God’s Word Translation
Zephaniah 1:16
16a day of rams’ horns and battle cries against the fortified cities and against the high corner towers.
Zephaniah 1:16 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)A day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities, and against the high towers.
- New International Version (NIV)a day of trumpet and battle cry against the fortified cities and against the corner towers.
- English Standard Version (ESV)a day of trumpet blast and battle cry against the fortified cities and against the lofty battlements.
- New King James Version (NKJV)A day of trumpet and alarm Against the fortified cities And against the high towers.
Context of Zephaniah 1:16
14The frightening day of the Lord is near. It is near and coming very quickly. Listen! Warriors will cry out bitterly on the day of the Lord. 15That day will be a day of overflowing fury, a day of trouble and distress, a day of devastation and desolation, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and overcast skies, a day of rams’ horns and battle cries against the fortified cities and against the high corner towers. 17“I will bring such distress on humans that they will walk like they are blind, because they have sinned against the Lord.” Their blood will be poured out like dust and their intestines like manure. 18Their silver and their gold will not be able to rescue them on the day of the Lord’s overflowing fury. The whole earth will be consumed by his fiery anger, because he will put an end, a frightening end, to those who live on earth.
Read all of Zephaniah 1Zephaniah 1:16 word by word
י֥וֹם שׁוֹפָ֖ר וּתְרוּעָ֑ה עַ֚ל הֶעָרִ֣ים הַבְּצֻר֔וֹת וְעַ֖ל הַפִּנּ֥וֹת הַגְּבֹהֽוֹת׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Zephaniah 1:16
- Isaiah 59:10We grope like blind men along a wall. We grope like people without eyes. We stumble at noon as if it were twilight. We are like dead people among healthy people.
- Jeremiah 4:19My anguish, my anguish! I writhe in pain. My heart is beating wildly! My heart is pounding! I can’t keep quiet because I hear a ram’s horn sounding the alarm for war.
- Jeremiah 6:1“Take cover, people of Benjamin! Run away from Jerusalem! Blow the ram’s horn in Tekoa. Raise the flag over Beth Hakkerem, because disaster and widespread destruction are coming from the north.
- Jeremiah 8:16The snorting of horses can be heard from Dan. The neighing of stallions makes the whole land tremble. They are coming to devour the land and everything in it, the city and its people.
- Hosea 5:8“Blow the ram’s horn in Gibeah. Blow the trumpet in Ramah. Sound the alarm at Beth Aven, you descendants of Benjamin.
- Hosea 8:1“Sound the alarm on the ram’s horn. The enemy swoops down on the Lord’s temple like an eagle. The people of Israel have rejected my promise and rebelled against my teachings.
- Amos 3:6If a ram’s horn sounds an alarm in a city, won’t the people be alarmed? If there is a disaster in a city, hasn’t the Lord done it?
- Habakkuk 1:6I am going to send the Babylonians, that fierce and reckless nation. They will march throughout the earth to take possession of lands that don’t belong to them.
- Habakkuk 3:6He stands and shakes the earth. He casts a glance and startles the nations. The oldest mountains break apart. The ancient hills sink. The ancient paths belong to him.
- Psalms 48:12Walk around Zion. Go around it. Count its towers.
- Isaiah 2:12The Lord of Armies will have his day against all who are arrogant and conceited and all who are proud of themselves (they will be humbled),
- Isaiah 32:14Palaces will be deserted. Noisy cities will be abandoned. Fortresses and watchtowers will become permanent caves. They will be a delight for wild donkeys and pastures for flocks
Commentaries on Zephaniah 1:16
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 16A day of the trumpet and alarm - othat is, of the loud blast of the trumpet, which sounds alarm and causes it. The word is especially the shrill loud noise of the trumpet (for sacred purposes in Israel itself, as ruling all the movements of the tabernacle and accompanying their feasts); then also of the “battle cry.” They had not listened to the voice of the trumpet, as it called them to holy service; now they shall hear “the voice of the Archangel and…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 14-18Verses 14-18 This warning of approaching destruction, is enough to make the sinners in Zion tremble; it refers to the great day of the Lord, the day in which he will show himself by taking vengeance on them. This day of the Lord is very near; it is a day of God's wrath, wrath to the utmost. It will be a day of trouble and distress to sinners. Let them not be laid asleep by the patience of God. What is a man profited if he gain the whole world, and lose…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 14-18The meaning of the day of the Lord expands to include God's actions involving the entire earth.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1616. the trumpet--namely, of the besieging enemy (Am 2:2). alarm--the war shout [Maurer]. towers--literally, "angles"; for city walls used not to be built in a direct line, but with sinuous curves and angles, so that besiegers advancing might be assailed not only in front, but on both sides, caught as it were in a cul-de-sac; towers were built especially at the angles. So Tacitus describes the walls of Jerusalem [Histories, 5.11.7].Read the comment
Topics related to Zephaniah 1:16
In the dictionaries
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
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
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