Zephaniah 1:6

Zephaniah 1:6 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And them that are turned back from the Lord; and those that have not sought the Lord, nor enquired for him.
• New International Version (NIV)those who turn back from following the Lord and neither seek the Lord nor inquire of him.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)those who have turned back from following the Lord, who do not seek the Lord or inquire of him."
• New King James Version (NKJV)Those who have turned back from following the Lord, And have not sought the Lord, nor inquired of Him.”

Context of Zephaniah 1:6

4“I will also stretch out My hand [in judgment] against Judah And against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And I will cut off and destroy the remnant of Baal from this place, And the names and remembrance of the idolatrous priests along with the [false] priests, 5And those who bow down and worship the host of heaven [the sun, the moon, and the stars] on their housetops And those who bow down and swear [oaths] to [and pretend to worship] the Lord and [yet also] swear by [the pagan god called] Milcom [god of the Ammonites], And those who have turned back from following the Lord, And those who have not sought the Lord [as their most important need] or inquired of Him.” 7[Hush!] Be silent before the Lord God [there is no acceptable excuse to offer]! For the day [of the vengeance] of the Lord is near, For the Lord has prepared a sacrifice (Judah), He has set apart [for His use] those who have accepted His invitation [the Chaldeans who rule Babylon]. 8“Then it will come about on the day of the Lord’s sacrifice That I will punish the princes and the king’s sons And all who are clothed in [lavish] foreign apparel [reflecting their paganism].

Zephaniah 1:6 word by word

וְאֶת־הַנְּסוֹגִ֖ים מֵאַחֲרֵ֣י יְהוָ֑ה וַאֲשֶׁ֛ר לֹֽא־בִקְשׁ֥וּ אֶת־יְהוָ֖ה וְלֹ֥א דְרָשֻֽׁהוּ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And them that are turned backסוּגsûg · to turnH5472
• fromאַחַר'achar · afterH310
• the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• that have not soughtבָּקַשׁbâqash · to seekH1245
• nor enquiredדָּרַשׁdârash · to seekH1875

Cross-references for Zephaniah 1:6

• 1 Samuel 15:11“I regret that I made Saul king, for he has turned away from following Me and has not carried out My commands.” Samuel was angry [over Saul’s failure] and he cried out to the Lord all night.
• Psalms 36:3The words of his mouth are wicked and deceitful; He has ceased to be wise and to do good.
• Psalms 125:5But as for those who turn aside to their crooked ways [in unresponsiveness to God], The Lord will lead them away with those who do evil. Peace be upon Israel.
• Isaiah 1:4Ah, sinful nation, A people loaded down with wickedness [with sin, with injustice, with wrongdoing], Offspring of evildoers, Sons who behave corruptly! They have abandoned (rejected) the Lord, They have despised the Holy One of Israel [provoking Him to anger], They have turned away from Him.
• Jeremiah 2:13“For My people have committed two evils: They have abandoned (rejected) Me, The fountain of living water, And they have carved out their own cisterns, Broken cisterns That cannot hold water.
• Jeremiah 3:10Yet in spite of all this her treacherous sister Judah did not return to Me with her whole heart, but rather in [blatant] deception [she merely pretended obedience to King Josiah’s reforms],” declares the Lord.
• Jeremiah 15:6You have abandoned (rejected) Me,” says the Lord. “You keep going backward. Therefore I shall stretch out My hand against you and destroy you; I am tired of delaying [your punishment]!
• Ezekiel 3:20Again, when a righteous man turns from his righteousness (right standing with God) and sins, and I place an obstacle before him, he will die; since you have not warned him, he will die in his sin, and the righteous deeds which he has done will not be remembered; but you will be responsible for his blood.
• Hosea 4:15Though you, Israel, play the prostitute [by worshiping idols], Do not let Judah become guilty [of the same thing]; And do not go to Gilgal [where idols are worshiped], Or go up to Beth-aven (House of Wickedness), Nor swear [oaths in idolatrous worship, saying], “As the Lord lives!”
• Hosea 11:7My people are bent on turning from Me; Though the prophets call them to the One on high, None at all exalts Him.
• Hebrews 10:38But My righteous one [the one justified by faith] shall live by faith [respecting man’s relationship to God and trusting Him]; And if he draws back [shrinking in fear], My soul has no delight in him.
• 2 Peter 2:18For uttering arrogant words of vanity [pompous words disguised to sound scholarly or profound, but meaning nothing and containing no spiritual truth], they beguile and lure using lustful desires, by sensuality, those who barely escape from the ones who live in error.
• Psalms 10:4The wicked, in the haughtiness of his face, will not seek nor inquire for Him; All his thoughts are, “There is no God [so there is no accountability or punishment].”
• Psalms 14:2The Lord has looked down from heaven upon the children of men To see if there are any who understand (act wisely), Who [truly] seek after God, [longing for His wisdom and guidance].
• Isaiah 43:22“Yet you have not called on Me [in prayer and worship], O Jacob; But you have grown weary of Me, O Israel.
• Hosea 7:7They are all hot like an oven And they consume their judges (rulers); All their kings have fallen. There is no one among them who calls to Me.

Commentaries on Zephaniah 1:6

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 6Them that are turned back - Who have forsaken the true God, and become idolaters. Nor inquired for him - Have not desired to know his will.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 6And them that are turned back from - (Literally, have turned themselves back from following after) the Lord From this half-service, the prophet goes on to the avowed neglect of God, by such as wholly fall away from Him, not setting His will or law before them, “but turning away from” Him. It is their misery that they were set in the right way once, but themselves “turned themselves back,” now no longer “following” God, but “their own lusts, drawn away and…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4-6After judging the entire earth (Zephaniah 1:2–3), Zephaniah now focuses on his own people, Judah and Jerusalem.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 66. This verse describes more comprehensively those guilty of defection from Jehovah in any way (Jr 2:13, 17).Read the comment

Topics related to Zephaniah 1:6

• Apostasy
• Backsliders
• Prayerlessness

In the dictionaries

• Baal
• Crashing
• Wasteness
• Apostasy; Apostate
• Josiah
• Molech; Moloch
• Zephaniah, Book of
• House

Commentaries on Zephaniah 1

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings