Zephaniah 1:12

Zephaniah 1:12 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And it shall come to pass at that time, that I will search Jerusalem with candles, and punish the men that are settled on their lees: that say in their heart, The Lord will not do good, neither will he do evil.
• New International Version (NIV)At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps and punish those who are complacent, who are like wine left on its dregs, who think, ‘The Lord will do nothing, either good or bad.’
• English Standard Version (ESV)At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps, and I will punish the men who are complacent, those who say in their hearts, 'The Lord will not do good, nor will he do ill.'
• New King James Version (NKJV)“And it shall come to pass at that time That I will search Jerusalem with lamps, And punish the men Who are settled in complacency, Who say in their heart, ‘The Lord will not do good, Nor will He do evil.’

Context of Zephaniah 1:12

10The Lord says, ‘On that day you will hear the noise of people who are shouting from one gate of the city. It is the gate called the Fish Gate. And there will be sad sounds from the next gate. There will be loud noises from the hills. 11Shout out, you who live near Jerusalem's market! Weep! The Lord will remove the traders from your town. Some people have lots of money there. But all those people will be dead then.’ ‘At that time, I will look in all Jerusalem's dark corners. I will take lights with me. I will find the drunks and I will punish them. These people say in their minds, “The Lord will do neither good things nor bad things to us.” 13So I will take away from them everything that they have. I will take away their houses too. They will build houses, but they will never live in them. They will plant plants to get grapes. But they will never have wine from them.’ 14The time for the great day of the Lord is coming very soon. It will happen quickly. Strong men will weep when they hear the noise of it.

Zephaniah 1:12 word by word

וְהָיָה֙ בָּעֵ֣ת הַהִ֔יא אֲחַפֵּ֥שׂ אֶת־יְרוּשָׁלִַ֖ם בַּנֵּר֑וֹת וּפָקַדְתִּ֣י עַל־הָאֲנָשִׁ֗ים הַקֹּֽפְאִים֙ עַל־שִׁמְרֵיהֶ֔ם הָאֹֽמְרִים֙ בִּלְבָבָ֔ם לֹֽא־יֵיטִ֥יב יְהוָ֖ה וְלֹ֥א יָרֵֽעַ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And it shall come to pass at that timeעֵת‛êth · timeH6256
• I will searchחָפַשׂchâphaώ · to searchH2664
• Jerusalemיְרוּשָׁלִַ֫ם, יְרוּשְׁלֵםyerûshâlaim yerûshâlayim · JerusalemH3389
• with candlesנֵרnîyr nir nêyr nêr nêrâh · lampH5216
• and punishפָּקַדpâqad · to reckon: punishH6485
• the menאֱנוֹשׁ'ĕnôsh · humanH582
• that are settledקָפָאqâphâ' · to congealH7087
• on their leesשֶׁ֫מֶרshemer · dregH8105
• that sayאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• in their heartלֵבָבlêbâb · heartH3824
• The Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• will not do goodיָטַבyâţab · be goodH3190
• neither will he do evilרָעַעrâ‛a‛ · be evilH7489

Cross-references for Zephaniah 1:12

• Jeremiah 16:16But now I will send enemies to catch these people. They will catch them like fishermen catch fish. They will chase after them like hunters who catch wild animals. They will find them everywhere in the mountains, in the hills and in holes in the rocks.
• Amos 9:1Then I saw a vision of the Lord. He was standing beside the altar in the temple. The Lord said, ‘Hit the tops of the pillars so that the whole foundation shakes! Cause the building to fall on the heads of all the people. If anyone is still alive after that, I will cause them to die in battle. Nobody will escape!
• Obadiah 1:6But people will take everything from Esau's people (also called Edom). They will even take the valuable things that you hide.
• Jeremiah 48:11The Lord said, ‘Moab's people have lived in peace since they first became a nation. No enemy has taken them away to a foreign land as their prisoners. They have been like the wine in a bottle that nobody has moved. Nobody has poured it into another bottle, so its taste and smell have never changed. Moab has always been the same.
• Amos 6:1Trouble is coming to you people who live in Zion and on Samaria's hill. You think that you are safe. You think that you are important people who live in the best nation on earth. Israelite people respect you as their leaders.
• Revelation 2:23I will send a terrible illness to kill those who obey her. Then all the people in the churches will know that I look deep inside them. I know what you really want. I know what you really think. I will give each of you what is right for you, as a result of what you have done.
• Job 21:15We do not need to serve the Almighty God. If we pray to him, there is nothing he can do to help us.”
• Psalms 10:11The wicked person says to himself, ‘God will give me no trouble! He does not even see what I do.’
• Psalms 14:1Only fools say to themselves, ‘There is no God.’ People like that do bad and evil things. None of them do things that are good and right.
• Psalms 94:7They say, ‘The Lord does not see us. Israel's God does not see what we are doing.’
• Isaiah 5:19People like that laugh at God. They say, ‘The Lord should do something quickly! We want to see what he can do. The holy God of Israel should do what he has decided to do. Then we will really know what that is!’
• Jeremiah 10:5Those idols cannot speak. They are like scarecrows that a farmer puts in his field of vegetables. The idols cannot walk, so people have to carry them. So do not be afraid of them. They cannot hurt you. And they do not have any power to help you.’
• Ezekiel 8:12The Lord said, ‘Son of man, look at the wicked things that Israel's leaders are doing! They are doing them secretly in the dark. Each of them has a room where they worship their images of idols. They say, “The Lord does not see us! The Lord has gone away from our land!” ’
• Ezekiel 9:9He answered me, ‘The sins of the people of Israel and Judah are very great. They murder people everywhere in the land. In the city, nobody does what is right. They say, “The Lord has gone away from our land! The Lord does not see what we are doing!”
• Malachi 3:14You have said, “We serve God, but that has not helped us at all. We are careful to do what he tells us to do. When we do wrong things, we have sad faces to show the Lord Almighty that we are sorry.
• 2 Peter 3:4They will say: ‘Christ promised that he would return to this world. But he has not returned! Our ancestors have already died, but since God made the world in the beginning, nothing has changed.’

Commentaries on Zephaniah 1:12

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 12I will search Jerusalem with candles - I will make a universal and thorough search. That are settled on their lees - Those who are careless, satisfied with the goods of this life; who trust in their riches, and are completely irreligious; who, while they acknowledge that there is a God, think, like the Aristotelians, that he is so supremely happy in the contemplation of his own excellences, that he feels it beneath his dignity to concern himself with the…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 12I will search - (Literally, “diligently”). The word is always used of a minute diligent search, whereby places, persons, things, are searched and sifted one by one in every corner, until it be found whether a thing be there or no. Hence, also of the searching out of every thought of the heart, either by God Proverbs 20:27, or in repentance by the light of God Lamentations 3:40. Jerusalem with candles - so that there should be no corner, no lurking-place…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 7-13Verses 7-13 God's day is at hand; the punishment of presumptuous sinners is a sacrifice to the justice of God. The Jewish royal family shall be reckoned with for their pride and vanity; and those that leap on the threshold, invading their neighbours' rights, and seizing their possessions. The trading people and the rich merchants are called to account. Secure and careless people are reckoned with. They are secure and easy; they say in their heart, the…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 7-18We should view the entire passage as one large event. Some parts were fulfilled when Jerusalem fell in 586 BC. Other parts repeated in different historical periods, like the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70. The whole prophecy will be fulfilled at the end of time. Then, God will fully and finally judge the world and renew creation (Revelation 19:11–22:5).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1212. search ... with candles--or lamps; so as to leave no dark corner in it wherein sin can escape the punishment, of which the Chaldeans are My instruments (compare Zep 1:13; Lu 15:8). settled on their lees--"hardened" or crusted; image from the crust formed at the bottom of wines long left undisturbed (Jr 48:11). The effect of wealthy undisturbed ease ("lees") on the ungodly is hardening: they become stupidly secure (compare Psa 55:19; Am 6:1). Lord will…Read the comment

Topics related to Zephaniah 1:12

• Blasphemy
• Confidence
• Infidelity
• Lamp
• Lees
• Skepticism
• Symbols and Similitudes
• War
• Wicked (People)

In the dictionaries

• Jerusalem
• Crashing
• Lees
• Wasteness
• Josiah
• Molech; Moloch
• Wine; Wine Press
• Zephaniah, Book of

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