Zephaniah 3 · Verse 6

Zephaniah 3:6

I have cut off the nations: their towers are desolate; I made their streets waste, that none passeth by: their cities are destroyed, so that there is no man, that there is none inhabitant.
Zephaniah 3:6, King James Version

Zephaniah 3:6 in other translations

BSB“I have cut off the nations; their corner towers are destroyed. I have made their streets deserted with no one to pass through. Their cities are laid waste, with no man, no inhabitant.
WEBI have cut off nations. Their battlements are desolate. I have made their streets waste, so that no one passes by. Their cities are destroyed, so that there is no man, so that there is no inhabitant.
ASVI have cut off nations; their battlements are desolate; I have made their streets waste, so that none passeth by; their cities are destroyed, so that there is no man, so that there is no inhabitant.
YLTI have cut off nations, Desolated have been their chief ones, I have laid waste their out-places without any passing by, Destroyed have been their cities, Without man, without inhabitant.
DARBYI have cut off nations: their battlements are desolate; I made their streets waste, that none passeth by; their cities are destroyed, so that there is no man, so that there is no inhabitant.
BBEI have had the nations cut off, their towers are broken down; I have made their streets a waste so that no one goes through them: destruction has overtaken their towns, so that there is no man living in them.
WebsterI have cut off the nations: their towers are desolate; I made their streets waste, that none passeth by: their cities are destroyed, so that there is no man, that there is no inhabitant.

What does Zephaniah 3:6 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Zephaniah 3:5-7

5-7. The Jews regard not God's justice manifested in the midst of them, nor His judgments on the guilty nations around. The just Lord--Why then are ye so unjust? is in the midst thereof--He retorts on them their own boast, "Is not the Lord among us" (Mi 3:11)? True He is, but it is for another end from what ye think [Calvin]; namely, to lead you by the example of His righteousness to be righteous. Le 19:2, "Ye shall…

Read the full comment on Zephaniah 3:5-7 →

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 6 I have cut off the nations - Syria, Israel, and those referred to, Isa 36:18, Isa 36:20. - Newcome.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Zephaniah 3:1-7

The holy God hates sin most in those nearest to him. A sinful state is, and will be, a woful state. Yet they had the tokens of God's presence, and all the advantages of knowing his will, with the strongest reasons to do it; still they persisted in disobedience. Alas, that men often are more active in doing wickedness than believers are in doing good.

Read the full comment on Zephaniah 3:1-7 →

Zephaniah 3:6 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.

הִכְרַ֣תִּיhikh.Ra.tiI have cut offH3772
גוֹיִ֗םgo.YimnationsH1471
נָשַׁ֙מּוּ֙na.Sha.muthey are desolateH8074
פִּנּוֹתָ֔םpi.no.Tamcorners theirH6438
הֶחֱרַ֥בְתִּיhe.che.Rav.tiI have made desolateH2717
חֽוּצוֹתָ֖םchu.tzo.Tamstreets theirH2351
מִבְּלִ֣יmi.be.Libecause notH1097
עוֹבֵ֑רo.Ver[one who] passes byH5674
נִצְדּ֧וּnitz.Duthey have been laid wasteH6658
עָרֵיהֶ֛ם'a.rei.Hemcities theirH5892
מִבְּלִי\־mi.be.li-because notH1097
אִ֖ישׁ'ishanyoneH376
מֵאֵ֥יןme.'Einfrom notH369
יוֹשֵֽׁב\׃yo.ShevinhabitantH3427

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

Cross references for Zephaniah 3:6

  • Zephaniah 2:5

    Woe unto the inhabitants of the sea coast, the nation of the Cherethites! the word of the Lord is against you; O Canaan, the land of the Philistines, I will even destroy thee, that there shall be no inhabitant.

  • 1 Corinthians 10:6

    Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted.

  • Jeremiah 25:9-11

    Behold, I will send and take all the families of the north, saith the Lord, and Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and will bring them against this land, and against the inhabitants thereof, and against all these nations round about, and will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, and an hissing, and perpetual desolations. Moreover I will take from them the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones, and the light of the candle. And this whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.

  • 1 Corinthians 10:11

    Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.

  • Isaiah 37:24-26

    By thy servants hast thou reproached the Lord, and hast said, By the multitude of my chariots am I come up to the height of the mountains, to the sides of Lebanon; and I will cut down the tall cedars thereof, and the choice fir trees thereof: and I will enter into the height of his border, and the forest of his Carmel. I have digged, and drunk water; and with the sole of my feet have I dried up all the rivers of the besieged places. Hast thou not heard long ago, how I have done it; and of ancient times, that I have formed it? now have I brought it to pass, that thou shouldest be to lay waste defenced cities into ruinous heaps.

  • Isaiah 37:36

    Then the angel of the Lord went forth, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred and fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses.

  • Nahum 2:1-3

    He that dasheth in pieces is come up before thy face: keep the munition, watch the way, make thy loins strong, fortify thy power mightily. For the Lord hath turned away the excellency of Jacob, as the excellency of Israel: for the emptiers have emptied them out, and marred their vine branches. The shield of his mighty men is made red, the valiant men are in scarlet: the chariots shall be with flaming torches in the day of his preparation, and the fir trees shall be terribly shaken.

  • Zechariah 7:14

    But I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations whom they knew not. Thus the land was desolate after them, that no man passed through nor returned: for they laid the pleasant land desolate.

  • Jeremiah 25:18-26

    To wit, Jerusalem, and the cities of Judah, and the kings thereof, and the princes thereof, to make them a desolation, an astonishment, an hissing, and a curse; as it is this day; Pharaoh king of Egypt, and his servants, and his princes, and all his people; And all the mingled people, and all the kings of the land of Uz, and all the kings of the land of the Philistines, and Ashkelon, and Azzah, and Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod, Edom, and Moab, and the children of Ammon, …

  • Leviticus 26:31

    And I will make your cities waste, and bring your sanctuaries unto desolation, and I will not smell the savour of your sweet odours.

  • Isaiah 15:1-9

    The burden of Moab. Because in the night Ar of Moab is laid waste, and brought to silence; because in the night Kir of Moab is laid waste, and brought to silence; He is gone up to Bajith, and to Dibon, the high places, to weep: Moab shall howl over Nebo, and over Medeba: on all their heads shall be baldness, and every beard cut off. In their streets they shall gird themselves with sackcloth: on the tops of their houses, and in their streets, every one shall howl, weeping abundantly. And Heshbon shall cry, and Elealeh: their voice shall be heard even unto Jahaz: therefore the armed soldiers of Moab shall cry out; his life shall be grievous unto him. …

  • Isaiah 10:1-34

    Woe unto them that decree unrighteous decrees, and that write grievousness which they have prescribed; To turn aside the needy from judgment, and to take away the right from the poor of my people, that widows may be their prey, and that they may rob the fatherless! And what will ye do in the day of visitation, and in the desolation which shall come from far? to whom will ye flee for help? and where will ye leave your glory? Without me they shall bow down under the prisoners, and they shall fall under the slain. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still. …

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
cut.
Isa 10:1-34; 15:1-16:14; 19:1-25; 37:11-13,24-26,36; Jer 25:9-11
Jer 25:18-26; Na 2:1-3:19; 1Co 10:6,11
towers. or, corners.

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

Context

  • Zephaniah 3:5

    The just Lord is in the midst thereof; he will not do iniquity: every morning doth he bring his judgment to light, he faileth not; but the unjust knoweth no shame.

  • Zephaniah 3:6

    I have cut off the nations: their towers are desolate; I made their streets waste, that none passeth by: their cities are destroyed, so that there is no man, that there is none inhabitant.

  • Zephaniah 3:7

    I said, Surely thou wilt fear me, thou wilt receive instruction; so their dwelling should not be cut off, howsoever I punished them: but they rose early, and corrupted all their doings.

Read all of Zephaniah 3

Zephaniah 3:6 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
Hice talar gentes; sus castillos están asolados; hice desiertas sus calles, hasta no quedar quien pase: sus ciudades están asoladas hasta no quedar hombre, hasta no quedar morador.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
J’ai retranché des nations, leurs créneaux sont dévastés; j’ai rendu désolées leurs rues, de sorte que personne n’y passe; leurs villes sont ravagées, de sorte qu’il n’y a plus d’homme, point d’habitant.
German
Elberfelder 1871
Ich habe Nationen ausgerottet, ihre Zinnen sind verödet; ich habe ihre Straßen verwüstet, daß niemand darüber zieht; ihre Städte sind verheert, daß niemand da ist, kein Bewohner mehr.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
Disperdidi gentes, et dissipati sunt anguli earum; desertas feci vias eorum, dum non est qui transeat; desolatæ sunt civitates eorum, non remanente viro, neque ullo habitatore.