Zephaniah 1:15
What does Zephaniah 1:15 mean?
A plain-English look at Zephaniah 1:15 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.
What Zephaniah 1:15 means
This verse piles up terms to convey the nature of the day: wrath, trouble, distress, wasteness, desolation, darkness, gloom, clouds, and thick darkness. It is a total eclipse of safety, joy, and clarity. The repetition and variety of words aim to overwhelm the hearer, mirroring how overwhelming that day will be. God’s holy anger answers long-standing sin, and the removal of light symbolizes the moral and spiritual night Judah has chosen. The day’s terror is not senseless; it is just. Those who loved darkness now meet it as judgment. The verse teaches us to feel the weight of divine holiness and the dreadfulness of persisting in rebellion.
Parallel translations
WEB
World English Bible · 2000That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness,
KJV
King James Version · 1611That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness,
ASV
American Standard Version · 1901That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness,
BBE
Bible in Basic English · 1949That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and sorrow, a day of wasting and destruction, a day of dark night and deep shade, a day of cloud and thick dark.
YLT
Young's Literal Translation · 1862A day of wrath <FI>is<Fi> that day, A day of adversity and distress, A day of waste and desolation, A day of darkness and gloominess, A day of cloud and thick darkness.
DRA
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752That day is a day of wrath, a day of tribulation and distress, a day of calamity and misery, a day of darkness and obscurity, a day of clouds and whirlwinds,
DBY
Darby Bible · 1890That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of ruin and desolation, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and gross darkness,
Context
Building on the nearness announced in verse 14, verse 15 paints the day’s character with thick, cumulative imagery. It prepares for verse 16, which specifies the military dimension—trumpet blasts and assaults against fortified structures. Together, these verses communicate that no external defense or inner composure will withstand the day of Jehovah.
Cross references
Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.
- Luke 21:22
For these are days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled.
- Joel 2:11
And Jehovah uttereth his voice before his army; for his camp is very great; for he is strong that executeth his word; for the day of Jehovah is great and very terrible; and who can abide it?
- Revelation 6:17
for the great day of their wrath is come; and who is able to stand?
- Joel 2:2
a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, as the dawn spread upon the mountains; a great people and a strong; there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after them, even to the years of many generations.
- Amos 5:18
Woe unto you that desire the day of Jehovah! Wherefore would ye have the day of Jehovah? It is darkness, and not light.
- 2 Peter 3:7
but the heavens that now are, and the earth, by the same word have been stored up for fire, being reserved against the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.
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