Zephaniah 1 · Verse 3

Zephaniah 1:3

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.
Zephaniah 1:3, King James Version

Zephaniah 1:3 in other translations

BSB“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.
WEBI will sweep away man and animal. I will sweep away the birds of the sky, the fish of the sea, and the heaps of rubble with the wicked. I will cut off man from the surface of the earth, says the LORD.
ASVI 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.
YLTI consume man and beast, I consume fowl of the heavens, and fishes of the sea, And the stumbling-blocks--the wicked, And I have cut off man from the face of the ground, An affirmation of Jehovah,
DARBYI will take away man and beast; I will take away the fowl of the heavens and the fishes of the sea, and the stumbling-blocks with the wicked, and I will cut off mankind from off the face of the ground, saith Jehovah.
BBEI will take away man and beast; I will take away the birds of the heaven and the fishes of the sea; causing the downfall of the evil-doers, and cutting man off from the face of the earth, says the Lord.
WebsterI will consume man and beast; I will consume the fowls of the heaven, and the fishes of the sea, and the stumbling-blocks with the wicked; and I will cut off man from off the land, saith the LORD.

What does Zephaniah 1:3 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
3. Enumeration in detail of the "all things" (Zep 1:2; compare Jr 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.

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

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 3 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.

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…

Read the full comment on Zephaniah 1:1-6 →

Zephaniah 1:3 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.

אָסֵ֨ף'a.SefI will bring to an endH5486
אָדָ֜ם'a.Damhuman beingH120
וּבְהֵמָ֗הu.ve.he.Mahand animalH929
אָסֵ֤ף'a.SefI will bring to an endH5486
עוֹף\־'of-[the] bird[s] ofH5775
הַשָּׁמַ֙יִם֙ha.sha.Ma.yimthe heavensH8064
וּדְגֵ֣יu.de.Geiand [the] fish<es> ofH1709
הַיָּ֔םhai.Yamthe seaH3220
וְהַמַּכְשֵׁל֖וֹתve.ha.makh.she.Lotand the stumbling-blocksH4384
אֶת\־'et-withH854
הָרְשָׁעִ֑יםha.re.sha.'Imthe wicked [people]H7563
וְהִכְרַתִּ֣יve.hikh.ra.Tiand I will cut offH3772
אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853
הָאָדָ֗םha.'a.Dam<the> humankindH120
מֵעַ֛לme.'Alfrom onH5921
פְּנֵ֥יpe.Nei[the] surface ofH6440
הָאֲדָמָ֖הha.'a.da.Mahthe groundH127
נְאֻם\־ne.'um-[the] utterance ofH5002
יְהוָֽה\׃Yah.wehYahwehH3068

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

Cross references for Zephaniah 1:3

  • Hosea 4:3

    Therefore shall the land mourn, and every one that dwelleth therein shall languish, with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven; yea, the fishes of the sea also shall be taken away.

  • Ezekiel 7:19

    They shall cast their silver in the streets, and their gold shall be removed: their silver and their gold shall not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the Lord: they shall not satisfy their souls, neither fill their bowels: because it is the stumblingblock of their iniquity.

  • Matthew 23:39

    For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.

  • Ezekiel 14:13-21

    Son of man, when the land sinneth against me by trespassing grievously, then will I stretch out mine hand upon it, and will break the staff of the bread thereof, and will send famine upon it, and will cut off man and beast from it: Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they should deliver but their own souls by their righteousness, saith the Lord God. If I cause noisome beasts to pass through the land, and they spoil it, so that it be desolate, that no man may pass through because of the beasts: Though these three men were in it, as I live, saith the Lord God, they shall deliver neither sons nor daughters; they only shall be delivered, but the land shall be desolate. …

  • Isaiah 27:9

    By this therefore shall the iniquity of Jacob be purged; and this is all the fruit to take away his sin; when he maketh all the stones of the altar as chalkstones that are beaten in sunder, the groves and images shall not stand up.

  • Jeremiah 12:4

    How long shall the land mourn, and the herbs of every field wither, for the wickedness of them that dwell therein? the beasts are consumed, and the birds; because they said, He shall not see our last end.

  • Hosea 14:8

    Ephraim shall say, What have I to do any more with idols? I have heard him, and observed him: I am like a green fir tree. From me is thy fruit found.

  • Ezekiel 14:3-7

    Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their heart, and put the stumblingblock of their iniquity before their face: should I be enquired of at all by them? Therefore speak unto them, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Every man of the house of Israel that setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to the prophet; I the Lord will answer him that cometh according to the multitude of his idols; That I may take the house of Israel in their own heart, because they are all estranged from me through their idols. Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord God; Repent, and turn yourselves from your idols; and turn away your faces from all your abominations. …

  • Revelation 2:14

    But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication.

  • Hosea 14:3

    Asshur shall not save us; we will not ride upon horses: neither will we say any more to the work of our hands, Ye are our gods: for in thee the fatherless findeth mercy.

  • Zechariah 13:2

    And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord of hosts, that I will cut off the names of the idols out of the land, and they shall no more be remembered: and also I will cause the prophets and the unclean spirit to pass out of the land.

  • Jeremiah 4:23-29

    I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light. I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly. I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled. I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the Lord, and by his fierce anger. …

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
consume man.
Jer 4:23-29; 12:4; Ho 4:3
stumbling-blocks. or, idols.
Isa 27:9; Eze 7:19; 14:3-7; 44:12; Ho 14:3,8; Mic 5:11-14
Zec 13:2; Mt 23:39; Re 2:14
and I.
Eze 14:13-21; 15:6-8

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

Context

  • Zephaniah 1:2

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

  • Zephaniah 1:3

    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.

  • Zephaniah 1:4

    I will also stretch out mine hand upon Judah, and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and I will cut off the remnant of Baal from this place, and the name of the Chemarims with the priests;

Read all of Zephaniah 1

Zephaniah 1:3 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
Destruiré los hombres y las bestias; destruiré las aves del cielo, y los peces de la mar, y las piedras de tropiezo con los impíos; y talaré los hombres de sobre la haz de la tierra, dice Jehová.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
Je détruirai les hommes et les bêtes, je détruirai les oiseaux des cieux et les poissons de la mer, et les pierres d’achoppement avec les méchants, et je retrancherai l’homme de dessus la face de la terre, dit l’ Éternel.
German
Elberfelder 1871
ich werde Menschen und Vieh wegraffen, ich werde wegraffen die Vögel des Himmels und die Fische des Meeres, und die Ärgernisse samt den Gesetzlosen; und ich werde die Menschen ausrotten von der Fläche des Erdbodens, spricht Jehova. -
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
congregans hominem et pecus, congregans volatilia cæli et pisces maris: et ruinæ impiorum erunt, et disperdam homines a facie terræ, dicit Dominus.