King James Version
Zephaniah 1:17
17And I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the Lord: and their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as the dung.
Zephaniah 1:17 in other versions
- New International Version (NIV)“I will bring such distress on all people that they will grope about like those who are blind, because they have sinned against the Lord. Their blood will be poured out like dust and their entrails like dung.
- English Standard Version (ESV)I will bring distress on mankind, so that they shall walk like the blind, because they have sinned against the Lord; their blood shall be poured out like dust, and their flesh like dung.
- New King James Version (NKJV)“I will bring distress upon men, And they shall walk like blind men, Because they have sinned against the Lord; Their blood shall be poured out like dust, And their flesh like refuse.”
- New Living Translation (NLT)“Because you have sinned against the Lord, I will make you grope around like the blind. Your blood will be poured into the dust, and your bodies will lie rotting on the ground.”
Context of Zephaniah 1:17
15That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, 16A day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities, and against the high towers. And I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the Lord: and their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as the dung. 18Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the Lord’s wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.
Read all of Zephaniah 1Zephaniah 1:17 word by word
וַהֲצֵרֹ֣תִי לָאָדָ֗ם וְהָֽלְכוּ֙ כַּֽעִוְרִ֔ים כִּ֥י לַֽיהוָ֖ה חָטָ֑אוּ וְשֻׁפַּ֤ךְ דָּמָם֙ כֶּֽעָפָ֔ר וּלְחֻמָ֖ם כַּגְּלָלִֽים׃Read the interlinear
- And I will bring distressצָרַרtsârar · to constrainH6887
- upon menאָדָם'âdâm · manH120
- that they shall walkהָלַךְhâlak · to go: walkH1980
- like blind menעִוֵּר‛ivvêr · blindH5787
- because they have sinnedחָטָאchâţâ' · to sinH2398
- against the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- and their bloodדָּםdâm · bloodH1818
- shall be poured outשָׁפַךְshâphak · to pour: pourH8210
- as dustעָפָר‛âphâr · dustH6083
- and their fleshלְחוּםlâchûm lâchûm · intestineH3894
- as the dungגֵּלgêlel · dungH1561
Cross-references for Zephaniah 1:17
- Deuteronomy 28:28The Lord shall smite thee with madness, and blindness, and astonishment of heart:
- Psalms 79:3Their blood have they shed like water round about Jerusalem; and there was none to bury them.
- Isaiah 29:10For the Lord hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes: the prophets and your rulers, the seers hath he covered.
- Isaiah 59:9Therefore is judgment far from us, neither doth justice overtake us: we wait for light, but behold obscurity; for brightness, but we walk in darkness.
- Lamentations 4:14They have wandered as blind men in the streets, they have polluted themselves with blood, so that men could not touch their garments.
- Matthew 15:14Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.
- John 9:40And some of the Pharisees which were with him heard these words, and said unto him, Are we blind also?
- Romans 11:7What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded
- 2 Corinthians 4:4In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
- 2 Peter 1:9But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.
- 1 John 2:11But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes.
- Revelation 3:17Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:
- Isaiah 24:5The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant.
- Isaiah 50:1Thus saith the Lord, Where is the bill of your mother’s divorcement, whom I have put away? or which of my creditors is it to whom I have sold you? Behold, for your iniquities have ye sold yourselves, and for your transgressions is your mother put away.
- Isaiah 59:12For our transgressions are multiplied before thee, and our sins testify against us: for our transgressions are with us; and as for our iniquities, we know them;
- Jeremiah 2:17Hast thou not procured this unto thyself, in that thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God, when he led thee by the way?
Commentaries on Zephaniah 1:17
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 17They shall walk like blind men - Be in the most perplexing doubt and uncertainty; and while in this state, have their blood poured out by the sword of their enemies, and their flesh trodden under foot.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 17I will bring distress upon men - I will hem them in, in anguish on all sides. God Himself shall meet them with His terrors, wherever they turn. “I will hem them in, that they may find it so”. That they shall walk like blind men - Utterly bereft of counsel, seeing no more than the blind which way to turn, grasping blindly and franticly at anything, and going on headlong to their own destruction. So God forewarned them in the law; “Thou shalt grope at noon…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. 17walk like the blind: This is an example of God's justice (see also Romans 1:21–32). God’s people were blind in their moral choices and in their relationship with him. They could not see what was right or wrong (see Exodus 23:8; Romans 2:19; 1 John 2:11). Because they sinned against the Lord and disobeyed his commands, they received the punishments promised in God’s covenant (Deuteronomy 28:28–29).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1717. like blind men--unable to see whither to turn themselves so as to find an escape from existing evils. flesh--Hebrew, "bread"; so the Arabic term for "bread" is used for "flesh" (Mt 26:26).Read the comment
Topics related to Zephaniah 1:17
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
King James Version — Public Domain except in the United Kingdom (Crown rights)
Commentaries