I will sweep away man and animal;(A)
I will sweep away the birds of the sky
and the fish of the sea,
and the ruins[a] along with the wicked.(B)
I will cut off mankind
from the face of the earth.
This is the Lord’s declaration.

I will stretch out My hand(C) against Judah
and against all the residents of Jerusalem.
I will cut off every vestige of Baal(D)
from this place,
the names of the pagan priests(E)
along with the priests;
those who bow in worship on the rooftops(F)
to the heavenly host;
those who bow and pledge loyalty to the Lord(G)
but also pledge loyalty to Milcom;[b](H)

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Footnotes

  1. Zephaniah 1:3 Perhaps objects connected with idolatry
  2. Zephaniah 1:5 Some LXX mss, Syr, Vg; MT, other LXX mss read their king

“I will sweep away both man and beast;(A)
    I will sweep away the birds in the sky(B)
    and the fish in the sea—
    and the idols that cause the wicked to stumble.”[a]

“When I destroy all mankind
    on the face of the earth,”(C)
declares the Lord,(D)
“I will stretch out my hand(E) against Judah
    and against all who live in Jerusalem.
I will destroy every remnant of Baal worship in this place,(F)
    the very names of the idolatrous priests(G)
those who bow down on the roofs
    to worship the starry host,(H)
those who bow down and swear by the Lord
    and who also swear by Molek,[b](I)

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Footnotes

  1. Zephaniah 1:3 The meaning of the Hebrew for this line is uncertain.
  2. Zephaniah 1:5 Hebrew Malkam