Zephaniah 1:5
in Zephaniah 1those who bow on the rooftops to worship the host of heaven, those who bow down and swear by the LORD but also swear by Milcom,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and them that worship the host of heaven upon the housetops; and them that worship, that swear to Jehovah and swear by Malcam;
KJV
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;
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This verse in Zephaniah 1
Commentary
9 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
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:
This site's exposition
the remnant of Baal from this place
on Zephaniah 1:4-6
Baal, the Chemarims, a name the text keeps for the black robed idol priests, the host of heaven worshipped on housetops, and Malcham, the Ammonite Milcom, name four separate cults Judah had absorbed, and the catalogue reads like an inventory of Manasseh's reign that Josiah's reforms had not yet cleared out. Verse 5's second clause is the sharpest stroke, those who swear by the Lord and by Malcham in the same breath, worship divided rather than abandoned, which the bench calls the harder sin to root out. Verse 6 widens the charge from active idolatry to simple neglect, those turned back from the Lord and those who never sought him at all, judged by the same sentence.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 4 and following) And I will stretch out my hand over Judah and over all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and I will destroy from this place the remnants of Baal, and the names of the idolatrous priests together with the priests, and those who worship on the rooftops the host of heaven, and those who worship and swear by the Lord, and swear by Melchom; and those who turn away from the Lord, and those who have not sought the Lord or inquired of him.
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
House-tops - On the flat roofs of their houses. And that swear - That mixt idol-worship, and the worship of the true God; that devote themselves to God, and Baal, or Malchim, that is, Moloch.
); and so he goes on in the rest of the chapter, setting both the judgments before them, that they might prevent them or prepare for them, and the sins that destroy them, that they might judge themselves, and justify God in what was brought upon them. They must hold their peace because they had greatly sinned,
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
And upon them that worship the host of heaven upon the house tops,....
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 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
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, 6, 12; 32:29). swear by the Lord--rather, "swear to JEHOVAH" (2Ch 15:14); solemnly dedicating themselves to Him (compare Isa 48:1;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase+unbalanced-parens
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 5:26 (note).
The words behind it
12 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַמִּשְׁתַּחֲוִ֥ים | hamishtachavim | those [who] bow down | H7812 → | 172 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| הַגַּגּ֖וֹת | hagagot | the roofs | H1406 → | |
| לִצְבָ֣א | litzva' | to [the] host of | H6635 → | 485 times |
| הַשָּׁמָ֑יִם | hashamayim | the heavens | H8064 → | |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַמִּֽשְׁתַּחֲוִים֙ | hamishtachavim | those [who] bow down | H7812 → | 172 times |
| הַנִּשְׁבָּעִ֣ים | hanishbaim | those [who] swear an oath | H7650 → | |
| לַֽיהוָ֔ה | layahweh | to Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| וְהַנִּשְׁבָּעִ֖ים | vehanishbaim | and those [who] swear an oath | H7650 → | |
| בְּמַלְכָּֽם׃ | bemalkam | by Milcom | H4428 → | 2525 times |
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
הַמִּשְׁתַּחֲוִ֥יםthose [who] bow down
hamishtachavimH7812 →172 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
הַגַּגּ֖וֹתthe roofs
hagagotH1406 →
לִצְבָ֣אto [the] host of
litzva'H6635 →485 times
הַשָּׁמָ֑יִםthe heavens
hashamayimH8064 →
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
הַמִּֽשְׁתַּחֲוִים֙those [who] bow down
hamishtachavimH7812 →172 times
הַנִּשְׁבָּעִ֣יםthose [who] swear an oath
hanishbaimH7650 →
לַֽיהוָ֔הto Yahweh
layahwehH3068 →6520 times
וְהַנִּשְׁבָּעִ֖יםand those [who] swear an oath
vehanishbaimH7650 →
בְּמַלְכָּֽם׃by Milcom
bemalkamH4428 →2525 times
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
1 Kings 18:21Then Elijah approached all the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him. But if Baal is God, follow him.” But the people did…
it leads to
- Matthew 6:24
No one can serve two masters: Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 2 Kings 17:41
So these nations worshiped the LORD but also served their idols, and to this day their children and grandchildren continue to do as their fathers did.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Joshua 24:15
But if it is unpleasing in your sight to serve the LORD, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods…
- 1 Corinthians 10:21–22
You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot partake in the table of the Lord and the table of demons too.
- 2 Corinthians 6:14–16
Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership can righteousness have with wickedness? Or what fellowship does light have with darkness?
- Matthew 6:24
Through
Jeremiah 19:13The houses of Jerusalem and the houses of the kings of Judah will be defiled like that place, Topheth—all the houses on whose rooftops they burned incense to all the host of heaven and…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 32:29
And the Chaldeans who are fighting against this city will come in, set it on fire, and burn it, along with the houses of those who provoked Me to anger by burning incense to…
- 2 Kings 23:12
He pulled down the altars that the kings of Judah had set up on the roof near the upper chamber of Ahaz, and the altars that Manasseh had set up in the two courtyards…
- Jeremiah 32:29
Through
2 Kings 17:33They worshiped the LORD, but they also served their own gods according to the customs of the nations from which they had been carried away.
it leads to
- Luke 16:13
No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and…
- Luke 16:13
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Zephaniah
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Zephaniah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; 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.