and
gambling and drunkenness. But these, you say, are the disreputable vices; nobody ever
doubted that these open and disreputable and reckless vices brought ruin. Ay, but short
of these, in respectable lives! Why are so many marriages failures, moral failures T
Inquire, and you will find, because those marriages were rooted in worldliness and
selfishness; there was no moral and spiritual discipline behind them. After a little time
the temporary attraction wears off, and there is nothing left there but the conflict of two
rival selfishnesses and the discrepant traits of divergent characters to make the bond.
And what is that? It is but the mark of the Divine judgment upon selfishness. Or, look at
this and that and the other individual Wilfulness is one of the commonest of human
qualities—wilfulness which comes from being spoilt when one is young, or from having
the opportunity to do just as one -pleases in somewhat later life, but the sort of
wilfulness that will not bend itself to the Divine requirements, sooner or later brings
more or less of ruin or misery. God’s judgment is in this and that and the other life which
comes under our experience: God’s judgment is upon wilfulness. These are facts. But, we
say, there is no complete picture of Divine judgment. No, that is the fact, no complete
picture here, certainly. This world, certainly, is no sphere in which a Divine judgment
works itself out full and satisfactorily. We walk by faith, certainly not by sight,—if we
believe in the reality of Divine judgment—certainly by faith. But what there is is this,

143. surely a tendency, an indication of Divine judgment which checks anybody who thinks at
all. If he takes the sceptical conclusion—“The Lord does not do good, neither does He do
evil,” there is something rooted alike in men’s moral consciences and in their
experiences which assures them, in spite of its imperfect manifestation here and now,
that those who are on the side of righteousness are in harmony with the system of
things, and those who are neglectful are walking upon a volcano. He will render to every
man according to his works, by no arbitrary judgment from which there can be any
possible exemption, but by an inevitable moral law which works as securely as the
physical laws of growth and decay, of life and destruction. There is no chance of escape,
not for a single sin. “There is the difference between moral scepticism and moral belief.
“The Lord will not do good, neither will He do evil,” therefore “I will not be righteous
over-much, nor will I be over-much wicked.” It does not really at the bottom so very
much matter; there is no such very searching sieve through which my life has to be
passed. That is the scepticism, that is the shallowness, that is the lie. On the other hand,
there is the tendency, now the tendency pointing to its perfect realisation afterward. The
Lord judges every man according to his works. He is the God of knowledge; He sifts
thoroughly. There is no escape for a single sin. That is the point. Therefore awake to
righteousness and sin not. Other prophets may have other topics in store for us. Let
Zephaniah take this and that moral scepticism which tolerates sin because the Divine
judgment, after all, does not seem to act, because it believes your hopes, it believes that
the Lord does not do good, neither does He do evil. That moral scepticism is shallowness
and a lie at the bottom. God is a living God; God is a God of judgment; God trieth the
heart. The Lord will do good, and the Lord will do evil. Everything depends on what you
are trying after, what you are tolerating, and what you are not tolerating; whether you
are simply smoothing over the surface of your life, and leaving its real moral contents at
the bottom, unsifted, unexamined, unresisted. (Bishop Gore.)
13 Their wealth will be plundered,
their houses demolished.
Though they build houses,
they will not live in them;
though they plant vineyards,
they will not drink the wine.”

144. BAR ES, "Therefore their goods - Literally, “And their strength.” It is the simple
sequel in God’s Providence. It is a continued narrative. God will visit those who say, that
God does not interfere in man’s affairs, and, it shall be seen Jer_44:28 whose words
shall stand, God’s or their’s. All which God had threatened in the law shall be fulfilled.
God, in the fulfillment of the punishment, which He had foretold in the law Lev_26:32-
33; Deut. 28, would vindicate not only His present Providence, but His continual
government of His own world. All which is strength to man, shall the rather fail, because
it is strength, and they presume on it and it deceives them. Its one end is to “become a
prey” of devils. Riches, learning, rule, influence, power, bodily strength, genius,
eloquence, popular favor, shall all fail a man, and he, when stripped of them, shall be the
more bared because he gathered them around him. “Wealth is ever a runaway and has
no stability, but rather intoxicates and inclines to revolt and has unsteady feet.
Exceeding folly is it to think much of it. For it will not rescue those lying under the divine
displeasure, nor will it free any from guilt, when God decreeth punishment, and bringeth
the judgment befitting on the transgressors. How utterly useless this eagerness after
wealth is to the ungodly, he teacheth, saying, that “their strength shall be a prey” to the
Chaldaean.”
And their houses a desolation - Cyril: “For they are, of whom it may be said very
truly, “This is the man that took not God for his strength, but trusted unto the multitude
of his riches, and strengthened himself in his wickedness” Psa_52:7. But if indeed their
houses are adorned in a costly manner, they shall not be theirs, for they shall be burned,
and themselves go into captivity, leaving all in their house, and deprived of all which
would gladden. And this God said clearly to the king of Judah by Jeremiah, “Thou hast
builded thyself a large house and wide chambers, ceiled with cedar, and painted with
vermilion. Shalt thou reign because thou closest thyself with cedar!” Jer_22:14-15.
Gregory (Mor. viii. 14): “As the house of the body is the bodily dwelling, so to each mind
its house is that, wherein through desire it is wont to dwell,” and “desolate” shall they be,
being severed forever from the things they desired, and forever deserted by God. “They
shall also build houses but not inhabit them,” as the rich man said to his soul, “Soul,
thou hast much goods laid up for many years .... Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be
required of thee; then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?” Luk_
12:19-20. Before the siege by the Romans, Jerusalem and the temple had been greatly
beautified, only to be destroyed. “And they shall plant vineyards, but not drink the wine
thereof.” This is the woe, first pronounced in the law Deu_28:39, often repeated and
ever found true. Wickedness makes joy its end, yet never finds it, seeking it where it is
not, out of God.
CLARKE, "Their goods (in which they trust) shall become a booty - To the
Chaldeans. They shall have no profit of all their labors. The houses they have built they
shall not inhabit; of the wine of the vineyards they have planted, they shall not drink. See
Amo_5:11, where we find the same evils threatened.
GILL, "Therefore their goods shall become a booty,.... To the enemy; the riches
they trusted in, and thought themselves so secure of; and therefore denied divine
Providence, which ought to be depended upon amidst the greatest affluence; or
otherwise the Lord has various ways by which he can soon strip men of all their

145. enjoyments, and dispose of them to others:
and their houses a desolation; be pulled down by the enemy; or left uninhabited,
they being killed or carried captive, even their whole families:
they shall also build houses, but not inhabit them; not long, at least; not always,
as they expected, and promised themselves when they built them:
and they shall plant vineyards, and not drink the wine thereof: but before the
vines planted by them bring forth grapes, and these are pressed, and wine made of them,
they should fall into the hands of the enemy, who would drink it, and not they; and all
this agreeably to what was threatened them in the law of Moses, which they ought to
have regarded, Deu_28:30.
JAMISO , "Therefore their goods shall become a booty, etc. — Fulfilling the
prophecy in Deu_28:30, Deu_28:39 (compare Amo_5:11).
CALVI , "Zephaniah pursues the same subject—that God, after long forbearance,
would punish his rebellious and obstinate people. Hence he says, that they were now
delivered, even by God himself, into the hands of their enemies. They indeed knew
that many were inimical to them; but they did not consider God’s judgment, as God
himself elsewhere complains—that they did not regard the hand of him who smote
them. Isaiah 9:13. Our Prophet, therefore, declares now that they were given up to
destruction, and that their enemies would find no trouble nor difficulty in invading
the land, since all places would be open to plunder. And he recites what is found in
Leviticus 26:20; for the Prophets were interpreters of the law, and the only
difference between Moses and them is, that they apply his general truth to their own
time. The Prophet now pursues this course, as though he had said, that God had not
in vain or to no purpose threatened this evil in his law; for the Jews would find by
experience that this would really be the case, and that it had been truly said, that the
fruit of the land, their habitations, and other comforts of life, would be transferred
to others. It now follows—
COFFMA , "Verse 13
"And their wealth shall become a spoil, and their houses a desolation: yea, they shall
build houses, but shall not inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, but shall
not drink the wine thereof."
Language of this kind was often used by the prophets to described the kind of
destruction that was in store for Judah. A military disaster would overwhelm them.
TRAPP, "Verse 13
Zephaniah 1:13 Therefore 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.
Ver. 13. Therefore their goads shall become a booty] Their illgotten goods,

146. Zephaniah 1:9; Zephaniah 1:11 (for a proof of my providence which they blushed
not to deny), shall be carried away by the Chaldees, to their unmedicinable sorrow
and heartbreak, Ecclesiastes 4:1-3.
And their houses a desolation] Because built in blood. See ahum 2:11-12.
They shall also build houses, but not inhabit them, &c.] Ex lege mutuatur minas.
That they might the more regard his words, the prophet makes use of the menaces
of the law, Deuteronomy 28:30; Deuteronomy 28:39, whereof the prophets were
interpreters; applying, as here, the general doctrine thereof to the people of their
times. To rebuke or exhort men in good words, in God’s own words, is the readiest
way to prevail with them; unless they be Lucifugae scripturarum (as Tertullian
saith of the Marcionites and Valentinians), which yet will take hold of them
howsoever, Zechariah 1:6.
CO STABLE, "The treasures of the Jerusalemites and all the Judeans would
become plunder for the enemy, and their houses would become vacant if not
destroyed. They would build houses but not be able to live in them because the
Babylonian invasion would come quickly. They would plant vineyards but not be
able to drink their wine for the same reason (cf. Leviticus 26:32-33; Deuteronomy
28:30; Deuteronomy 28:39; Amos 5:11; Micah 6:15).
"Rather than condemning the use of alcohol, as the passage could be understood
( EB), Zephaniah condemns apathy." [ ote: Ibid, p98.]
PARKER, ""Therefore 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" ( Zephaniah 1:13).
The Lord will correct this atheism. We often think of speculation ending in nothing;
often, indeed, speculation which begins in vapour ends in vapour: but in this case
the people have departed from God in conduct as well as in theory, and therefore
nothing short of physical punishment and material deprivation will meet the
disastrous case. It is not to be supposed that God will punish men simply because
they have changed intellectual opinions for what may seem to them to be honest
reasons; it is when doctrinal departure injuriously affects the conduct that God lifts
his rod and smites by way of recompense.
WHEDO , "13. These indifferent and skeptical persons Jehovah will startle from
their spiritual slumber when he manifests himself as judge and ruler of the world.
Therefore — Their disregard of Jehovah compels him to vindicate his power and
supremacy.
Their goods shall become a booty — The prophet expects the judgment to take the

147. form of a hostile invasion; the enemy will capture the city and carry off as booty the
possessions of the inhabitants.
Their houses a desolation — othing but ruins and desolation will be left behind.
13b seems to be a sort of proverbial saying announcing that the godless will not be
permitted to enjoy the results of their labors (see on Amos 5:11; compare Micah
6:15). The originality of 13b has been questioned, and not without reason. It is
certainly strange that the prophet should announce the judgment as imminent
(Zephaniah 1:7; compare Zephaniah 1:14), and then, almost in the same breath,
should give the inhabitants enough time to build houses and plant vineyards before
the judgment falls.
14 The great day of the Lord is near—
near and coming quickly.
The cry on the day of the Lord is bitter;
the Mighty Warrior shouts his battle cry.
BAR ES, "The great Day of the Lord is near - The prophet again expands the
words of Joel, accumulating words expressive of the terrors of that Day, showing that
though “the great and very terrible Day of the Lord” Joe_2:31, (Joel had said) “a day of
darkness and gloominess, of clouds and of thick darkness” Joe_2:2, “which was then
coming and nigh at hand” Joe_2:1, had come and was gone, it was only a forerunner of
others; none of them final; but each, because it “was” a judgment and an instance of the
justice of God, an earnest and forerunner of other judgments to the end. Again, “a great
Day of the Lord was near.” This Day had itself, so to speak, many hours and divisions of
the day. But each hour tolleth the same knell of approaching doom. Each calamity in the
miserable reigns of the sons of Josiah was one stroke in the passing-bell, until the de
struction of Jerusalem by the Chaldaeans, for the time closed it.
The judgment was complete. The completeness of that excision made it the more an
image of every other like day until the final destruction of all which, although around or
near to Christ, shall in the Great Day be found not to be His, but to have rejected Him.
Jerome: “Truly was vengeance required, ‘from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of
Zechariah, whom they slew between the temple and the altar’ Mat_23:35, and at last
when they said of the Son of God, “His blood be upon us and upon our children” Mat_
27:25, they experienced a bitter day, because they had provoked the Lord to bitterness; a

148. Day, appointed by the Lord, in which not the weak only but the mighty shall be bowed
down, and wrath shall come upon them to the end. For often before they endured the
wrath of the Lord, but that wrath was not to the uttermost. What need now to describe
how great calamities they endured in both captivities, and how they who rejected the
light of the Lord, walked in darkness and thick darkness, and they who would not hear
the trumpet of the solemn feast-days, heard the shout of the enemy.
But of the “fenced cities” and “lofty corner-towers” of Judaea, which are until now
destroyed even to the ground, the eyes, I deem, can judge better than the ears. We
especially, now living in that province, can see, can prove what is written. We scarcely
discern slight traces of ruins of what once were great cities. At Shiloh, where was the
tabernacle and ark of the testament of the Lord, scarcely the foundations of the altar are
shown. Rama and Bethoron and the other noble cities built by Solomon, are shown to be
little villages. Let us read Joseplius and the prophecy of Zephaniah; we shall see his
history before our eyes. And this must be said not only of the captivity, but even to the
present day. The treacherous farmers, having slain the servants, and, at last, the Son of
God, are prevented from entering Jerusalem, except to wail, and they purchase at a price
leave to weep the ruin of their city, so that they who once bought the Blood of Christ, buy
their tears; not even their tears are costless.
You may see on the day that Jerusalem was taken and destroyed by the Romans, a
people in mourning come, decrepit old women and old men, in aged and ragged
wretchedness, showing in their bodies and in their guise the wrath of the Lord. The
hapless crowd is gathered, and amid the gleaming of the Cross of Christ, and the radiant
glory of His Resurrection, the standard also of the Cross shining from Mount Olivet, you
may see the people, piteous but unpitied, bewail the ruins of their temple, tears still on
their cheeks, their arms livid and their hair disheveled, and the soldier asketh a guerdon,
that they may be allowed to weep longer. And doth any, when he seeth this, doubt of the
“day of trouble and distress, the day of darkness and gloominess, the day of clouds and
thick darkness, the day of the trumpet and alarm?” For they have also trumpets in their
sorrow, and, according to the prophecy, the voice of “the solemn feast-day is turned into
mourning.” They wail over the ashes of the sanctuary and the altar destroyed, and over
cities once fenced, and over the high towers of the temple, from which they once cast
headlong James the brother of the Lord.”
But referring the Day of the Lord to the end of the world or the close of the life of each,
it too is near; near, the prophet adds to impress the more its nearness, for it is at hand to
each; and when eternity shall come, all time shall seem like a moment, “A thousand
years, when past, are like a watch in the night” Psa_90:4; one fourth part of one night.
And hasteth greatly - For time whirls on more rapidly to each, year by year, and
when God’s judgments draw near, the tokens of them thicken, and troubles sweep one
over the other, events jostle against each other. The voice of the day of the Lord. That
Day, when it cometh, shall leave no one in doubt what it meaneth; it shall give no
uncertain sound, but shall, trumpet-tongued, proclaim the holiness and justice of
Almighty God; its voice shall be the Voice of Christ, which “all that are in the graves shall
hear and come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they
that have done evil unto the resurrection of damnation” Joh_5:28-29.
“The mighty men shall cry there bitterly, for “bitter is the remembrance of death to a
man that liveth at rest in his possessions, unto the man that hath nothing to vex him,
and that hath prosperity in all things” (Ecclesiasticus 41:1); and, “There is no mighty
man that hath power over the spirit to retain the spirit; neither hath he power in the day
of death; and there is no discharge in that war; neither shall wickedness deliver those
that are given to it” Ecc_8:8. Rather, wrath shall come upon “the kings” of the earth,

149. “and the great men and the rich men and the mighty men, and” they shall will to “hide”
themselves “from the Face of Him that sitteth on the Throne and from the wrath of the
Lamb, for the great Day of His wrath is come: and who shall be able to stand?” Rev_
6:15-17.
The mighty men shall cry there bitterly - The prophet has spoken of time, “the
day of the Lord.” He points out the more vividly the unseen sight and place, “there;” so
David says, “There they feared a fear” Psa_14:5. He sees the place; he hears the bitter
cry. So near is it in fact; so close the connection of cause and effect, of sin and
punishment. There shall be a great and bitter cry, when there shall be no place for
repentance. It shall be a mighty cry, but mighty in the bitterness of its distress. “Mighty
men shall be mightily tormented” (Wisd. 6:6), that is, those who have been mighty
against God, weak against Satan, and shall have used their might in his service.
CLARKE, "The great day of the Lord is near - It commenced with the death of
the good king Josiah, who was slain by Pharaoh-necho at Megiddo, and continued to the
destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar.
GILL, "The great day of the Lord is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly,....
Not the day of judgment, but the day of God's vengeance upon the Jews, which yet bore
some resemblance to that day of the Lord, and it may be therefore so called; as the
destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans had some likeness to it, and therefore the signs
of the one and of the other are given together by our Lord in Mat_24:1 and this was a
day in which he would do great things, by the Chaldeans, and against the Jews; and this
is represented as very "near"; and repeated again for the confirmation of it, and to
arouse the thoughtless and careless about it, and who put away this evil day far from
them; yea, it is said to make great haste, and to fly away swiftly, even faster than time
usually does; though in common it has wings ascribed unto it:
even the voice of the day of the Lord; in which the Lord's voice will be heard; not
his voice of grace and mercy, as in the day of salvation; but of wrath and vengeance,
which will be terrible; hence it follows:
the mighty men shall cry there bitterly; not the voice of the mighty men besieging
the city, making a hideous noise to animate the soldiers in making the assault, as some;
but the mighty men within the city of Jerusalem besieged, who, when they see the city
broken up, would be in the utmost terror, and cry bitterly, like women and children,
being quite dismayed and dispirited; even the men of war upon the walls, and in the
garrisons, with their officers and generals; and if this would be the case with them, how
must it be thought to be with others, the weak and timorous?
HE RY, "Nothing could be expressed with more spirit and life, nor in words more
proper to startle and awaken a secure and careless people, than the warning here given
to Judah and Jerusalem of the approaching destruction by the Chaldeans. That is
enough to make the sinners in Zion tremble - that it is the day of the Lord, the day in
which he will manifest himself by taking vengeance on them. It is the great day of the
Lord, a specimen of the day of judgment, a kind of doom's-day, as the last destruction of
Jerusalem by the Romans is represented to be in our Saviour's prediction concerning it,

150. Mat_24:27.
I. This day of the Lord is here spoken of as very near. The vision is not for a great
while to come, as those imagine who put the evil day far from them. Those deceive
themselves who look upon it as a thing at a distance, for it is near - it is near - it hastens
greatly. The prophet gives the alarm like one that is in earnest, like one that awakens a
family with the cry of Fire! fire! when it is at the next door that the danger is: “It is near!
it is near! and therefore it is high time to bestir yourselves, and do what you can for your
own safety before it be too late.” It is madness for those to slumber whose damnation
slumbers not, and to linger when it hastens.
JAMISO , "voice of ... day of ... Lord — that is, Jehovah ushering in that day
with a roar of vengeance against the guilty (Jer_25:30; Amo_1:2). They who will not
now heed (Zep_1:12) His voice by His prophets, must heed it when uttered by the
avenging foe.
mighty ... shall cry ... bitterly — in hopeless despair; the might on which
Jerusalem now prides itself, shall then fail utterly.
K&D 14-16, "This judgment will not be delayed. To terrify the self-secure sinners out of
their careless rest, Zephaniah now carries out still further the thought only hinted at in
Zep_1:7 of the near approach and terrible character of the judgment. Zep_1:14. “The
great day of Jehovah is near, near and hasting greatly. Hark! the day of Jehovah,
bitterly crieth the hero there. Zep_1:15. A day of fury is this day, a day of anguish and
pressure, a day of devastation and desert, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of cloud
and cloudy night. Zep_1:16. A day of the trumpet and battering, over the fortified cities
and high battlements.” The day of Jehovah is called “the great day” with reference to its
effects, as in Joe_2:11. The emphasis lies primarily, however, upon the qârōbh (is near),
which is therefore repeated and strengthened by ‫ּד‬‫א‬ ְ‫מ‬ ‫ר‬ ֵ‫ה‬ ַ‫.מ‬ ‫ר‬ ֵ‫ה‬ ַ‫מ‬ is not a piel participle with
the Mem dropped, but an adjective form, which has sprung out of the adverbial use of
the inf. abs. (cf. Ewald, §240, e). In the second hemistich the terrible character of this
day is described. ‫קוֹל‬ before yōm Ye
hōvâh (the day of Jehovah), at the head of an
interjectional clause, has almost grown into an interjection (see at Isa_13:4). The hero
cries bitterly, because he cannot save himself, and must succumb to the power of the foe.
Shâm, adv. loci, has not a temporal signification even here, but may be explained from
the fact that in connection with the day the prophet is thinking of the field of battle, on
which the hero perishes while fighting. In order to depict more fully the terrible
character of this day, Zephaniah crowds together in Zep_1:15 and Zep_1:16 all the words
supplied by the language to describe the terrors of the judgment. He first of all
designates it as yōm ‛ebhrâh, the day of the overflowing wrath of God (cf. Zep_1:18); then,
according to the effect which the pouring out of the wrath of God produces upon men, as
a day of distress and pressure (cf. Job_15:24), of devastation (‫ה‬ፎּ‫שׁ‬ and ‫ה‬ፎ‫שׁוֹ‬ ְ‫מ‬ combined,
as in Job_38:27; Job_30:3), and of the darkest cloudy night, after Joe_2:2; and lastly, in
Zep_1:16, indicating still more closely the nature of the judgment, as a day of the
trumpet and the trumpet-blast, i.e., on which the clangour of the war-trumpets will be
heard over all the fortifications and castles, and the enemy will attack, take, and destroy
the fortified places amidst the blast of trumpets (cf. Amo_2:2). Pinnōth are the corners

151. and battlements of the walls of the fortifications (2Ch_26:15).
CALVI , "The Prophet in this verse expresses more clearly what I have already
stated—That God would be the author of all the evils which would happen to the
Jews; for as they grew more insensible in their sins, they more and more provoked
God’s wrath against themselves. It is therefore no common wisdom to consider
God’s hand when he strikes or chastens us. This is the reason why the Prophet now
calls the attention of the Jews to God, that they might not fix their minds, as it is
commonly done, on men only. At the same time, he tries to shake off their torpor by
declaring that the day would be terrible, and that it was also now near at hand. We
indeed know that hypocrites trifle with God, except they feel the weight of his
wrath, and that they protract time, and promise themselves so long a respite, that
they never awake to repentance. Hence the Prophet in the first place shows, that
whatever evils then impended over the Jews were not only from men, but especially
from God. This is one thing; and then, in order thoroughly to touch stupid hearts,
he says, that the day would be terrible; and lastly, that they might not deceive
themselves by vain flatteries, he declares that the day was at hand. These three
things must be noticed in order that we understand the Prophet’s object.
But he says at the beginning of the verse, that the great day of Jehovah was nigh. In
these words he includes the three things to which I have already referred. By calling
it the day of Jehovah, he means, that whatever evils the Jews suffered, ought to have
been ascribed to his judgment; and by calling it the great day, his object was to
strike terror; as well as by saying, in the third place, that it was nigh. We hence see
that three things are included in these words. But the Prophet more fully explains
what might, on account of the brevity of his words, have seemed not quite clear.
ear, he says, is the day, and quickly hastens. Men, we know, are wont to extend
time, that they may cherish their sins; for though they cannot divest themselves of
every feeling as to religion, or shake it off, they yet imagine for themselves a long
distance between them and God; and by such an imagination they find ease for
themselves. Hence the Prophet declares the day to be nigh; and as it was hardly
credible that the destruction of which he spake was near, he adds, that the day was
quickly hastening; as though he had said, that they ought not to judge by the
present state of things what God would do, for in a moment his wrath would pass
through from east to west like lightning. Men need long preparation when they
determine to execute their vengeance; but God has no need of much preparation, for
his own power is sufficient for him when he resolves to destroy the wicked. We now,
then, see why it was added by the Prophet, that the day would quickly hasten.
He now repeats that the day of Jehovah and his voice would cry out bitterly. I have
stated three renderings as given by interpreters. Some read thus—The day of
Jehovah shall be bitter; there the strong shall cry aloud. This meaning is admissible,
and a useful instruction may from it be elicited; as though the Prophet had said, that
no courage could bring help to men, or be an aid to them, against God’s vengeance.
Others give this rendering, that the day would bitterly cry out, for there would be

152. the strong, that is, the strength of enemies would break down whatever courage the
Jews might have. But this second meaning seems forced; and I am disposed to adopt
the third—that the voice of the day of Jehovah would bitterly cry out. And he means
the voice of those who would have really to know God as a judge, whom they had
previously despised; for God would then put forth his power, which had been an
object of contempt, until the Jews had by experience felt it. (82)
As to the Prophet’s design, there is no ambiguity: for he seeks here to rouse the Jews
from their insensibility, who had so hardened themselves against all threatening,
that the Prophets were not able to convince them. Since, then, they had thus
hardened themselves against every instruction and all warnings, the Prophet here
says, that the voice of God’s day would be different: for God’s voice had sounded
through the mouth of the Prophets, but it availed not with the deaf. An awful
change is here announced; for the Jews shall then cry aloud, as the roaring of the
divine voice shall then terrify them, when God shall really show that he is the
avenger of wickedness—When therefore he shall ascend his tribunal, then ye shall
cry. His messengers now cry to you in vain, for ye close up your ears; ye shall cry in
your turn, but it will be in vain.
But if one prefers to take it as one sentence, The voice of the day of Jehovah, there
strong, shall bitterly cry out, the meaning will be the same as to the main point. I
would not, therefore, contend about words, provided we bear in mind what I have
already said—that Zephaniah sets here the cry of the distressed people in opposition
to the voices of the Prophets, which they had despised, yea, and for the most part, as
it appears from other places, treated with ridicule. However this may have been, he
indirectly condemns their false confidence, when he speaks of the strong; as though
he had said, that they were strong only for their own ruin, while they opposed God
and his servants; for this strength falls at length, nay, it breaks itself by its own
weight, when God rises to judgment. It follows—
The voice of the day of Jehovah shall be grievous;
Roar out there (or then) shall the brave.
“The voice of the day,” etc., means the voice uttered on that day, as Drusius explains
it. [ ‫מר‬ ] is no doubt “bitter;” but it is often applied in scripture to express what is
grievous, afflictive, or sorrowful. If we render [ ‫שט‬ ], “there,” it refers to Jerusalem,
verse 12; but it is sometimes used as an adverb of time, “then,” see Psalms 14:5;
ehemiah 3:15. “The meaning is,” says Drusius, “that the voice of that day, which
they who excel in strength of mind and body shall utter, shall be bitter.” The whole
verse is remarkably concise and emphatical,—
14. igh is the great day of Jehovah,
igh and hastening quickly:
The voice of the day of Jehovah shall be grievous;
Roar out then shall the brave.
Then the following verse is not to begin, as in our version, which has been followed

153. by ewcome and Henderson, “That day is a day of wrath,” but thus—
A day of wrath shall bethat day.
This is the order of the original, and as there is no verb, it must be supplied and
regulated as to its tense by the context.—Ed.
COFFMA , "Verse 14
"The great day of Jehovah is near, it is near and hasteth greatly, even the voice of
the day of Jehovah; the mighty man crieth there, bitterly."
The blatant and persistent sins of the chosen people were "the voice" that
proclaimed the near approach of judgment; and, if it was true of ancient Judah, is it
not also true that when the same wickedness is rampant in the whole world that
such is "the voice" of the approaching final Judgment of all men? Of course it is.
"We live in times when these "signs" are all about us. Whether they portend the
declining days of our culture and the beginning of another era, or the soon coming
of the "Final Day" is irrelevant. In either case, we would be fools not to share with
the prophets (of both Testaments) the sense of urgent need for preparation and
repentance."[37]
This 14th verse, and to the end of the chapter, is a detailed enlargement upon the
terrors of eternal judgment, presented in the hope of breaking through the
persistent indifference and complacency of the people of God.
TRAPP, "Verse 14
Zephaniah 1:14 The 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.
Ver. 14. The great day of the Lord is near, it is near] It is the "day of the Lord," that
fatal day appointed by him to ruin the nation; for with him it is all one, whether it
be done against a nation or against a man only, Job 34:29. ext, it is his great day;
because therein the great God will set himself to do great matters: how much more
at the day of judgment, called also "a great day," Revelation 6:17; Revelation 16:14.
This great day is near, yea, very near, it hasteth greatly] It hath wings, and wind
under those wings, as Zechariah 5:9; it will be upon men ere they are aware; neither
will anything more hasten it than their security and fearlessness. Think the same of
the last day, which cannot but be at hand, and then the transgressors shall be
destroyed together; the end of the wicked shall be cut off, Psalms 37:38.
Even the voice of the day of the Lord] Methinks I hear it.

154. “ Fallor? an arma sonant? non fallimur, arma sonabant.
Mars venit, et veniens bellica signa dedit. ”
Jerome speaketh thus to himself, whether I eat, or drink, or sleep, methinks I hear
that last trump sounding these words in mine ears, Surgite mortui, venite in
iudicium, Arise, ye dead, and come to judgment. A very necessary meditation.
The mighty man shall cry there bitterly] How much more the turba imbellis, the
weak and cowardly! they shall take up a loud lamentation, and cry with the
breaking of their loins.
BE SO , "Verses 14-16
Zephaniah 1:14-16. The great day of the Lord is near — The time of God’s
executing his terrible judgments is nigh at hand. Even the voice, &c. —
The word even is not in the Hebrew. This latter part of the sentence may, it seems,
be better rendered thus: The voice of the day of the Lord is bitter, and it vehemently
resoundeth there. Or, Then the mighty man crieth out. The general sense is, that
great noise, or distraction, should attend the taking of Jerusalem by the Chaldeans.
That day is a day of wrath, &c. — That time will be a time of executing wrath. A
day of wasteness and desolation — Hebrew, ‫ומשׁואה‬ ‫,שׁאה‬ of tumult and devastation.
A day of darkness and gloominess, &c. — Of perplexity, terror, and dismay. A day
of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities — A day of attacking and taking
fortified cities and strong holds, the attacks on which were used to be made by the
sound of trumpets; and probably trumpets sounded all the time of the attack, as also
when an entrance was gained into them.
CO STABLE, "Zephaniah reported that this great day of the Lord was near, very
near, and coming very quickly. His hearers needed to realize that it would be a day
in which Yahweh would act (cf. Zephaniah 1:12). When it came, warriors would cry
out bitterly because that day would involve fierce fighting. The first deportation of
Judeans to Babylon came in605 B.C. not many years from whenever Zephaniah
must have first announced this message.
PETT, "Zephaniah 1:14
“The great day of YHWH is near,
It is near and in a great hurry (or ‘and the soldiery’),
The sound of the day of YHWH is bitter.
The mighty man raises the war cry.”
God’s time is fast approaching, indeed is in a great hurry. Soon the sound of His day
will be heard, the day when He brings His judgment on His faithless people. The
war cry is raised by the mighty men, and it is very bitter, for they can see what is

155. coming. They know that they have no hope.
As can be seen there are possible alternative translations. The consonants of ‘in a
great hurry’ can also mean ‘a soldier’ (as evidenced in Egyptian papyri, at Ugarit,
and in the Amarna letters). Thus it may indicate that the Day of YHWH is coming
speedily, or that it will result in the arrival of the soldiery. The latter would seen to
be supported the parallel of the mighty man in line 4.
In one sense the day of YHWH is ever near, for in the midst of life we are in death.
Each of us may suddenly be called on to give account at any time. But to every
nation and people there will come a time when the nation is called to account, when
the wrath of God falls on sin, and the nation collapses and is no more what it was.
And there is the Final Day of YHWH, when all will be called on to give account
together.
WHEDO , "Verses 14-18
The terrors of the day of Jehovah, Zephaniah 1:14-18.
In Zephaniah 1:14 Zephaniah calls attention once more to the nearness of the day of
Jehovah (compare Zephaniah 1:7); in the succeeding verses he describes in detail its
terrors. In it Jehovah will make an end, yea, a terrible end, of all them that dwell in
the land. Earlier prophets had spoken of the darkness and despair of that day, but
Zephaniah surpasses them all in vividness and awful grandeur.
The great day… is near — See on Zephaniah 1:7; Joel 1:15; Joel 2:11; Joel 2:31.
The imminence of the day of Jehovah and its terrible character are dwelt upon
again and again in the prophetic writings. In this verse its nearness is emphasized;
therefore, “is near” is repeated and strengthened by “hasteth greatly.” Bachmann
says of 14b, “This sentence impresses one as being in absolutely hopeless confusion.”
If one looks for smoothness of expression he will be disappointed; but if one takes
into consideration the intensely emotional character of Hebrew prophecy, especially
of the utterances announcing the doom of the nation, if one bears in mind that these
words were spoken by men whose hearts were well-nigh breaking as they
contemplated the approaching destruction, he will not be surprised when he
discovers evidences of emotion even in the form of expression, an abrupt nervous
style. If 14b is studied from this point of view the difficulties lose their terror. G.A.
Smith, with his keen insight into the spirit of Hebrew prophecy, translates, “Hark!
the day of Jehovah. A strong man — there! crying bitterly!” The vision of the
prophet beholds the agony and despair of the great day, he hears the cry of pain and
distress from those who under ordinary circumstances are men of courage and
might; as soon as he beholds the awful picture, he breaks forth in the agonizing cry
of 14b.
Hark — For this meaning of the word ordinarily translated “voice” see G.-K., 146b.
There — On the field of battle where the terrible struggle rages.

156. Cry… bitterly — Because he cannot save himself and must go down before the
terrible foe (compare Isaiah 13:7-8; Jeremiah 30:5; Jeremiah 30:7). In order to
restore parallelism with 14a Marti changes the text of 14b so as to read, “ ear is the
bitter day of Jehovah; even the mighty man crieth bitterly.”
PULPIT, "Having signified the victims of the judgment, Zephaniah recurs to what
he had said in ver. 7, and enforces upon his hearers its near approach. The great
day of the Lord (Joel 2:1, Joel 2:11). Even the voice of the day of the Lord. The day
is so close at hand, that the sound of its coming can be heard. Some translate,
"Hark! the day of Jehovah." The mighty man shall cry (crieth) there bitterly.
There, on the battlefield, the hero is panic-stricken, and cries out for fear. The
Greek and Latin Versions connect "bitter" with the former clause. Thus the
Vulgate, Vox dies Domini amara; Septuagint, φωνὴ ἡµέρας κυρίου πικρὰ καὶ
σκληρὰ τέτακται, "The voice of the day of the Lord is made bitter and harsh."
BI, "The great day of the Lord is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of
the Lord.
The comings of the Lord
The times of King Josiah, about 606 years before Christ, were times of much religious
awakening, like our own. The Book of the Lord had been found and studied, the idols
had been destroyed, the bones of false prophets and idolatrous priests publicly burnt.
But under the outside, external improvement there remained an inner and obstinate
corruption which resisted cure, and threatened ere long to break out in renewed acts of
idolatry and profligacy. Against this the prophet Zephaniah was sent to raise a warning
voice—to protest that the Mighty Lord was in the midst of His people, watching not only
their public acts, but their private ways and thoughts. In the seemingly purged Holy City
there were men who, in their heart of hearts, were practical atheists, men really careless
about serving God, living secure in ease and plenty, not having God in all their thoughts,
persuading themselves that the Great Ruler would take no notice of good or evil, and
that a watchful, rewarding, and punishing providence was but an empty dream. The
prophet denounces and warns all such. But alas! the prophet’s voice was disregarded. So
Judah went into captivity, and the coming of the Lord was with awful vengeance. Bitter
woe descended on the insensate people who wickedly despised their day of grace and
warning. These things are written for our admonition. May we all profit by the Church’s
faithful warnings! There is a tendency in manor of us to sink the future in the present,
and to lull ourselves with the delusive notion that it will be all right at last; that God is
love, and love will cover all our sins. Nevertheless it is our duty to proclaim in word and
deed our faith in the Lord’s coming, in its nearness and its greatness. He who once came
in the flesh will come again as our Judge. Yet men’s lives are often a practical denial of
this elementary foundation doctrine of Christianity. Some men say, No doubt there is a
judgment, but it is going on continually from day to day now. The Judge is now at every
man’s door; He comes quickly indeed, for every action brings at once its immediate
reward or immediate punishment. No doubt, in the main, this is true, but, brethren, the
voice of conscience and the voice of God in His Word agree in telling us that the present
judgments are but heralds of the future final one. When they are judgments now of pain
and punishment, they are merciful judgments to turn sinners to repentance. But the
future judgment will have still higher aim and purpose. To vindicate the ways of God to
men, to finally put a stop to sin, and bring in everlasting righteousness. We Who really
believe in the second coming of our Lord in glory to judgment, as we believe in His first

157. coming as Man to live on earth in great humility for our sakes, should “be diligent that
we be found of Him in peace, without spot and blameless.” (Canon Emery, B. D.)
15 That day will be a day of wrath—
a day of distress and anguish,
a day of trouble and ruin,
a day of darkness and gloom,
a day of clouds and blackness—
BAR ES, "A day of wrath - In which all the wrath of Almighty God, which evil
angels and evil men have treasured to them for that day, shall be poured out: “the” day
of wrath, because then they shall be brought face to face before the presence of God, but
thenceforth they shall be cast out of it forever.
A day of trouble and distress - Both words express, how anguish shall narrow and
hem them in; so that there shall be no escape; above them, God displeased; below, the
flames of Hell; around, devils to drag them away, and Angels casting them forth “in
bundles to burn them;” without, “the books” which shall be opened;” and within,
conscience leaving them no escape.
A day of wasteness and desolation - In which all things shall return to their
primeval void, before “the Spirit of God brooded upon the face of the waters,” His
presence being altogether withdrawn.
A day of darkness and gloominess - For sun and moon shall lose their brightness,
and no brightness from the Lamb shall shine upon the wicked, but they shall be driven
into “outer darkness.”
A day of clouds and thick darkness - Hiding from them the Face of the Sun of
Righteousness, and covering Him, so that their “prayers should not pass through” Lam_
3:44.
CLARKE, "That day is a day of wrath - See Isa_22:5 (note); Jer_30:7 (note);
Joe_2:2 (note), Joe_2:11 (note); Amo_5:18 (note); Zep_1:18 (note), and the notes there.
From the fourteenth to the sixteenth verse inclusive there is a most beautiful
amplification of the disasters that were coming on Jerusalem; the invasion, incursion,
attack, carnage, confusion, horrible din occasioned by the sound of the trumpet, the
cries of the people, and the shrieks and groans of the dying, are pointed out with great
force and mighty effect.

158. GILL, "That day is a day of wrath,.... Both of the wrath of God against his people
for their sins; these judgments being the effects of his wrath, provoked by their
iniquities; and of the wrath and cruelty of the Chaldeans, exercised in a furious manner:
a day of trouble and distress; to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, they being taken and
led captive, their houses plundered and demolished, and the whole city and temple laid
in ruins:
a day of wasteness and desolation; of the whole country of Judea, and the
metropolis of it; of their houses, fields, and vineyards:
a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness: as it
might be in a natural sense; the displeasure of God being shown in the very heavens, by
the darkness and gloominess of them, and the thick clouds with which they were
covered; and made still more dark and gloomy by the burning of the city, and the smoke
of it; and, in such circumstances, gloominess and melancholy must sit upon the minds of
men: and thick clouds and darkness portend greater troubles and calamities coming on;
and the whole is expressive of great adversity; for, as light frequently designs prosperity,
so darkness adversity.
HE RY, "It is spoken of as a very dreadful day. The very voice of this day of the
Lord, the noise of it, when it is coming, shall be so terrible as to make the mighty men
cry there bitterly, cry for fear as children do. It shall be a vexation to hear the report of
it. In the last great day of the Lord the mighty men shall cry bitterly to rocks and
mountains to shelter them; but in vain. Observe how emphatically the prophet speaks of
this day approaching (Zep_1:15): It is a day of wrath, God's wrath, wrath in perfection,
wrath to the utmost. It will be a day of trouble and distress to the sinners; they shall be
in pain, and shall see no ways of easing or helping themselves. The miseries of the
damned are summed up (perhaps with reference to this) in the indignation and wrath
of God, which are the cause, and the tribulation and anguish of the sinner's soul, which
are the effect, Rom_2:8, Rom_2:9. It will be a day of trouble and distress to the
inhabitants, and a day of wasteness and desolation to the whole land; that fruitful land
shall be turned into a wilderness. It shall be a day of darkness and gloominess; every
thing shall look dismal, and there shall not be the least gleam of comfort, or glimpse of
hope; look round, and it is all black. It is a day of clouds and thick darkness; there is not
only nothing encouraging, but every thing threatening; the thick clouds are big with
storms and tempests.
JAMISO , "wasteness ... desolation — The Hebrew terms by their similarity of
sounds, Shoah, Umeshoah, express the dreary monotony of desolation (see on Nah_2:10).
CALVI , "The Prophet shows here how foolish they were who extenuated God’s
vengeance, as hypocrites and all wicked men are wont to do. Hence he accuses the
Jews of madness, that they thought that the way of reconciliation would be easy to
them, when they had by their perverseness provoked God to come against them as
an armed enemy. For though the ungodly do not promise to themselves anything of
God’s favor, yet they entertain vain imaginations, as though he might with no

159. trouble be pacified: they do not think that he will be propitious to them, and yet in
the meantime they deride his vengeance. Against this kind of senselessness the
Prophet now inveighs. We have stated in other places, that these kinds of figurative
expressions were intended solely for this end—to constrain men to entertain some
fear, for they willfully deluded themselves: for the Prophets had to do, partly with
open despisers of God, and partly with his masked worshipers, whose holiness was
hypocrisy.
This, then, was the reason why he said, that that day would be a day of wrath, and
also a day of distress and of affliction, (83) of tumult and desolation, (84) of
darkness and of thick darkness, of clouds and of mist. In short, he intended to
remove from the Jews that confidence with which they flattered themselves, yea, the
confidence which they derived from their contempt of God: for the flesh is secure,
while it has coverts, where it may withdraw itself from the presence of God. True
confidence cannot exceed moderation, that is, the confidence that is founded on
God’s word, for thus men come nigh to God: but the flesh wishes for no other rest
but in the forgetfulness of God. And we have already seen in the Prophet Amos,
(Amos 5:18,) why the day of Jehovah is painted as being so dreadful; he had, as I
have said, to contend with hypocrites, who made an improper use of God’s name,
and at the same time slumbered in gross insensibility. Hence Amos said, It will be a
day, not of light, but of darkness; not of joy, but of sorrow. Why then do ye
anxiously expect the day of the Lord? For the Jews, glorying in being the chosen
people of God, and trusting only in their false title of adoption, thought that
everything was lawful for them, as though God had renounced his own authority.
And thus hypocrites ever flatter themselves, as though they held God bound to
them. Our Prophet does not, as Amos, distinctly express these sentiments, yet the
meaning of the words is the same, and that is, that when God ascends his tribunal,
there is no hope for pardon. He at the same time cuts off from them all their vain
confidences; for though God excludes all escapes, yet hypocrites look here and there,
before and behind, to the right hand and to the left.
The Prophet therefore intimates, that there would be everywhere darkness and
thick darkness, clouds and mists, affliction and distress,—Why? because it would be
the day of wrath; for God, after having borne patiently a long time with the Jews,
and seen that they perversely abused his patience, would at length put forth his
power. And that they might not set up their own strongholds against God, he says,
that war was proclaimed against the fortified cities and high citadels. We hence see
that he deprives the Jews of all help, in order that they might understand that they
were to perish, except they repented, and thus return into favor with God. It shall
then be a day of the trumpet and of shouting, (85) —How? on all fortified cities. For
the Jews, as it is usually done, compared the strength of their enemies with their
own. It was not their purpose to go forth beyond their own borders: and they
thought that they would be able to resist, and be sufficiently fortified, if any foreign
enemy invaded them. The Prophet laughs to scorn this notion, for God had declared
war against their fortified cities. It follows —
15.A day of extreme wrath shall be that day,

160. A day of distress and oppression,
A day of waste and of desolation,
A day of darkness and of thick darkness,
A day of cloudiness and of entire darkness;
16.A day of the trumpet and of acclamation
Over the cities that are inclosed,
And over the towers which are lofty.
The word [ ‫עברה‬ ], “extreme wrath,” means such wrath as passes over all bounds—
overflowing wrath. We are obliged to use the word darkness three times for lack of
suitable terms. The first is the common darkness of the night, the second is a grosser
darkness, and the third is complete darkness. The words “gloominess” and
“obscurity,” used by ewcome and Henderson, are not sufficiently strong, and
convey not the meaning.—Ed.
COFFMA , "Verse 15
"That 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."
The Vulgate rendition of the first two phrases is Dies Irae, Dies Illa, the title and
opening line of the famous mediaeval hymn by Thomas of Celano, sung by churches
all over the world as a solemn Requiem. The translation of the hymn is itself an
appropriate commentary on this whole passage:
"Day of wrath! O day of mourning!
See fulfilled the prophet's warning,
Heaven and earth in ashes burning!
O what fear man's bosom rendeth
When from heav'n the Judge descendeth,
On whose sentence all dependeth!
Wondrous sound the trumpet flingeth;
Through earth's sepulchres it ringeth;
All before the throne it bringeth.
Death is struck, and nature quaking,
All creation awaking,

161. To its Judge an answer making."<37a>
COKE, "Verse 15
Zephaniah 1:15. Of wasteness— Calamity or tumult. Zephaniah 1:17. Their flesh]
Their carcases.
REFLECTIO S.—1st, We have,
1. An account of the inspired penman of this prophesy, Zephaniah, whose ancestors
for four generations prior to him are mentioned, probably as men of distinguished
note; and some have thought him of the blood-royal, and a descendant from
Hezekiah, king of Judah, the same word in the original as Hizkiah. He lived in the
best times, even in the reforming reign of Josiah; and yet we find that the people in
reality, many of them at least, notwithstanding their apparent change, continued
bad, very bad; or they quickly relapsed, and departed from their promising
beginnings. Of so short continuance are the effects wrought by the most zealous
reformers among a backsliding people. The word of the Lord came to the prophet;
for he spake not in his own name, but as the Spirit gave him utterance.
2. The burden of his prophesy is the approaching destruction of the land of Judaea,
and all things therein, both man and beast.
[1.] I will consume and cut off man from off the land, saith the Lord; even the good
men that yet remain will be involved in the national calamity. But the wicked are
especially intended: against them the Lord will stretch out his hand, in wrath to
smite and consume them from the earth, with their stumbling-blocks, those hated
idols, which constituted their mortal sin. I will cut off the remnant of Baal from this
place; those who, notwithstanding all Josiah's care, still continued the worship of
Baal: and the name of the Chemarims with the priests. The Chemarims were
idolatrous priests, as the word is translated, 2 Kings 23:5 so called either from the
black garments that they wore, or from their faces blackened with the smoke of the
fires where they sacrificed. These should be cut off, yea, their very name buried in
oblivion, or mentioned with detestation. And those who on house-tops worship the
host of heaven shall share the same fate; with all those who swear by the Lord, or to
the Lord and Melchom, or Moloch, seeking to reconcile the inconsistent services of
both, and pretending to worship them together, irreconcileable as that must for ever
be: and them that are turned back from the Lord, apostates from the profession
which they once made: and those that have not sought the Lord, nor inquired for
him, careless and prayerless sinners, who never troubled themselves about God, his
worship, or service; these will he destroy together. ote; (1.) The prayerless soul is a
lost soul. (2.) They who seek to reconcile their religion with the ways of the world,
and would serve God and Mammon together, just go so far as the devil desires. If
they swear by Melchom, conform to the maxims, customs, or vanities of the world,
they may serve God in form as much as they please, but they will be numbered with
the transgressors.
[2.] I will consume the beasts, the fowls of the heaven, and the fishes of the sea;

162. being designed for man's comfort, they are involved in his punishment, when by sin
he forfeits all his mercies.
2nd, The day of vengeance approaches, and the nation, as a sacrifice to divine
justice, is ready to be offered up; and the Lord hath bid his guests, the Babylonians,
or the fowls of the heaven, to feed upon the carcases of the slain.
1. Those are described who are devoted to destruction.
[1.] The princes, and the king's children; for judgment begins with the highest: and
all such as are clothed with strange apparel; either the vestments in which they
worshipped their idols; or they affected in their dress to imitate their heathen
neighbours in finery and extravagance, and their clothes proclaimed their pride and
the vanity of their hearts.
[2.] The oppressors, who leap on the threshold, who daringly thrust themselves in at
their neighbour's door, and seize what comes to hand; filling their master's houses
with violence and deceit; who set them on this wickedness, and protect them from
justice and punishment.
[3.] The rich merchants, and all they that bear silver, having plenty of money to
trade, and buy and sell, and get gain.
[4.] All that are settled on their lees; living in pleasure, affluence, ease, and carnal
security; and this begetting infidelity; that say in their heart, though, like many
other practical atheists, they dare not openly avow their sentiments, The Lord will
not do good, neither will he do evil; denying his providential government of the
world; and that neither his service would be attended with reward, nor sin with any
punishment; leaving him out of their sight, and intimating, in fact, that there was no
God. And as it is so much for their interest that there should be none, sensualists
would fain persuade themselves that there is none: but such as these God will
assuredly detect and punish. I will search Jerusalem with candles, that none may be
able to hide themselves; and punish them with judgments from which none shall be
able to escape. ote; Many are driven to the dreadful and deceitful refuge of
infidelity, that they may silence conscience thereby, and enjoy their guilty pleasures
undisturbed.
2. Their cry will be terrible when the stroke of vengeance descends. In that day,
saith the Lord, there shall be the noise of a cry from the fish-gate, of the miserable
inhabitants flying before their Chaldean pursuers; and a great crushing from the
hills; either of the enemy shouting and rushing on to the slaughter, or of the houses
of the nobles, built on the highest part of Zion and Moriah, now plundered and beat
to the ground. Howl, ye inhabitants of Maktesh, a street of Jerusalem into which the
enemy broke; or it is put for the whole body of the people, howling over their
desolations; Their merchants are cut down, and their substance is become a spoil to
the Chaldeans: yea, their goods are become a booty; and their houses, which they
built, flattering themselves with a long abode in them, are become a desolation; and

163. the vineyards that they planted, afford their produce not to them, but to their
conquerors.
3. The prophet with all others who are like him are commanded to hold their peace
at the presence of the Lord God, not daring to dispute against his righteous
judgments, nor suffered to open their mouths to pray for a people devoted to
destruction.
3rdly, If any thing can alarm the sinners in Zion, the prophet's awful warnings must
surely do it.
1. The great day of the Lord, when he will take vengeance on the Jews by the sword
of the Babylonians, is near; it is near, and hasteth greatly; but a moment remains to
fly from this devouring fire. It is madness for the sinner to slumber, whose
damnation slumbereth not.
2. This will be a day of terror and dismay. The voice of the day of the Lord will
strike a panic into the boldest; the mighty men shall cry there bitterly, quite
dispirited, and wringing their hands when they should grasp the sword. That day is
a day of wrath; of the wrath of God, and of the fury of the Chaldeans, his
instruments of vengeance: a day of trouble and distress to the miserable inhabitants;
of wasteness and desolation to the whole land, to Jerusalem, the temple, and all the
cities thereof: a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness,
without a gleam of hope, and big with despair: A day of the trumpet and alarm
against the fenced cities, and against the high towers, spreading horror and dismay
on every side. And I will bring distress upon men, perplexed, and not knowing
which way to turn; that they shall walk like blind men, rushing upon their own ruin.
3. Destruction universal and unavoidable will ensue. Their blood shall be poured
out as dust, so profusely, so disregarded; and their flesh as the dung; their carcases
left unburied on the earth. either their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver
them in the day of the Lord's wrath; for in that day they profit not: but the whole
land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy; so furious that nothing can stay
the raging flames: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in
the land, and leave them neither root nor branch. ote; It is a fearful thing indeed
to fall into the hands of a jealous God.
4. Sin, sin, that accursed thing, is the cause of all this misery. Because they have
sinned against the Lord; this is the provocation, and the sting of every affliction: it is
this which puts the worm that never dies into the conscience, and kindles the flames
which never can be quenched. O sin, sin, what hast thou done!
TRAPP, "Verse 15
Zephaniah 1:15 That 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,

164. Ver. 15. That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress] By this
synathroismos, or heap of words, the prophet would frighten and arouse these dead
and indolent sinners, settled upon their lees, so wedded and wedged to their wicked
practices that nothing can sunder them but an extraordinary touch from the hand
of Heaven. See Joel 2:1-3 cf. Amos 5:18-20, {See Trapp on "Amos 5:18"} {See Trapp
on "Amos 5:19"} {See Trapp on "Amos 5:20"} and consider what the terror of the
Lord’s last day will be.
CO STABLE, "Verse 15-16
The prophet wanted to emphasize the danger his complacent hearers faced even
more strongly. He described the effects of the day of the Lord on people by using
five synonymous word pairs. If would be a day marked by emotional distress and
anguish as well as physical destruction and devastation. The prophet described the
terror as darkness and gloom, and clouds and blackness. Trumpet blast and battle
cry picture the tumult of that day. The fortified cities of Judah would face invasion,
and the high corner towers of their walls would come under siege.
PETT, "Zephaniah 1:15
“That day is a day of wrath,
A day of trouble and distress,
A day of ruin and desolation,
A day of darkness and gloom,
A day of clouds and thick darkness.
A day of the trumpet and alarm
Against the fenced cities
And against the high battlements.”
This is always the pattern of ‘a day of YHWH’, for days of YHWH are days when
He turns man’s evil towards bringing about the final good. Zephaniah, although
speaking of a soon coming event, may well have patterned his description on
descriptions of both past prophecies relating to the near future, and those referring
directly to the eschatological day of YHWH (e.g. Isaiah 13:6-13; Ezekiel 7:5-9; Joel
1:15; Joel 2:1-2; Amos 5:16-20). Indeed as far as he was concerned it might well
have been that the eschatological day of YHWH would commence around the same
time. But he does not say so. His ‘day of YHWH’ on Judah and Jerusalem and
surrounding nations is not worldwide.
‘Days of YHWH’ are first of all ‘days of wrath’. God’s anger at man’s sin goes
parallel with man’s anger and fury revealed on earth. But they are in total contrast,
for they are at opposite ends of the scale. Man’s anger is uncontrolled, bitter,
vengeful, greedy. God’s anger is tightly controlled. It is describing His sense of the
way in which sin violates everything that is good. Its aim is to remove sin and
forgive the repentant. His anger is against man in sin. Man longs to destroy. God
longs to redeem. He seeks nothing for Himself. He seeks only the removal of the
curse of sin on creation. Man thinks he is fulfilling his own will, and to a certain
extent it is true. But in the end he is but the instrument of the wrath of God against
sin, for God will not allow sin to get out of control. Man’s purpose is for his own

165. ends. It is totally selfish and he ignores the hurt he causes. God’s purpose is good,
and in the end He bore in Himself the consequences of that sin.
God’s wrath is never undeserved. These who will be treated violently are themselves
violent, or live among the violent, and the consequences they receive are in the end
the consequences of their own violence, or of their own indifference. We must not
overlook the fact that all are involved in the sin, even the non-violent. Each in his
own way behaves selfishly and without consideration towards others. Each
contributes to the general ill-will. Even today men and women may give great
consideration to good causes, but in their private lives there has never been a time
when people were less considerate or thoughtful towards each other.
‘A day of trouble and distress, a day of ruin and desolation, a day of darkness and
gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness.’ This is how God’s wrath is experienced.
Trouble and distress, ruin and desolation, darkness and gloom, clouds and thick
darkness. Man feels his way and is lost. He cannot see. And because the means that
God uses are human the distress reaches all. However, He knows how to keep His
people in the day of trouble, and acts accordingly (Psalms 50:15). In the end not a
hair of their head will perish (Luke 21:18). Meanwhile they are assured that the
chastening and tribulation will be for their good (Deuteronomy 8:5-6; Psalms 94:11-
13; Proverbs 3:11-12; Hebrews 12:11; Romans 5:3-5).
‘A day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities and against the high
battlements.’ It is made clear of what this day consists. Invasion, siege and
destruction. This is not the final judgment. It is judgment along the way, man’s
inhumanity revealed against man.
So Judah and Jerusalem were shortly to face the day of God’s wrath, and when the
unbelievable happened, and the walls of Jerusalem fell, and the temple was
destroyed, and they were carried off in chains to Babylon, those who knew God
would recognise that His hand was with them even in this, for had He not
forewarned them through the prophets of what would happen?
WHEDO , "Verse 15-16
15, 16. “In order to depict more fully the terrible character of this day, Zephaniah
crowds together in Zephaniah 1:15-16 all the words supplied by the language to
describe the terror of the judgment.”
Day of wrath — A day on which the wrath of Jehovah will manifest itself against
everything that is impure and sinful (see on ahum 1:2). The effects of this
manifestation are described in the rest of the verse (compare Isaiah 22:5).
1. Trouble and distress — Men will not know what to do (Job 15:24).
2. Wasteness and desolation — The land will be wasted and thus share in the
judgment (Job 38:27).

166. 3. Darkness… gloominess,… clouds… thick darkness — If meant to be understood
literally, the words express the thought that nature also will be affected by the
terrible judgment (see on Joel 2:2; Joel 2:30-31); they might, however, be used
figuratively (see on Amos 5:18). Zephaniah 1:16 shows that war will be the means of
executing the judgment.
Trumpet — Better, horn (see on Hosea 5:8).
Alarm — The same word is translated “shouting” in Amos 1:14; Amos 2:2 (see
there). The shouting of the attacking soldiers and the sound of the signal horns will
be heard everywhere.
Fenced cities — Of Judah (compare Isaiah 2:15; Micah 5:11).
High towers — R.V., “battlements.” The corners and battlements of the walls
surrounding the cities (2 Chronicles 26:15).
PULPIT, "That day is a day of wrath; Vulgate, Dies irae, dies illa, words which
form the commencement of the famous hymn. The better to describe the terrible
nature of the judgment, the prophet crowds together all available expressions of
terror and calamity. First, it is a day when God's anger shall blaze forth (Isaiah
9:18). Of trouble and distress. In its effects upon sinners (Job 15:24). Of wasteness
and desolation. As if things returned to the primeval chaos (Genesis 1:2; comp. Job
30:3; Job 38:27, where there is a similar combination; see note on ahum 2:10). Of
darkness and gloominess (Joel 2:2; Amos 5:18, Amos 5:20). Of clouds and thick
darkness (Deuteronomy 4:11; comp. Habakkuk 3:11).
16 a day of trumpet and battle cry
against the fortified cities
and against the corner towers.
BAR ES, "A day of the trumpet and alarm - o that is, of the loud blast of the
trumpet, which sounds alarm and causes it. The word is especially the shrill loud noise
of the trumpet (for sacred purposes in Israel itself, as ruling all the movements of the
tabernacle and accompanying their feasts); then also of the “battle cry.” They had not

167. listened to the voice of the trumpet, as it called them to holy service; now they shall hear
“the voice of the Archangel and the trump of God” 1Th_4:16.
Against the high towers - Literally, “corners” , and so “corner-towers.” This
peculiarity describes Jerusalem, whose walls “were made artificially standing in a line
curved inwards, so that the flanks of assailants might be exposed.” By this same name
Jdg_20:2; 1Sa_14:38; Isa_19:13; Zec_10:4 are called the mighty men and chiefs of the
people, who, humanly speaking, hold it together and support it; on these chiefs in
rebellion against God, whether devils or evil men, shall punishment greatly fall.
GILL, "A day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities,.... The
trumpet of the enemy, sounding the alarm of war against the fenced cities of Judea,
which were taken before Jerusalem; calling and gathering the soldiers together, and
animating them to the assault of them; and blowing them in a way of triumph; and as
expressive of victory, having got possession of them:
and against the high towers; or "corners" (x); towers being usually built corner-wise,
and full of corners, and on the corners of walls of cities; sometimes these signify princes,
magistrates, and great men, Zec_10:4.
HE RY 16-17, "It is spoken of as a destroying day, Zep_1:16, Zep_1:17. It shall be
destroying, 1. To places, even the strongest and best fortified: A day of the trumpet and
alarm against the fenced cities, to break into them, and against the high towers, to
bring them down; for what forts, what fences, can hold out against the wrath of God? 2.
To persons (Zep_1:17): “I will bring distress upon men, the strongest and stoutest of
men; their hearts and hands shall fail them; they shall walk like blind men, wandering
endlessly, because they have sinned against the Lord.” Note, Those that walk as bad
men will justly be left to walk as blind men, always in the dark, in doubt and danger,
without any guide or comfort, and falling at length into the ditch. Because they have
sinned against the Lord he will deliver them into the hands of cruel enemies, that shall
pour out their blood as dust, so profusely, and with as little regret, and their flesh shall
be thrown as dung upon the dunghill.
JAMISO , "the trumpet — namely, of the besieging enemy (Amo_2:2).
alarm — the war shout [Maurer].
towers — literally, “angles”; for city walls used not to be built in a direct line, but with
sinuous curves and angles, so that besiegers advancing might be assailed not only in
front, but on both sides, caught as it were in a cul-de-sac; towers were built especially at
the angles. So Tacitus describes the walls of Jerusalem [Histories, 5.11.7].
COFFMA , "Verse 16
"A day of the trumpet and alarm, against the fortified cities, and against the high
battlements."
All of the places of human security will be useless in the day of God's judgment,
whether in a local and specific judgment like that which came upon Judah forty
years after Zephaniah, or in the day of great terror that is prophesied to conclude

168. human habitation of the earth. The only true security is in the knowledge and
service of God.
TRAPP, "Verse 16
Zephaniah 1:16 A day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities, and
against the high towers.
Ver. 16. A day of the trumpet] With its horrid taratantara and alarm; not of those
that shout and praise God, neither with a noise of joy and triumph, as umbers
23:21, Psalms 67:5, Ezra 3:11-12; but of those that shout with broken sounds in the
day of battle, as Amos 1:14, in classico, in a war trumpet with a vociferation and
horrible howling, such as the Turks to this day make when they storm a city.
Against the fenced cities, and against the high towers] Wherein ye trust, but in vain.
These high towers were built at the corners of the walls. Hence the Hebrew text here
hath it, Against the high corners. Great men and such as bear up the weight of the
commonwealth are sometimes called by this name, 1 Samuel 14:38. Draw ye near
hither, all ye chief of the people: Heb. All ye corners. See the like Zechariah 10:4,
20:2. either men nor means were ever true to those that trusted them. Our help is
in the name of the Lord, that strong tower whereto the righteous run and are safe,
Proverbs 18:10.
PULPIT, "A day of the trumpet and alarm. "Alarm" means "the sound of alarm."
Among the Jews trumpets were used to announce the festivals ( umbers 29:1), and
to give the signal for battle or of the approach of an enemy (Jeremiah 4:5, Jeremiah
4:19; Ezekiel 33:4). Here it is the signal of destruction (Amos 2:2). The fenced cities.
The strongest fortresses shall feel the irresistible attack (Micah 5:11). The high
towers. These are the turrets built at the angles of the walls for the better defence of
the city, and to annoy the besiegers (Zephaniah 3:6). LXX; ἐπὶ τὰς γωνίας τὰς
ὑψηλάς, "upon the lofty angles;" Vulgate, super angulos excelsos. Others take the
words to mean "the battlements" on the walls. Henderson quotes Taeitus's
description of the later walls of Jerusalem, "Duos colles immensum editos
claudebant muri per artem obliqui aut introrsus sinuati, ut latera oppugnantium ad
ictus patescerent" ('Hist.,' 5.11).
17 “I will bring such distress on all people
that they will grope about like those who are
blind,
because they have sinned against the Lord.

169. Their blood will be poured out like dust
and their entrails like dung.
BAR ES, "I will bring distress upon men - I will hem them in, in anguish on all
sides. God Himself shall meet them with His terrors, wherever they turn. “I will hem
them in, that they may find it so” .
That they shall walk like blind men - Utterly bereft of counsel, seeing no more
than the blind which way to turn, grasping blindly and franticly at anything, and going
on headlong to their own destruction. So God forewarned them in the law; “Thou shalt
grope at noon day, as the blind gropeth in darkness” Jer. 10:29; and Job, of the wicked
generally, “They meet with the darkness in the day-time, and grope in the noon-day as in
the night” Job_5:14; and, “They grope in the dark without light, and He maketh them to
stagger like a drunken man” Job_12:25; and Isaiah foretelling of those times, “We grope
for the wall, as the blind; and we grope, as if we had no eyes; we stumble in the noon-day
as in the night. Because they have sinned against the Lord” Isa_59:10, and so He hath
turned their wisdom into foolishness, and since they have despised Him, He hath made
them objects of contempt. “Their blood shall be poured out like dust” 1Sa_2:30, as
abundant and as valueless; utterly disregarded by Him, as Asaph complains, “their blood
have they shed like water” Psa_79:3; contemptible and disgusting as what is vilest;
“their flesh as the dung,” refuse, decayed, putrefied, offensive, enriching by its decay the
land, which had been the scene of their luxuries and oppressions. Yet, the most offensive
disgusting physical corruption is but a faint image of the defilement of sin. This
punishment, in which the carrion remains should be entombed only in the bowels of
vultures and dogs, was especially threatened to Jehoiakim; “He shall be buried with the
burial of an ass, dragged and cast forth beyond the gates of Jerusalem” Jer_22:19.
CLARKE, "They shall walk like blind men - Be in the most perplexing doubt
and uncertainty; and while in this state, have their blood poured out by the sword of
their enemies, and their flesh trodden under foot.
GILL, "And I will bring distress upon men,.... Not upon men in general, but
particularly on the men of Judea, and inhabitants of Jerusalem; and especially those that
were in the fenced cities and high towers; and who might think themselves safe and
secure; but, being besieged, should be distressed with famine and pestilence, and with
the enemy; and more especially when stormed, and a breach made, and the enemy just
entering:
that they shall walk like blind men; not knowing which way to go, where to turn
themselves, what methods to take, or course to steer, no more than a blind man. The
phrase is expressive of their being at their wits' ends, void of all thought and
consultation:

170. because they have sinned against the Lord; and therefore he gives them up, not
only into the hand of the enemy, but unto an infatuation of spirit, and a judicial
blindness of mind:
and their blood shall be poured out as dust; in great quantities, like that, without
any regard to it, without showing any mercy, and as if it was of no more value than the
dust of the earth. The Targum is,
"their blood shall be poured out into the dust;''
or on it, and be drunk up by it:
and their flesh as the dung; or their carcasses, as the same paraphrase; that is, their
dead bodies shall lie unburied, and rot, and putrefy, and shall be cast upon fields like
dung, to fatten them. The word for "flesh", in the Hebrew language, signifies bread or
food; because dead bodies are food for worms; but in the Arabic language, as Aben Ezra
and Jarchi observe, it signifies "flesh".
JAMISO , "like blind men — unable to see whither to turn themselves so as to
find an escape from existing evils.
flesh — Hebrew, “bread”; so the Arabic term for “bread” is used for “flesh” (Mat_
26:26).
K&D 17-18, "In the midst of this tribulation the sinners will perish without counsel or
help. Zep_1:17. “And I make it strait for men, and they will walk like blind men,
because they have sinned against Jehovah; and their blood will be poured out like dust,
and their flesh like dung. Zep_1:18. Even their silver, even their gold, will not be able to
save them on the day of Jehovah's fury, and in the fire of His wrath will the whole earth
be devoured; for He will make an end, yea a sudden one, to all the inhabitants of the
earth.” ‫ּתי‬‫ר‬ ֵ‫צ‬ ֲ‫ה‬ַ‫ו‬ reminds of the threat of Moses in Deu_28:52, to which Zephaniah alluded
in Zep_1:16. And in ‫ים‬ ִ‫ר‬ְ‫ו‬ ִ‫ע‬ ַⅴ ‫כוּ‬ ְ‫ֽל‬ ָ‫ה‬ the allusion to Deu_28:29 is also unmistakeable. To walk
like the blind, i.e., to seek a way out of the trouble without finding one. This distress God
sends, because they have sinned against Him, by falling away from Him through idolatry
and the transgression of His commandments, as already shown in Zep_1:4-12. But the
punishment will be terrible. Their blood will be poured out like dust. The point of
comparison is not the quantity, as in Gen_13:16 and others, but the worthlessness of
dust, as in 2Ki_13:7 and Isa_49:23. The blood is thought as little of as the dust which is
trodden under foot. Le
chūm, which occurs again in Job_20:23, means flesh (as in the
Arabic), not food. The verb shâphakh, to pour out, is also to be taken per zeugma in
connection with this clause, though without there being any necessity to associate it with
2Sa_20:10, and regard le
chūm as referring to the bowels. For the fact itself, compare
1Ki_14:10 and Jer_9:21. In order to cut off all hope on deliverance from the rich and
distinguished sinners, the prophet adds in Zep_1:18 : Even with silver and gold will they
not be able to save their lives. The enemy will give no heed to this (cf. Isa_13:17; Jer_
4:30; Eze_7:19) in the day that the Lord will pour out His fury upon the ungodly, to

171. destroy the whole earth with the fire of His wrathful jealousy (cf. Deu_4:24). By kol-
hâ'ârets we might understand the whole of the land of Judah, if we looked at what
immediately precedes it. But if we bear in mind that the threat commenced with
judgment upon the whole earth (Zep_1:2, Zep_1:3), and that it here returns to its
starting-point, to round off the picture, there can be no doubt that the whole earth is
intended. The reason assigned for this threat in Zep_1:18 is formed after Isa_10:23; but
the expression is strengthened by the use of ‫ה‬ ָ‫ל‬ ָ‫ה‬ ְ‫ב‬ִ‫־נ‬ ְ‫ך‬ፍ instead of ‫ה‬ ָ‫צ‬ ָ‫ר‬ ֱ‫ח‬ֶ‫נ‬ְ‫,ו‬ the word round in
Isaiah. Kâlâh: the finishing stroke, as in Isaiah l.c. (see at Nah_1:8). ְ‫ך‬ፍ, only, equivalent
to “not otherwise than,” i.e., assuredly. ‫ה‬ ָ‫ל‬ ָ‫ה‬ ְ‫ב‬ִ‫נ‬ is used as a substantive, and is synonymous
with behâlâh, sudden destruction, in Isa_65:23. The construction with 'ēth accus. as in
Nah_1:8.
CALVI , "He confirms what I have already stated—that though other enemies, the
Assyrians or Chaldeans, attacked the Jews, yet God would be the principal leader of
the war. God then claims here for himself what the Jews transferred to their earthly
enemies: and the Prophet has already often called it the day of Jehovah; for God
would then make known his power, which had been a sport to them. He therefore
declares in this place, that he would reduce man to distress, so that the whole nation
would walk like the blind —that, being void of counsel, they would stumble and fall,
and not be able to proceed in their course: for they are said to go astray like the
blind, who see no end to their evils, who find no means to escape ruin, but are held
as it were fast bound. And we must ever bear in mind what I have already said—
that the Jews were inflated with such pride, that they heedlessly despised all the
Prophets. Since then they were thus wise in themselves, God denounces blindness on
them.
He subjoins the reason, Because they had acted impiously towards Jehovah (86) By
these words he confirms what I have already explained—that the intermediate
causes are not to be considered, though the Chaldeans took vengeance on the Jews;
for there is a higher principle, and another cause of this evil, even the contempt of
God and of his celestial truth; for they had acted impiously towards God. And by
these words the Prophet reminds the Jews, that no alleviation was to be expected, as
they had not only men hostile to them, but God himself, whom they had extremely
provoked.
Hence he adds, Poured forth shall be your blood as dust (87) They whom God
delivered up to extreme reproach were deserving of this, because he had been
despised by them. Their flesh, (88) he says, shall be as dung. ow, we know how
much the Jews boasted of their preeminence; and God had certainly given them
occasion to boast, had they made a right and legitimate use of his benefits; but as
they had despised him, they deserved in their turn to be exposed to every ignominy
and reproach. Hence the Prophet here lays prostrate all their false boastings by
which they were inflated; for they wished to be honorable, while God was despised
by them. At last he adds—

172. For against Jehovah have they sinned.
—Ed.
COFFMA , "Verse 17
"And I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like blind men, because
they have sinned against Jehovah; and their blood shall be poured out as dust, and
their flesh as dung."
Modern men reject any conception of an eternal judgment, but in doing so they
overlook one thing. Christ, the sovereign head of our holy religion, emphatically
endorsed and expanded the very conception that is found here in Zephaniah and in
the other prophets. The reason for the universal destruction accompanying that day
is the rebellion of men against their God and Creator. In rejecting the very reason
for which they were created, men, as a result, lose all cosmic and eternal value.
Their blood and flesh alone, unadorned by a soul in tune with God, becomes as
worthless as dust, fit only for a sewer. This verse is a promise that God will enforce
such a judgment upon the wicked.
TRAPP, "Verse 17
Zephaniah 1:17 And 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.
Ver. 17. And I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like blind men] The
Dutch have a proverb, God puts out the eyes of him whom he intendeth to destroy;
i.e. he besots and infatuates them, they shall be consilii et auxilii inopes: in rebus
liquidis aqua haerebit: they grope for the wall like the blind, they grope as if they
had no eyes: they stumble at noon day as in the night; they are in desolate places as
dead men, Isaiah 59:10. This was long before threatened, Deuteronomy 28:28-29.
Because they have sinned against the Lord] Sin is the mother of misery. See my
Lovetokens.
And their blood shall be poured out as dust] Than which nothing is more vile and
abject; the enemy shall make no more of spilling their blood than of sprinkling a
little dust, Copiosissime et abiectissime most richly and lowly. (Turner.)
And their flesh as dung] Spread upon the land to manure it. The Hebrew word for
flesh here may seem to signify worms’ meat. Our bodies are no better, why then do
we pamper and pink them up?

173. ELLICOTT, "(17) Walk like blind men.—i.e., groping about in fancied insecurity.
The metaphor is taken from Deuteronomy 28:29. Their blood shall be poured out as
recklessly as dust, and their flesh cast aside like the vilest refuse. Compare the
sentence on Jehoiakim (Jeremiah 22:19): “He shall be buried with the burial of an
ass,” &c.
BE SO , "Verse 17-18
Zephaniah 1:17-18. I will bring distress, &c., that they shall walk as blind men — I
will bring them into such straits that they shall no more know whither to turn
themselves, or which way to go for safety, than if they were blind: compare
Deuteronomy 28:29, and Isaiah 59:10; in both which places the image is heightened
by the circumstance of groping, or stumbling, like the blind, even at noon-day. And
their blood shall be poured out as dust — That is, as if it were of no value at all; and
their flesh as dung — The inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be slain in the streets of the
city, and their carcasses left there to rot and putrefy. either their silver nor gold
shall deliver them — This is spoken of the merchants, and other rich citizens. The
whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy — God’s vengeance is
frequently compared to fire: see ahum 1:6. This, it is here threatened, should
consume the land and its inhabitants for their heinous offences, and chiefly for their
idolatry; because that sin gives that honour which is only due to the one living and
true God, to images, or fictitious gods, and therefore, in a peculiar manner,
intrenches on God’s glory; is so contrary in its nature to the truth and fitness of
things, and to all that is reasonable, just, and proper; has so great a tendency to
corrupt and debase men’s minds, and the practice of it is so unfit in every point of
view, that the Scriptures, to give men some idea how odious it is, and what a great
provocation to the Most High, represent him as jealous of having that honour which
is only due to him, given to another.
CO STABLE, "The Lord would distress His people so severely that they would
grope around as though they were blind. He would do this because they had sinned
against Him (cf. Deuteronomy 28:28-29). Their precious blood would lie all over the
ground like common dust, and their dead flesh would lie in the streets like putrid,
decaying dung.
"Humans may categorize their sins into the serious, the mediocre, and the
insignificant. To Zephaniah (see James 2:10-11) the mere fact of sin excited and
merited the whole weight of divine rage. The simple statement "they have sinned" is
sufficient." [ ote: Motyer, p924.]
PETT, "Zephaniah 1:17-18
“And I will bring distress on men, that they shall walk as blind men ,
Because they have sinned against YHWH.
And their blood will be poured out as dust,
And their flesh as dung.
either their silver nor their gold will be able to deliver them,
In the day of YHWH’s wrath.

174. But the whole land will be devoured by the fire of his jealousy,
For he will make an end,
Yes a terrible end,
Of all those who dwell in the land.”
Again the description is vivid. Men distressed, stumbling blindly along. ‘YHWH will
smite you with madness, and with blindness, and with astonishment, and you will
grope at noonday, as the blind grope in darkness, and you will not prosper in your
ways’ (Deuteronomy 28:28-29). They will grope first amid the blood and the ruins,
the smoke and the devastation, blinded by grief and sorrow, and then in the chains
of captivity as they are forced along, or as they flee for their lives with the little that
they can carry. And he stresses that it is all because they have sinned against God.
‘And their blood will be poured out as dust, and their flesh as dung.’ Many will
become a part of the earth from which they came, their blood joining the dust, their
rotting bodies acting as manure to the earth.
Their wealth, for which many of them had lived, will do them no good. Once the
enemy approach it is useless. It may buy a dead rat or two in the siege, but in the
end it will all be lost. What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his
own soul?
‘But the whole land (earth) will be devoured by the fire of His jealousy, for He will
make an end, yes a terrible end, of all those who dwell in the land (earth).’ The
whole land is going to be affected. It will be devoured by the fire of His jealousy. His
jealousy arises from the fact that they have sought other gods, gods represented by
earthly, debased creatures, and by silver and gold, which drag them downwards
instead of lifting them upwards.
For He is jealous for their good, for their well-being, for their deliverance. He knows
that such gods can only drag them downwards deeper and deeper into sin. And He
is jealous for His own true people who have remained faithful through all the
persecutions of the years, who have suffered injustice, maltreatment and ignominy.
Without this dreadful judgment this would have continued into the future. In the
midst of judgment God is delivering His own.
But should we translate ‘land’ as ‘earth’? It would make little difference. For to
Zephaniah what the invader would do was to almost the whole known earth of his
day. But there is a deliberate localisation. In chapter two further peoples and
countries will be named, in a wide but limited area, in Canaan, Assyria and the
Sudan. This is not the eschatological judgment of the last days. While a pattern of it,
and widespread, it is localised and limited.
WHEDO , "Verse 17
17. The awfulness and suddenness of the calamity will throw the inhabitants into
helpless confusion.
Distress — Anxiety, terror, perplexity.

175. Walk like blind men — They will look for a way out of the tribulation, but in their
perplexity they grope around like blind men, unable to find one (compare
Deuteronomy 28:29).
Because they have sinned — The judgment is the result of the sins described in
Zephaniah 1:4-13.
Their blood shall be poured out as dust — The point of comparison is worthlessness.
Human blood will be considered of no more value than the dust trodden under foot;
hence it will be poured out wantonly. The last clause expresses a similar thought.
Their flesh as the dung — The word translated “flesh” occurs again only in Job
20:23; its meaning is not certain, but the ancient versions favor the English
translation. Some have suggested the translation “intestines” or “bowels,” which
would be very appropriate here, but that translation has little support. Others
render it “sap” (blood), in parallelism with “blood” in the preceding clause, while
some change the Hebrew word to get this meaning. A very ingenious emendation is
that of Bachmann, who reads the last clause, “and they shall lick water like camels.”
In the absence of conclusive evidence to the contrary, it may be best to retain the
meaning given to the word by the English translators, which gives acceptable sense.
The bodies of the slain will be cast forth like dung (compare Amos 8:3).
PULPIT, "In this storming of cities and universal ruin, sinners shall perish without
hope. I will bring distress upon men. I will drive them into the utmost straits (comp.
Deuteronomy 28:52, Deuteronomy 28:53). They shall walk like blind men. ot
knowing where they go in their terror and confusion, seeking a way of escape and
finding none (see Deuteronomy 28:29, on which this passage is founded; comp. Job
5:14; Isaiah 59:10). Because they have sinned, as shown in vers. 4-12. Their blood
shall be poured out as dust. The point of comparison is rather in the worthlessness
than in the abundance of dust. Bloodshed is as little regarded as dust that is trodden
under foot. The comparison with water is found elsewhere (cf. Psalms 79:3). Their
flesh as the dung. The verb from the preceding clause may be taken by zeuguna
with this clause; then the meaning is that their dead bodies are left unburied to rot
on the ground (Jeremiah 9:22). Or the substantive verb may be supplied (comp. Job
20:7).
BI 17-18, "The day of the Lord is at hand.
The day of war, the day of horrors
The war day is represented here—
I. As a day of enormous sacrifice.
1. Sacrifice of life. Among several classes.
(1) Royalty.
(2) Nobility.

176. (3) Traders.
(4) The masses.
2. Sacrifice of property.
II. As a day of Divine retribution. All the horrors of war are here represented as
judgments from the Almighty. In using war as a punishment for sin it may be observed—
1. That all who perish in war righteously deserve their fate.
2. That warriors, in executing the Divine justice, demonstrate the enormity of the
evil requiring punishment.
3. War, as an officer of Divine justice, reveals the amazing freedom allowed to the
sinner in this world, and God’s controlling power over hostile forces. (Homilist.)
Zephaniah 1:17
They shall walk like blind men.
The sinner a blind traveller
The sinner is on a journey, step by step he is moving on to a destination. But how does
he walk? The text tells us as a blind man. How does the blind man walk?
I. Unnaturally. Though a few men may be born blind, vision is one of the chief attributes
of humanity. Without the human eye all the beauties of nature would go for nothing.
Blindness is unnatural. So is sin. The life of sin is a life of unnaturalness.
II. Privationally. What does the blind lose? The great world of beauty and sublimity, the
great firmament of burning worlds, and all the exquisite and exhilarating sensations of
vision are excluded from him. What does the sinner lose? Peace of conscience—harmony
of feeling—fellowship with the Infinite—power over death—a blessed hope of heaven,
etc.
III. Servilely. The blind man must slavishly depend on others to guide him on his way.
We have seen him feeling his way with a stick, led by a little child, and sometimes
dependent even on a dog. The sinner, however he may boast of his independence, is a
slave to the world. He is the servant of sin, a tyrant. He has no true independence.
IV. Perilously. The blind man always feels himself in danger when alone. The sinner’s
walk is perilous indeed. His danger is great—ever accumulating, and ever approaching.
Such then is the walk of the sinner. But moral blindness is worse far than corporeal.
1. The one is a calamity, the other is a crime.
2. The one is to be pitied, the other is to be condemned.
3. The one can be turned to a good account, the other cannot. (Homilist.).

177. 18 either their silver nor their gold
will be able to save them
on the day of the Lord’s wrath.”
In the fire of his jealousy
the whole earth will be consumed,
for he will make a sudden end
of all who live on the earth.
BAR ES, "Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them
in the day of the Lord’s wrath - Gain unjustly gotten was the cause of their
destruction. For, as Ezekiel closes the like description; “They shall cast their silver into
the streets, and their gold shall be removed; their silver and their gold shall not be able
to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the Lord; they shall not satisfy their souls nor
fill their bowels: “because it is the stumbling-block of their iniquity” Eze_7:19. Much less
shall any possession, outward or inward, be of avail in the Great Day; since in death the
rich man’s “pomp shall not follow him” Psa_49:17, and every gift which he has misused,
whether of mind or spirit, even the knowledge of God without doing His will, shall but
increase damnation. “Sinners will then have nothing but their sins.”
Here the prophet uses images belonging more to the immediate destruction; at the
close the words again widen, and belong, in their fullest literal sense, to the Day of
Judgment. “The whole land,” rather, as at the beginning, “the whole earth shall be
devoured by the fire of His jelousy; for He shall make even a speedy riddance of all them
that dwell in the land:” rather, “He shall make an utter, yea altogether a terriffic
destruction of all the dwellers of the earth.” What Nahum had foretold of Nineveh , “He
shall make the place thereof an utter consumption,” that Zephaniah foretells of all the
inhabitants of the world. For what is this, “the whole earth shall be devoured by the fire
of His jealousy,” but what Peter says, “the earth also and the works that are therein shall
be burned up?” 2Pe_3:13. And what is that he says, “He shall make all the dwellers of the
earth an utter, yea altogether a hasty destruction,” but a general judgment of all, who
belong to the world, whose home, citizenship, whose whole mind is in the world, not as
true Christians, who are strangers and pilgrims here, and their “citizenship is in
heaven?” Heb_11:13; Phi_3:20.
These God shall make an utter, terrific, speedy destruction, a living death, so that they
shall at once both be and not be; be, as continued in being; not be, as having no life of
God, but only a continued death in misery. And this shall be through the jealousy of
Almighty God, that divine quality in Him, whereby He loves and wills to be loved, and
endures not those who give to others the love for which He gave so much and which is so
wholly due to Himself Alone. Augustine, Conf. i. 5. p. 3, Oxford Translation: “Thou
demandest my love, and if I give it not, art wroth with me, and threatenest me with

178. grievous woes. Is it then a slight woe to love Thee not?” What will be that anger, which is
Infinite Love, but which becomes, through man’s sin, Hate?
CLARKE, "Their silver nor their gold - In which they trusted, and from which
they expected happiness; these shall not profit them in this awful day. And God will
bring this about speedily; and a speedy riddance - a universal desolation, shall in a short
time take place in every part of the land.
GILL, "Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the
day of the Lord's wrath,.... Which they have gotten in an unjust way, and have
hoarded up, and put their confidence in; these were the lees on which they were settled;
but now, as they would be disregarded by the Lord, as insufficient to atone for their sins,
and appease his wrath, and procure his favour; see Job_36:18 so they would be of no
avail to them, to deliver from their enemies, who would not be bribed therewith to save
their lives; the same is said of the Medes at the taking of Babylon, Isa_13:17,
but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy; his zeal against
sin, and for his own glory, shall burn like fire; which shall consume the whole land, and
all the inhabitants of it, and was not to be stopped by anything that could be done by
them; so furious and raging would it be:
for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land;
burn up at once all the briers and thorns, even all that offend, and do iniquity, and spare
neither root nor branch; or, as when a field is cleared of the stubble on it, after the wheat
is gathered in; or a grain floor of its chaff, after the wheat is separated from it; thus with
the besom of destruction would the Lord sweep away the sinful inhabitants of Judea,
and clear it of them, as he did by the sword, by famine, by pestilence, and by captivity.
HE RY, " The destruction of that day will be unavoidable and universal, Zep_1:18. 1.
There shall be no escaping it by ransom: Neither their silver nor their gold, which they
have hoarded up so covetously against the evil day, or which they have spent so
prodigally to make friends for such a time, shall be able to deliver them in the day of the
Lord's wrath. Another prophet borrowed these words from this, with reference to the
same event, Eze_7:19. Note, Riches profit not in the day of wrath, Pro_11:4. Nay, riches
expose to the wrath of men (Ecc_5:13.), and riches abused to the wrath of God. 2. There
shall be no escaping it by flight or concealment; for the whole land shall be devoured by
the fire of his jealousy, and where then can a hiding-place be found? See what the fire of
God's jealousy is, and what the force of it; it will devour whole lands; how then can
particular persons stand before it? He shall make riddance, a speedy riddance, of all
those that dwell in the land, as the husbandman, when he rids his ground, cuts up all the
briers and thorns for the fire. Note, Sometimes the judgments of God make riddance,
even utter riddance, with sinful nations, a speedy riddance; their destruction is effected,
is completed, in a little time. Let not sinners be laid asleep by the patience of God, for
when the measure of their iniquity is full his justice will both overtake and overcome,
will make quick work and thorough work.
JAMISO , "Neither ... silver nor ... gold shall ... deliver them, etc. — (Pro_

179. 11:4).
fire of his jealousy — (Eze_38:19); His wrath jealous for His honor consuming the
guilty like fire.
make even a speedy riddance of all — rather, a “consummation” (complete
destruction: “full end,” Jer_46:28; Eze_11:13) “altogether sudden” [Maurer]. “A
consumption, and that a sudden one” [Calvin].
CALVI , "He repeats what he has already said—that the helps which the Jews
hoped would be in readiness to prevent God’s vengeance would be vain. For though
men dare not openly to resist God, yet they hope by some winding courses to find
out some way by which they may avert his judgment. As then the Jews, trusting in
their wealth, and in their fortified cities, became insolent towards God, the Prophet
here declares, that neither gold nor silver should be a help to them. Let them, he
says, accumulate wealth; though by the mass of their gold and silver they form high
mountains for themselves, yet they shall not be able to turn aside the hand of God,
nor be able to deliver themselves,—and why? He repeats again the same thing, that
it would be the day of wrath. We indeed know, that the most savage enemies are
sometimes pacified by money, for avarice mitigates their cruelty; but the Prophet
declares here, that as God would be the ruler in that war, there would be no
redemption, and therefore money would be useless: for God could by no means
receive them into favor, except they repented and truly humbled themselves before
him.
He therefore adds, that the land would be devoured by the fire of God’s jealousy, or
indignation. He compares God’s wrath to fire; for no agreement can be made when
fire rages, but the more materials there are the more will there be to increase the
fire. So then the Prophet excludes the Jews from any hope of deliverance, except
they reconciled themselves to God by true and sincere repentance; for a
consummation, he says, he will make as to all the inhabitants of the land, and one
indeed very quick or speedy. (89) In short, he means, that as the Jews had hardened
themselves against every instruction, they would find God’s vengeance to be such as
would wholly consume them, as they would not anticipate it, but on the contrary
enhance it by their pride and stupidity, and even deride it. ow follows—
18. either their silver nor their gold
Shall be able to deliver them
In the day of the extreme-wrath of Jehovah;
By the fire of his jealousy
Shall be consumed the whole land;
For an end, doubtless sudden, will he make,
As to all the inhabitants of the land.
COFFMA , "Verse 18
" either their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of
Jehovah's wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy;
'for he will make an end, yea, a terrible end, of all them that dwell in the land."

180. " either their silver nor their gold ..." All of the material things upon which men set
their hearts are worthless in any eternal sense. The great judgment of God will not
be conducted upon the basis or what any man has, but upon the basis of what he is,
and whether or not he loves and serves God.
"Whole land shall be devoured by fire ..." The apostle Peter elaborated this
description of the earth's destruction by fire in 2 Peter 3:10-13, a thing that the
apostle most surely would not have done without the certain knowledge that what he
wrote was in full harmony with the will and teachings of the Saviour of all men.
"End ... of all them that dwell in the land ..." Our version (American Standard
Version) is weak in this passage. The Revised Standard Version is surely correct in
the rendition, "In the fire of his jealous wrath, all the earth shall be consumed; for a
full, yea, sudden end, he will make of all the inhabitants of the earth." It is thus
clear that the final judgment is in view, for the totality of men will be involved in it.
It is a marvel to some that Zephaniah seems to confuse the end of Judah and the end
of the world; but, as Carson noted: "The near and the distant often merge as the
prophets survey the horizon of events. Events which are historically separate are
often seen in a timeless sequence." [38]
The powerful message of these final verses of Zephaniah 1 should be heeded by all
men. God's eternal judgment will most certainly occur. There will be a time in
history when the Son of Man shall suddenly appear in the vault of heaven with ten
thousand of his angels, taking vengeance upon them that know not God and obey
not the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. It will a time of "bad news" for Adam's
rebellious race. "All the tribes of the earth shall mourn over him when they see the
Son of man coming with the clouds of heaven in power and great glory" (Matthew
24:29,30). All of the smooth infidels who have scoffed at holy religion will
dramatically discover their fatal error, and the mightiest of all the earth shall
scream for the rocks and mountains to fall upon them and hide them from the face
of the Lamb and from him that sitteth upon the throne, a throne which they would
not believe even existed!
Yes, preaching on the theme of Eternal Judgment has been grossly abused; and, as
Edgar said:
"Fear that we may be classed with those melodramatic preachers who delight to
portray the tortures of the damned have too easily made us forget this whole
dimension of Biblical preaching."[39]
evertheless, our fears of human disapproval ought not to interfere with loyalty in
regard to what Jesus Christ himself plainly taught. There can be no faithfulness to
Christ without preaching the doctrine of Eternal Judgment.
The thunders of the Great Assize most certainly reverberate throughout the
dramatic chapters of Zephaniah.
TRAPP, "Verse 18

181. Zephaniah 1:18 either 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.
Ver. 18. either their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of
the Lord’s wrath] "We were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and
gold," 1 Peter 1:18. Money hath drowned many a soul, 1 Timothy 6:9, delivered
none. See Proverbs 11:4, Isaiah 13:17, Ezekiel 7:19. {See Trapp on "Proverbs 11:4"}
It is righteousness, and not riches, that delivereth from death, Proverbs 10:2. Money
can neither pacify God, nor still the conscience, nor stop the enemy’s mouth, but
inflame them rather with an unsatisfiable desire of enjoying all, as Rome did the
Gauls, and Cyprus the Romans (Sextus Rufus); and as the pearls, usually cast out
with the flood, and gathered at the ebb, drew Caesar’s affection for the conquest of
Britain (Sueton.).
But the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy] The sins of God’s
people are not only disobediences, but treacheries, because of the covenant. God is
thereby provoked to jealousy, which "is cruel as the grave," or hard as hell; "the
coals thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame," Song of Solomon
8:6, the word signifies the consuming flame of God.
For he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land] Swept
clean by God with the besom of destruction; so that the land was desolate after
them, Zechariah 7:14. Affliction rose not up the second time, ahum 1:9. See the
notes there, and learn to give God the glory of his severity against sin.
CO STABLE, "The Judeans would not be able to buy themselves out of their
trouble when the Lord poured forth His wrath (cf. Ezekiel 7:19). He would devour
the whole earth with the fire of His jealous rage, jealousy provoked by His people"s
preference for various forms of idolatry ( Zephaniah 1:4-6). He would destroy
completely and terribly all the inhabitants of the earth (cf. Zephaniah 1:2-3; cf. Joel
2:1-11).
The comprehensive nature of this judgment suggests that at this point the prophet"s
perspective again lifted to what we can now see will be the eschatological fulfillment
of this prophecy. The Babylonian invasion only previewed it. Another possibility is
that we should understand "all the earth" as referring only to the Promised Land.
However, other descriptions of the worldwide extent of God"s eventual judgment of
sin and sinners in this book and others make this interpretation unattractive.
WHEDO , "18. Ordinarily liberty and safety might be purchased from an invader
by the payment of a heavy tribute, and thus the Egyptians are said to have
purchased their freedom from the Scythians (see p. 511), but in this case gold and
silver will not tempt the divinely appointed executioner (Isaiah 13:17; Ezekiel 7:19;

182. compare Proverbs 11:4).
The whole land — Judah; not “the whole earth,” for in Zephaniah 1:4-18 the
prophet confines himself to Judah and Jerusalem (not so in Zephaniah 3:8).
The fire of his jealousy — See on Joel 2:18. In this case, however, the divine
resentment is aroused not against those who have dishonored his people, but against
his people for dishonoring Jehovah (compare Zephaniah 1:17). While the
devastation is wrought by a hostile army, back of it is Jehovah, who has made the
enemy “the rod of his anger, the staff of his indignation” (Isaiah 10:5).
He shall make even a speedy riddance — Literally, for an end, even a terrible
destruction he shall make. The destruction will be complete (compare ahum 1:8).
Them that dwell in the land — As before, the land of Judah.
PULPIT, " either their silver, etc. They cannot bribe this enemy; their wealth
cannot win for them immunity (Isaiah 13:17; Ezekiel 7:19). The fire of his jealousy
(Zephaniah 3:8). The whole earth (for, as we have seen in Zephaniah 1:2, Zephaniah
1:3, the judgment is universal) shall be punished in the wrath of the Lord, who will
not have the honour which is due to him given to any other. He shall make even a
speedy riddance; more closely, he shall make an end, yea, a speedy end (comp.
ahum 1:8; Isaiah 10:23, which our text imitates). (For the sudden and unexpected
arrival of the day of the Lord, see Luke 17:26, etc.)