Zephaniah 1:12
in Zephaniah 1And at that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps and punish the men settled in complacency, who say to themselves, ‘The LORD will do nothing, either good or bad.’
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
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.
KJV
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.
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This verse in Zephaniah 1
Commentary
8 notes on this verseI will search Jerusalem with candles - I will make a universal and 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.
This site's exposition
search Jerusalem with candles
on Zephaniah 1:12-13
Searching Jerusalem with candles pictures the Lord's judgment as a house to house search rather than a blow from a distance, no dark corner of the city's complacency left unlit. The men settled on their lees are wine left too long undisturbed, thickened and stale, a figure the bench reads as spiritual apathy dressed as security, men who have concluded the Lord will do neither good nor evil and so need not be reckoned with. Verse 13's futility curse, houses built but not inhabited, vineyards planted but not drunk from, repeats the covenant sanctions of Deuteronomy 28 and the same judgment Amos pronounces at 5:11, the promised land's blessings turned to labor without reward.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 12.) And it will be in that time, I will search Jerusalem with lamps, and I will visit those who are fixed in their filth; those who say in their hearts, the Lord will not do good, nor will he do evil. LXX: And it will be on that day, I will search Jerusalem with a lamp, and I will avenge against those who despise their guards, and say in their hearts, the Lord will not do good, nor will he do evil. In the time and day of the captivity of Jerusalem by the Babylonians or by the Romans (because they have forsaken the law of the Lord, and acted impiously towards the Lord their Creator), the Lord will search with a lamp all the hidden things of Jerusalem, and he will not allow any to escape unpunished. We read Joseph's histories, and there we find written about sewers, and caves, and caverns, and tombs, where princes and kings and powerful men and priests had hidden themselves in fear of death. And I will visit, he says, upon those who trust in their bodies, and in their strengths, which he scornfully calls filth or sins, in which they have been completely immersed: those who, rejecting providence, have said that neither a good nor an evil God is the author: that is, that he does not render good to the good, nor evil to the evil: but that all things are ruled by chance and carried by uncertain fate. But in the consummation of the world, because it is understood as the day of the Lord, the Lord will search Jerusalem, that is, his Church, with a lamp: and he will avenge himself upon the contemptuous men, who did not want to keep their guard, that is, they despised the commandments of the Lord, and, moreover, by reasoning, they sinned, saying, they blasphemed in their hearts: that doing good would be of no avail, nor would doing evil be harmful, because God would neither reward the good works, nor punish the evil. […]
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
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.
5 And them that worship the host of heaven upon the housetops; and them that worship and that swear by the L ORD , and that swear by Malcham; 6 And them that are turned back from the L ORD ; and those that have not sought the L ORD , nor enquired for him.
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And it shall come to pass at that time, that I will search Jerusalem with candles,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
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; Lu 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).
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1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
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 Php 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. […]
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
I will search Jerusalem with candles I will judge their iniquities strictly.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
you inhabitants of Maktesh The Kidron Valley, which is as deep as a mortar. This is according to Targum Jonathan. from the fish gate This is Acre, situated in the bosom of the sea, where many fish are caught.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
20 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְהָיָה֙ | vehayah | and it will be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| בָּעֵ֣ת | baet | at the time | H6256 → | 296 times |
| הַהִ֔יא | hahi' | <the> that | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| אֲחַפֵּ֥שׂ | ʾachapes | I will search | H2664 → | |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| יְרוּשָׁלִַ֖ם | yerushalim | Jerusalem | H3389 → | 643 times |
| בַּנֵּר֑וֹת | banerot | with <the> lamps | H5216 → | |
| וּפָקַדְתִּ֣י | ufakadti | and I will visit [judgment] | H6485 → | 303 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| הָאֲנָשִׁ֗ים | haanashim | the people | H582 → | |
| הַקֹּֽפְאִים֙ | hakofeim | who are thickening | H7087 → | |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| שִׁמְרֵיהֶ֔ם | shimreihem | lees their | H8105 → | |
| הָאֹֽמְרִים֙ | haomerim | who are saying | H559 → | 5305 times |
| בִּלְבָבָ֔ם | bilvavam | in heart their | H3824 → | |
| לֹֽא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יֵיטִ֥יב | yeitiv | he will do good | H3190 → | |
| יְהוָ֖ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| וְלֹ֥א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יָרֵֽעַ׃ | yarea' | he will do harm | H7489 → |
וְהָיָה֙and it will be
vehayahH1961 →3559 times
בָּעֵ֣תat the time
baetH6256 →296 times
הַהִ֔יא<the> that
hahi'H1931 →1879 times
אֲחַפֵּ֥שׂI will search
ʾachapesH2664 →
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
יְרוּשָׁלִַ֖םJerusalem
yerushalimH3389 →643 times
בַּנֵּר֑וֹתwith <the> lamps
banerotH5216 →
וּפָקַדְתִּ֣יand I will visit [judgment]
ufakadtiH6485 →303 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
הָאֲנָשִׁ֗יםthe people
haanashimH582 →
הַקֹּֽפְאִים֙who are thickening
hakofeimH7087 →
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
שִׁמְרֵיהֶ֔םlees their
shimreihemH8105 →
הָאֹֽמְרִים֙who are saying
haomerimH559 →5305 times
בִּלְבָבָ֔םin heart their
bilvavamH3824 →
לֹֽא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
יֵיטִ֥יבhe will do good
yeitivH3190 →
יְהוָ֖הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
וְלֹ֥אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
יָרֵֽעַ׃he will do harm
yarea'H7489 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Ezekiel 8:12“Son of man,” He said to me, “do you see what the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the darkness, each at the shrine of his own idol? For they are…
it leads to
- Isaiah 29:15
Woe to those who dig deep to hide their plans from the LORD. In darkness they do their works and say, “Who sees us, and who will know?”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Ezekiel 9:9
He replied, “The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is exceedingly great. The land is full of bloodshed, and the city is full of perversity. For they say, ‘The LORD has forsaken…
- Isaiah 29:15
Through
Amos 6:1Woe to those at ease in Zion and those secure on Mount Samaria, the distinguished ones of the foremost nation, to whom the house of Israel comes.
it leads to
- Isaiah 32:9–11
Stand up, you complacent women; listen to me. Give ear to my word, you overconfident daughters.
- James 5:5
You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in the day of slaughter.
- Luke 12:17–20
So he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, since I have nowhere to store my crops?’
- Amos 4:1
Hear this word, you cows of Bashan on Mount Samaria, you women who oppress the poor and crush the needy, who say to your husbands, “Bring us more to drink.”
- Isaiah 32:9–11
Through
Ezekiel 9:9He replied, “The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is exceedingly great. The land is full of bloodshed, and the city is full of perversity. For they say, ‘The LORD has forsaken…
it leads to
- Job 22:13
Yet you say: ‘What does God know? Does He judge through thick darkness?
- Ezekiel 8:12
“Son of man,” He said to me, “do you see what the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the darkness, each at the shrine of his own idol? For they are…
- Job 22:13
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Zephaniah
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Zephaniah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.