Zephaniah 1:7
in Zephaniah 1Be silent in the presence of the Lord GOD, for the Day of the LORD is near. Indeed, the LORD has prepared a sacrifice; He has consecrated His guests.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
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.
KJV
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.
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This verse in Zephaniah 1
Commentary
9 notes on this verse(Verse 7.) Be silent before the face of the Lord God, for the day of the Lord is near, for the Lord has prepared a sacrifice; He has sanctified His called ones. LXX: Fear before the face of the Lord God, for the day of the Lord is near, for the Lord has prepared His victim; He has sanctified His called ones.
This site's exposition
the Lord hath prepared a sacrifice
Hold thy peace answers the noise of idolatrous festival with silence before a different ceremony, the day of the Lord pictured as a sacrificial feast where the Lord himself is the host, Judah the victim, and the invading army the guests he has bidden to the table. The image reverses the temple's own sacrificial system, in which Judah brought the offering, and the bench reads the reversal as deliberate, the covenant people become the meal rather than the worshippers. Habakkuk 2:20's own command to keep silence before the Lord's presence stands near it as the shared prophetic formula it is.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
The day - A day of vengeance from the Lord. A sacrifice - The wicked Jews, whom he will sacrifice by the sword. His guests - summoned the beasts of the field, and the fowls of the air, to eat the flesh, and drink the blood.
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.
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. He will sacrifice them, for it is the day of the Lord's sacrifice (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
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 Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
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 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
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;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
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).
The words behind it
14 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הַ֕ס | has | hush! | H2013 → | |
| מִפְּנֵ֖י | mipenei | from before | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| אֲדֹנָ֣י | ʾadonai | [the] Lord | H136 → | |
| יְהוִ֑ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3069 → | |
| כִּ֤י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| קָרוֹב֙ | karov | [is] near | H7138 → | 77 times |
| י֣וֹם | yom | [the] day of | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| יְהוָ֔ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| הֵכִ֧ין | hekhin | he has prepared | H3559 → | |
| יְהוָ֛ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| זֶ֖בַח | zevach | a sacrifice | H2077 → | |
| הִקְדִּ֥ישׁ | hikdish | he has consecrated | H6942 → | |
| קְרֻאָֽיו׃ | keruav | invited [ones] his | H7121 → |
הַ֕סhush!
hasH2013 →
מִפְּנֵ֖יfrom before
mipeneiH6440 →2123 times
אֲדֹנָ֣י[the] Lord
ʾadonaiH136 →
יְהוִ֑הYahweh
yahwehH3069 →
כִּ֤יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
קָרוֹב֙[is] near
karovH7138 →77 times
י֣וֹם[the] day of
yomH3117 →2304 times
יְהוָ֔הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
הֵכִ֧יןhe has prepared
hekhinH3559 →
יְהוָ֛הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
זֶ֖בַחa sacrifice
zevachH2077 →
הִקְדִּ֥ישׁhe has consecrated
hikdishH6942 →
קְרֻאָֽיו׃invited [ones] his
keruavH7121 →
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
Habakkuk 2:20But the LORD is in His holy temple; let all the earth be silent before Him.
it leads to
- Psalms 46:10
“Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted over the earth.”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Zechariah 2:13
Be silent before the LORD, all people, for He has roused Himself from His holy dwelling.”
- Psalms 11:4
The LORD is in His holy temple; the LORD is on His heavenly throne. His eyes are watching closely; they examine the sons of men.
- Isaiah 6:1
In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted; and the train of His robe filled the temple.
- Jonah 2:7
As my life was fading away, I remembered the LORD. My prayer went up to You, to Your holy temple.
- Psalms 46:10
Through
Zechariah 2:13Be silent before the LORD, all people, for He has roused Himself from His holy dwelling.”
it leads to
- Habakkuk 2:20
But the LORD is in His holy temple; let all the earth be silent before Him.
- Habakkuk 2:20
Through
Zephaniah 1:14The great Day of the LORD is near—near and coming quickly. Listen, the Day of the LORD! Then the cry of the mighty will be bitter.
it leads to
- Ezekiel 30:3
For the day is near, the Day of the LORD is near. It will be a day of clouds, a time of doom for the nations.
- Malachi 4:5
Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and awesome Day of the LORD.
- Ezekiel 30:3
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Zephaniah
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Carl Friedrich Keil, The Twelve Minor Prophets; 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.