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Zephaniah 1:4
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The Great Day of the Lord

2 “I will1 utterly consume everything
From the face of the land,”
Says the Lord; 
3 “Ia will consume man and beast;
I will consume the birds of the heavens,
The fish of the sea,
And the1 stumbling blocks along with the wicked.
I will cut off man from the face of the1 land,”
Says the Lord. 
4 “I will stretch out My hand against Judah,
And against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
1I will cut off every trace of Baal from this place,
The names of the aidolatrous priests with the pagan priests— 
5 Those awho worship the host of heaven on the housetops;
Those who worship and swear oaths by the Lord,
But who also swear bby Milcom; 
6 aThose who have turned back from following the Lord,
And bhave not sought the Lord, nor inquired of Him.” 
7 aBe silent in the presence of the Lord God;
bFor the day of the Lord is at hand,
For cthe Lord has prepared a sacrifice;
He has1 invited His guests. 
8 “And it shall be,
In the day of the Lord’s sacrifice,
That I will punish athe princes and the king’s children,
And all such as are clothed with foreign apparel. 
9 In the same day I will punish
All those who aleap over the threshold,
Who fill their masters’ houses with violence and deceit. 
10 “And there shall be on that day,” says the Lord,
“The sound of a mournful cry from athe Fish Gate,
A wailing from the Second Quarter,
And a loud crashing from the hills. 
11 aWail, you inhabitants of1 Maktesh!
For all the merchant people are cut down;
All those who handle money are cut off. 
Commentaries:
Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown
<< Zephaniah 1:3   Zephaniah 1:5 >>


Zephaniah 1:4

stretch out mine hand—indicating some remarkable and unusual work of vengeance (Isaiah 5:25; Isaiah 9:12, Isaiah 9:17, Isaiah 9:21).

Judah—including Benjamin. These two tribes are to suffer, which thought themselves perpetually secure, because they escaped the captivity in which the ten tribes were involved.

Jerusalem—the fountainhead of the evil. God begins with His sanctuary (Ezekiel 9:6), and those who are nigh Him (Leviticus 10:3).

the remnant of Baal—the remains of Baal worship, which as yet Josiah was unable utterly to eradicate in remote places. Baal was the Phœnician tutelary god. From the time of the Judges (Judges 2:13), Israel had fallen into this idolatry; and Manasseh lately had set up this idol within Jehovah's temple itself (II Kings 21:3, II Kings 21:5, II Kings 21:7). Josiah began his reformation in the twelfth year of his reign (II Chronicles 34:4, II Chronicles 34:8), and in the eighteenth had as far as possible completed it.

Chemarims—idol priests, who had not reached the age of puberty; meaning "ministers of the gods" [SERVIUS on Æneid, 11], the same name as the Tyrian Camilli, r and l being interchangeable (compare Hosea 10:5, Margin). Josiah is expressly said (II Kings 23:5, Margin) to have "put down the Chemarim." The Hebrew root means "black" (from the black garments which they wore or the marks which they branded on their foreheads); or "zealous," from their idolatrous fanaticism. The very "name," as well as themselves, shall be forgotten.

the priests—of Jehovah, of Aaronic descent, who ought to have used all their power to eradicate, but who secretly abetted, idolatry (compare Zephaniah 3:4; Eze. 8:1-18; Ezekiel 22:26; Ezekiel 44:10). From the priests Zephaniah passes to the people.




Other Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown entries containing Zephaniah 1:4:

Hosea 10:5

 

<< Zephaniah 1:3   Zephaniah 1:5 >>

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