Zephaniah 1:9

Old Testament Minor Prophet ASV (1901)

What does Zephaniah 1:9 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “And in that day I will punish all those that leap over the threshold, that fill their master`s house with violence and deceit.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

And in that day I will punish all those that leap over the threshold, that fill their master`s house with violence and deceit.
Zephaniah 1:9 — American Standard Version

Context — Zephaniah 1

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
9And in that day I will punish all those that leap over the threshold, that fill their master`s house with violence and deceit.

What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“In the same day also will I punish all those that leap on the threshold, etc.] Not in a ludicrous way, who, by dancing and leaping, made sport for persons, and brought their masters much gain, as the damsel possessed with a spirit of divination did, (<441616>Acts 16:16) rather, that entered rashly and irreverently into the house of God; or else in an idolatrous way, who, when they went into an idol’s temple, did not tread upon the threshold, but leaped over it, as the priests of Dagon, after the fall of that idol on the threshold, (<090504>1 Samuel 5:4,5). So the Targum, “and I will visit all those that walk in the laws (or according to the customs) of the Philistines;” whose idol Dagon was:…”
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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
“those that leap on the threshold--the servants of the princes, who, after having gotten prey (like hounds) for their masters, leap exultingly on their masters' thresholds; or, on the thresholds of the houses which they break into [CALVIN]. JEROME explains it of those who walk up the steps into the sanctuary with haughtiness. ROSENMULLER translates, "Leap over the threshold"; namely, in imitation of the Philistine custom of not treading on the threshold, which arose from the head and hands of Dragon being broken off on the threshold before the ark (Sa1 5:5). Compare Isa 2:6, "thy people . . . are soothsayers like the Philistines." CALVIN'S view agrees best with the latter clause of the verse.…”
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Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“I will punish all those that leap on the threshold - Neither language nor history nor context allow this to be understood of the idolatrous custom of Ashdod, not to tread on the threshold of the temple of Dagon. It had indeed been a strange infatuation of idolatry, that God’s people should adopt an act of superstitious reverence for an idol in the very instance in which its nothingness and the power of the true God had been shown. Nothing is indeed too brutish for one who chooses an idol for the true God, preferring Satan to the good God. Yet, the superstition belonged apparently to Ashdod alone; the worship of Dagon, although another form of untrue worship, does not appear, like that of…”
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Wesley's Explanatory Notes
John Wesley (1703–1791) · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament and Old Testament notes · 18th-century historical commentary
“In the same day - At the same time. Their masters houses - Either the oppressing kings, whose officers these were, or publick officers and judges, whose servants thus spoiled the poor. Violence - Goods taken by force, by false accusations, or by suborned evidence. Zephaniah 1:10”
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Tyndale Open Study Notes
Tyndale House Publishers · Tyndale Open Study Notes · Modern study notes
“1:9 those who participate in pagan worship ceremonies (literally those who leap over the threshold): The people of Judah perpetuated the pagan custom of leaping over the threshold of a temple to avoid contact with it, in deference to that pagan god (see 1 Sam 5:1-5).”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“those: Or, "that leap over the threshold," by which is probably meant the Philistines, who, after the time that Dagon fell before the ark and was broken on the threshold, leaped over it when entering his temple. leap: Sa1 5:5 which: Sa1 2:15, Sa1 2:16; Kg2 5:20-27; Neh 5:15; Pro 29:12; Act 16:19 Zephaniah 1:10”
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Related study paths

Sources and verification