Zephaniah 1:3

Old Testament Minor Prophet ASV (1901)

What does Zephaniah 1:3 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “I will consume man and beast; I will consume the birds of the heavens, and the fishes of the sea, and the stumblingblocks with the wicked; and I will cut off man from off the face of the ground, saith Jehovah.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

I will consume man and beast; I will consume the birds of the heavens, and the fishes of the sea, and the stumblingblocks with the wicked; and I will cut off man from off the face of the ground, saith Jehovah.
Zephaniah 1:3 — American Standard Version

Context — Zephaniah 1

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
3I will consume man and beast; I will consume the birds of the heavens, and the fishes of the sea, and the stumblingblocks with the wicked; and I will cut off man from off the face of the ground, saith Jehovah.

What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“I will consume man and beast, etc.] Wicked men for their sins, and beasts for the sins of men; and, as a punishment for them, the creatures whom they have abused to the gratifying of their lusts: I will consume the fowls of the heaven, and the fishes of the sea; so that there shall be none for the use of man, which are both delicate food; the latter were not consumed at the general deluge. Kimchi thinks this is said by way of hyperbole; but it is possible for these to be consumed, as men by famine, pestilence, and captivity, and beasts by murrain; so the fowls of the air by the noisomeness of it; and the fishes of the sea, that is, such as were in the sea of Tiberias, and other lakes in…”
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Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“Enumeration in detail of the "all things" (Zep 1:2; compare Jer 9:10; Hos 4:3). the stumbling-blocks--idols which cause Judah to offend or stumble (Eze 14:3-4, Eze 14:7). with the wicked--The idols and their worshippers shall be involved in a common destruction.”
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Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“The stumbling-blocks with the wicked - Not only shall the wicked be utterly brought to an end, or, in the other meaning of the word, “gathered into bundles to be taken away,” but all causes of stumbling too; everything, through which others can fall, which will not be until the end of all things. Then, he repeats, yet more emphatically, “I will cut off the whole race of man from the face of the earth,” and then he closes the verse, like the foregoing, with the solemn words, “saith the Lord.” All this shall be fulfilled in the Day of Judgment, and all other fulfillments are earnests of the final Judgment. They are witnesses of the ever-living presence of the Judge of all, that God does take…”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“consume man: Jer 4:23-29, Jer 12:4; Hos 4:3 stumblingblocks: or, idols, Isa 27:9; Eze 7:19, Eze 14:3-7, Eze 44:12; Hos 14:3, Hos 14:8; Mic 5:11-14; Zac 13:2; Mat 23:39; Rev 2:14 and I: Eze 14:13-21, Eze 15:6-8 Zephaniah 1:4”
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Related study paths

Sources and verification