Zephaniah 1:4
What does Zephaniah 1:4 mean?
A plain-English look at Zephaniah 1:4 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.
What Zephaniah 1:4 means
God now focuses His outstretched hand on Judah and Jerusalem. Their guilt is not vague; it is religious betrayal. He will cut off the remnant of Baal, showing that despite reforms, Baal’s cult still lingered. He will also remove “the name of the Chemarim with the priests”—likely the idolatrous clergy or those corrupted in their office. The judgment strikes at the very heart of worship and leadership, where falsehood had found a home. By naming Baal and the priestly class, the verse exposes how deep the roots of syncretism ran. God’s action is both just and surgical: He targets the sources and promoters of spiritual corruption.
Parallel translations
WEB
World English Bible · 2000And I will stretch out my 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 Chemarim with the priests;
KJV
King James Version · 1611I 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;
ASV
American Standard Version · 1901And I will stretch out my 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 Chemarim with the priests;
BBE
Bible in Basic English · 1949And my hand will be stretched out on Judah and on all the people of Jerusalem, cutting off the name of the Baal from this place, and the name of the false priests,
YLT
Young's Literal Translation · 1862And stretched out My hand against Judah, And against all inhabiting Jerusalem, And cut off from this place the remnant of Baal, The name of the idolatrous priests, with the priests,
DRA
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752And I will stretch out my hand upon Juda, and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem: and I will destroy out of this place the remnant of Baal, and the names of the wardens of the temples with the priests:
DBY
Darby Bible · 1890And I will stretch forth my hand upon Judah, and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and I will cut off the remnant of Baal from this place, the name of the Chemarim with the priests;
Context
After the universal announcements (verses 2–3), the oracle zooms in on Judah’s specific sins. Verse 4 names Baal and compromised priests, preparing for verses 5–6 to list additional forms of unfaithfulness—astral worship, divided allegiance, backsliding, and apathy. This sequence shows that the coming judgment is not arbitrary; it responds to identifiable, persistent idolatries entrenched in the religious life of the nation.
v.3I 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.
v.4This passage
v.5and them that worship the host of heaven upon the housetops; and them that worship, that swear to Jehovah and swear by Malcam;
Cross references
Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.
- 2 Chronicles 34:4
And they brake down the altars of the Baalim in his presence; and the sun-images that were on high above them he hewed down; and the Asherim, and the graven images, and the molten images, he brake in pieces, and made dust of them, and strewed it upon the graves of them that had sacrificed unto them.
- Isaiah 14:26
This is the purpose that is purposed upon the whole earth; and this is the hand that is stretched out upon all the nations.
- Jeremiah 6:12
And their houses shall be turned unto others, their fields and their wives together; for I will stretch out my hand upon the inhabitants of the land, saith Jehovah.
- 2 Kings 23:4
And the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, and the priests of the second order, and the keepers of the threshold, to bring forth out of the temple of Jehovah all the vessels that were made for Baal, and for the Asherah, and for all the host of heaven, and he burned them without Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron, and carried the ashes of them unto Beth-el.
- Hosea 10:5
The inhabitants of Samaria shall be in terror for the calves of Beth-aven; for the people thereof shall mourn over it, and the priests thereof that rejoiced over it, for the glory thereof, because it is departed from it.
- Exodus 15:12
Thou stretchedst out thy right hand, The earth swallowed them.
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