Zephaniah 1 · 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.
Zephaniah 1:1, King James Version

Zephaniah 1:1 in other translations

BSBThis is the word of the LORD that came to Zephaniah son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah son of Amon king of Judah:
WEBThe LORD’s word 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.
ASVThe 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.
YLTA word of Jehovah that hath been unto Zephaniah son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezikiah, in the days of Josiah son of Amoz, king of Judah:
DARBYThe word of Jehovah that 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.
BBEThe word of the Lord 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.
WebsterThe word of the LORD which came to 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.

What does Zephaniah 1:1 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown

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.

1. 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.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 1 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.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Zephaniah 1:1-6
Ruin is coming, utter ruin; destruction from the Almighty. The servants of God all proclaim, There is no peace for the wicked. The expressions are figurative, speaking every where desolation; the land shall be left without inhabitants. The sinners to be consumed are, the professed idolaters, and those that worship Jehovah and idols, or swear to the Lord, and to Malcham. Those that think to divide their affections and worship between God and idols, will come short of acceptance with God; for what communion can there be between light and darkness? If Satan have half, he will have all; if the Lord have but half, he will have none. Neglect of God shows impiety and contempt. May none of us be among those who draw back unto perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul.

Matthew Henry, 1706 · public domain

Zephaniah 1:1 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

דְּבַר\־de.var-[the] word ofH1697
יְהוָ֣ה\׀Yah.wehYahwehH3068
אֲשֶׁ֣ר'a.SherwhichH834
הָיָ֗הha.Yahit cameH1961
אֶל\־'el-toH413
צְפַנְיָה֙tze.fan.YahZephaniahH6846
בֶּן\־ben-[the] son ofH1121
כּוּשִׁ֣יku.ShiCushiH3569
בֶן\־ven-[the] son ofH1121
גְּדַלְיָ֔הge.dal.YahGedaliahH1436
בֶּן\־ben-[the] son ofH1121
אֲמַרְיָ֖ה'a.mar.YahAmariahH568
בֶּן\־ben-[the] son ofH1121
חִזְקִיָּ֑הchiz.ki.YahHezekiahH2396
בִּימֵ֛יbi.Meiin [the] days ofH3117
יֹאשִׁיָּ֥הוּyo.shi.Ya.huJosiahH2977
בֶן\־ven-[the] son ofH1121
אָמ֖וֹן'a.MonAmonH526
מֶ֥לֶךְMe.lekh[the] king ofH4428
יְהוּדָֽה\׃ye.hu.DahJudahH3063

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Zephaniah 1:1

  • Jeremiah 1:2

    To whom the word of the Lord came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign.

  • 2 Chronicles 34:1-33

    Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem one and thirty years. And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the ways of David his father, and declined neither to the right hand, nor to the left. For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was yet young, he began to seek after the God of David his father: and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem from the high places, and the groves, and the carved images, and the molten images. And they brake down the altars of Baalim in his presence; and the images, that were on high above them, he cut down; and the groves, and the carved images, and the molten images, he brake in pieces, and made dust of them, and strowed it upon the graves of them that had sacrificed unto them. …

  • 2 Peter 1:19

    We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:

  • Ezekiel 1:3

    The word of the Lord came expressly unto Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar; and the hand of the Lord was there upon him.

  • Hosea 1:1

    The word of the Lord that came unto Hosea, the son of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel.

  • Jeremiah 25:3

    From the thirteenth year of Josiah the son of Amon king of Judah, even unto this day, that is the three and twentieth year, the word of the Lord hath come unto me, and I have spoken unto you, rising early and speaking; but ye have not hearkened.

  • 2 Kings 22:1-20

    Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned thirty and one years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Jedidah, the daughter of Adaiah of Boscath. And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, and walked in all the way of David his father, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left. And it came to pass in the eighteenth year of king Josiah, that the king sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, the son of Meshullam, the scribe, to the house of the Lord, saying, Go up to Hilkiah the high priest, that he may sum the silver which is brought into the house of the Lord, which the keepers of the door have gathered of the people: …

  • 2 Timothy 3:16

    All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
1 The time when Zephaniah prophesied.
2 God's severe judgments against Judah.

word.
Eze 1:3; Ho 1:1; 2Ti 3:16; 2Pe 1:19
in the days.
2Ki 22:1-23:37; 2Ch 34:1-35:27; Jer 1:2; 25:3

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • 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.

  • Zephaniah 1:2

    I will utterly consume all things from off the land, saith the Lord.

Read all of Zephaniah 1

Zephaniah 1:1 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
PALABRA de Jehová que fué á Sofonías hijo de Cushi, hijo de Gedalías, hijo de Amarías, hijo de Ezechîas, en días de Josías hijo de Amón, rey de Judá.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
La parole de l’ Éternel qui vint à Sophonie, fils de Cushi, fils de Guedalia, fils d’Amaria, fils d’Ézéchias, dans les jours de Josias, fils d’Amon, roi de Juda.
German
Elberfelder 1871
Das Wort Jehovas, welches zu Zephanja geschah, dem Sohne Kuschis, des Sohnes Gedaljas, des Sohnes Amarjas, des Sohnes Hiskijas, in den Tagen Josias, des Sohnes Amons, des Königs von Juda.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
Verbum Domini quod factum est ad Sophoniam, filium Chusi, filii Godoliæ, filii Amariæ, filii Ezeciæ, in diebus Josiæ, filii Amon, regis Judæ.