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Zephaniah 1:3

in Zephaniah 1

“I will sweep away man and beast; I will sweep away the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, and the idols with their wicked worshipers. I will cut off mankind from the face of the earth,” declares the LORD.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

I will consume man and beast; I will consume the birds of the heavens, and the fishes of the sea, and the stumblingblocks with the wicked; and I will cut off man from off the face of the ground, saith Jehovah.

KJV

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.

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This verse in Zephaniah 1

Commentary

8 notes on this verse

A commentator

Jerome

Commentary on Zephaniah · Written before 420.

(Verse 2, 3.) Gathering I will gather all from the face of the earth, says the Lord, gathering man and beast, gathering the birds of the sky, and the fish of the sea: and the ruins of the wicked will be, and I will destroy men from the face of the earth, says the Lord.

This site's exposition

I will utterly consume all things

on Zephaniah 1:2-3

The command sweeps backward through the creation order itself, man, beast, fowl of the heaven, fish of the sea, undoing Genesis one species by species until only the stumblingblocks with the wicked remain named. The bench reads the language as hyperbole proper to prophetic threat rather than literal annihilation of the animal kingdom, its force falling on Judah's covenant unfaithfulness even as it borrows the vocabulary of universal judgment. Cutting off man from off the land closes the announcement on the same soil the covenant was given for, so the threatened exile reads as land forfeited rather than the world ended.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

), as, in the deluge, every living substance was destroyed that was upon the face of the ground, Gen. vii. 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 of his displeasure against the sin of man, involves them in his punishment.

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens

I will consume man and beast,.... Wicked men for their sins, and beasts for the sins of men; and, as a punishment for them, the creatures whom they have abused to the gratifying of their lusts: I will consume the fowls of the heaven, and the fishes of the sea; so that there shall be none for the use of man, which are both delicate food; the latter were not consumed at the general deluge.

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

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 Nineteenth Century2 voices

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

Enumeration in detail of the "all things" (Zep 1:2; compare Jer 9:10; Ho 4:3). the stumbling-blocks--idols which cause Judah to offend or stumble (Eze 14:3, 4, 7). with the wicked--The idols and their worshippers shall be involved in a common destruction.

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

proposed

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.
1 more voice on this verse

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

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.

The words behind it

19 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • אָסֵ֨ףI will bring to an end

    ʾasefH5486 →7 times

  • אָדָ֜םhuman being

    ʾadamH120 →551 times

  • וּבְהֵמָ֗הand animal

    uvehemahH929 →

  • אָסֵ֤ףI will bring to an end

    ʾasefH5486 →7 times

  • עוֹף־[the] bird[s] of

    ʾof-H5775 →

  • הַשָּׁמַ֙יִם֙the heavens

    hashamayimH8064 →

  • וּדְגֵ֣יand [the] fish<es> of

    udegeiH1709 →

  • הַיָּ֔םthe sea

    haiyamH3220 →396 times

  • וְהַמַּכְשֵׁל֖וֹתand the stumbling-blocks

    vehamakhshelotH4384 →

  • אֶת־with

    ʾet-H854 →

  • הָרְשָׁעִ֑יםthe wicked [people]

    hareshaimH7563 →

  • וְהִכְרַתִּ֣יand I will cut off

    vehikhratiH3772 →288 times

  • אֶת־<obj.>

    ʾet-H853 →10935 times

  • הָאָדָ֗ם<the> humankind

    haadamH120 →551 times

  • מֵעַ֛לfrom on

    mealH5921 →5755 times

  • פְּנֵ֥י[the] surface of

    peneiH6440 →2123 times

  • הָאֲדָמָ֖הthe ground

    haadamahH127 →

  • נְאֻם־[the] utterance of

    neum-H5002 →376 times

  • יְהוָֽה׃Yahweh

    yahwehH3068 →6520 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

18 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Genesis 6:7So the LORD said, “I will blot out man, whom I have created, from the face of the earth—every man and beast and crawling creature and bird of the air—for I am grieved that I have made them.”10 worksHosea 4:3Therefore the land mourns, and all who dwell in it will waste away with the beasts of the field and the birds of the air; even the fish of the sea disappear.9 worksEzekiel 14:17Or if I bring a sword against that land and say, ‘Let a sword pass through it,’ so that I cut off from it both man and beast,5 worksEzekiel 7:19They will throw their silver into the streets, and their gold will seem unclean. Their silver and gold cannot save them in the day of the wrath of the LORD. They cannot satisfy their appetites or fill their stomachs with wealth, for it became the stumbling block that brought their iniquity.4 worksJeremiah 50:3For a nation from the north will come against her; it will make her land a desolation. No one will live in it; both man and beast will flee.”4 worksIsaiah 27:9Therefore Jacob’s guilt will be atoned for, and the full fruit of the removal of his sin will be this: When he makes all the altar stones like crushed bits of chalk, no Asherah poles or incense altars will remain standing.3 works
The other 12 cross-references, with their words ▾
Matthew 23:39For I tell you that you will not see Me again until you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.’”3 worksEzekiel 14:13–21“Son of man, if a land sins against Me by acting unfaithfully, and I stretch out My hand against it to cut off its supply of food, to send famine upon it, and to cut off from it both man and beast,3 worksJeremiah 12:4How long will the land mourn and the grass of every field be withered? Because of the evil of its residents, the animals and birds have been swept away, for the people have said, “He cannot see what our end will be.”3 worksIsaiah 2:18and the idols will vanish completely.3 worksJeremiah 21:6I will strike down the residents of this city, both man and beast. They will die in a terrible plague.’3 worksEzekiel 14:3–7“Son of man, these men have set up idols in their hearts and put wicked stumbling blocks before their faces. Should I consult with them in any way?2 worksZechariah 13:2And on that day, declares the LORD of Hosts, I will erase the names of the idols from the land, and they will no longer be remembered. I will also remove the prophets and the spirit of impurity from the land.2 worksEzekiel 15:6–8Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Like the wood of the vine among the trees of the forest, which I have given to the fire for fuel, so I will give up the people of Jerusalem.2 worksJeremiah 4:23–29I looked at the earth, and it was formless and void; I looked to the heavens, and they had no light.2 worksHosea 14:8O Ephraim, what have I to do anymore with idols? It is I who answer and watch over him. I am like a flourishing cypress; your fruit comes from Me.2 worksRevelation 2:14But I have a few things against you, because some of you hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to place a stumbling block before the Israelites so they would eat food sacrificed to idols and commit sexual immorality.2 worksMicah 5:11–14I will remove the cities of your land and tear down all your strongholds.2 works

The walk

8 stops

Each 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

    Matthew 23:39

    For I tell you that you will not see Me again until you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.’”

    it leads to

    • Psalms 118:26

      Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD. From the house of the LORD we bless you.

    • Matthew 21:9

      The crowds that went ahead of Him and those that followed were shouting: “Hosanna to the Son of David!” “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Hosanna in the highest!”

  • Through

    Ezekiel 7:19

    They will throw their silver into the streets, and their gold will seem unclean. Their silver and gold cannot save them in the day of the wrath of the LORD. They cannot satisfy their…

    it leads to

    • Proverbs 11:4

      Riches are worthless in the day of wrath, but righteousness brings deliverance from death.

    • Zephaniah 1:18

      Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to deliver them on the Day of the LORD’s wrath. The whole earth will be consumed by the fire of His jealousy.” For indeed, He…

    • Luke 12:19–20

      Then I will say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take it easy. Eat, drink, and be merry!”’

    • Ezekiel 14:7

      For when any Israelite or any foreigner dwelling in Israel separates himself from Me, sets up idols in his heart, and puts a wicked stumbling block before his face, and then comes to the…

    • Matthew 16:26

      What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?

  • Through

    Hosea 4:3

    Therefore the land mourns, and all who dwell in it will waste away with the beasts of the field and the birds of the air; even the fish of the sea disappear.

    it leads to

    • Isaiah 24:4–12

      The earth mourns and withers; the world languishes and fades; the exalted of the earth waste away.

Where this verse is studied

About Zephaniah

Zephaniah: the study guide →Read Zephaniah 1 →

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 Calvin, Commentaries on the Twelve Minor Prophets; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in Zephaniah 1 →