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New Living Translation
Zephaniah 1:4
Bible Study Resources
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"I will punish Judah and the people living in Jerusalem. I will remove from this place any signs of Baal worship. No one will remember the priests who serve the idols there.
"So I will stretch out My hand against Judah And against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And I will eliminate the remnant of Baal from this place, And the names of the idolatrous priests along with the other priests.
"I will punish Judah and all the people living in Jerusalem. I will remove from this place all signs of Baal, the false priests, and the other priests.
And I will stretch out my hand on Judah, and on all the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and I will cut off the remnant of Baal from this place, [and] the name of the Chemarim with the priests;
I will also stretch out my hand upon Judah and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and I will cut off the remnant of Baal from this place, [and] the name of the Chemarims with the priests;
"I will also stretch out My hand [in judgment] against Judah And against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And I will cut off and destroy the remnant of Baal from this place, And the names and remembrance of the idolatrous priests along with the [false] priests,
"I will stretch out my hand against Judah and against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and I will cut off from this place the remnant of Baal and the name of the idolatrous priests along with the priests,
I will stretch out my hand against Judah, and against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem. I will cut off the remnant of Baal from this place: the name of the idolatrous and pagan priests,
And Y schal stretche out myn hond on Juda, and on alle dwellers of Jerusalem; and Y schal lese fro this place the relifs of Baal, and the names of keperis of housis, with prestis;
And I will stretch out mine hand upon Judah, and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and I will cut off the remnant of Baal from this place, and the name of the Chemarim with the priests;
"I will stretch out My hand against Judah and against all who dwell in Jerusalem. I will cut off from this place every remnant of Baal, the names of the idolatrous and pagan priests-
I will reach out to punish Judah and Jerusalem— nothing will remain of the god Baal; nothing will be remembered of his pagan priests.
And I will stretch out my hand upon Judah, and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and I will cut off the remnant of Baal from this place, and the name of the Chemarim with the priests;
And my hand will be stretched out on Judah and on all the people of Jerusalem, cutting off the name of the Baal from this place, and the name of the false priests,
"I will stretch out my hand over Y'hudah and all those living in Yerushalayim. I will wipe every remnant of Ba‘al from this place, the idol-serving priests and even their names,
And I will stretch forth my hand upon Judah, and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and I will cut off the remnant of Baal from this place, the name of the Chemarim with the priests;
And I will stretch out My hand upon Judah, and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and I will cut off the remnant of Baal from this place, and the name of the idolatrous priests with the priests;
I will also stretch out mine hand vpon Iudah, and vpon all the inhabitants of Ierusalem, and I will cut off the remnant of Baal from this place, and the name of the Chemarims with the priests:
"I will put out My hand against Judah and against all the people of Jerusalem. I will destroy from this place the rest of the people who worship Baal, and the names of the religious leaders who worship false gods.
I will stretch out my hand against Judah, and against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and I will cut off from this place every remnant of Baal and the name of the idolatrous priests;
I will also stretch out mine hand vpon Iudah, and vpon all the inhabitants of Ierusalem, and I wil cut off the remnant of Baal from this place, and the name of the Chemarims with ye Priestes,
I will also stretch out my hand against Judah and against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and I will destroy the remnant of Baal from this place, and the name of the priests in charge, along with the priests;
And I will stretch out my hand - over Judah, and over all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, - and will cut off out of this place, the name of Baal, the name of the priestlings, with the priests;
And I will stretch out my hand upon Juda, and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem: and I will destroy out of this place the remnant of Baal, and the names of the wardens of the temples with the priests:
"I will stretch out my hand against Judah, and against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and I will cut off from this place the remnant of Ba'al and the name of the idolatrous priests;
I wil stretch out myne hand vpon Iuda and vpon all such as dwell at Hierusalem: thus will I roote out the remnaunt of Baal from this place, and the names of the Kemurins and priestes:
And I will stretch out mine hand upon Juda, and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and I will remove the names of Baal out of this place, and the names of the priests;
"I will punish the people of Jerusalem and of all Judah. I will destroy the last trace of the worship of Baal there, and no one will even remember the pagan priests who serve him.
I will stretch out my hand against Judahand against all the residents of Jerusalem.I will cut off every vestige of Baalfrom this place,the names of the pagan priestsalong with the priests;
I will stretch out my hand against Yehudah, and against all the inhabitants of Yerushalayim. I will cut off the remnant of Ba`al from this place: the name of the idolatrous and pagan Kohanim,
I will also stretch out mine hand upon Judah, and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and I will cut off the remnant of Baal from this place, and the name of the Chemarims with the priests;
"And I will stretch out my hand against Judah and against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And I will cut off from this place the remnant of Baal, and the name of idolatrous priests with the priests,
I will also stretch out My hand on Judah and on all those dwelling in Jerusalem. And I will cut off the remnant of Baal from this place, the name of the idol worshipers, with the priests;
And stretched out My hand against Judah, And against all inhabiting Jerusalem, And cut off from this place the remnant of Baal, The name of the idolatrous priests, with the priests,
I wil stretch out myne honde vpon Iuda, and vpon all soch as dwel at Ierusalem. Thus wil I rote out the remnaunt of Baal from this place, and the names of the Kemuryns and prestes:
"I'll start with Judah and everybody who lives in Jerusalem. I'll sweep the place clean of every trace of the sex-and-religion Baal shrines and their priests. I'll get rid of the people who sneak up to their rooftops at night to worship the star gods and goddesses; Also those who continue to worship God but cover their bases by worshiping other king-gods as well; Not to mention those who've dumped God altogether, no longer giving him a thought or offering a prayer.
"I will attack Judah and all who live in Jerusalem. I will remove from this place every trace of Baal worship, as well as the very memory of the pagan priests.
"I will stretch out My hand against Judah,And against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem.I will cut off every trace of Baal from this place,The names of the idolatrous priests [fn] with the pagan priests--
"So I will stretch out My hand against Judah And against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And I will cut off the remnant of Baal from this place, And the names of the idolatrous priests along with the priests.
"So I will stretch out My hand against JudahAnd against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem.And I will cut off the remnant of Baal from this place,And the names of the idolatrous priests along with the priests,
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
stretch: Exodus 15:12, 2 Kings 21:13, Isaiah 14:26, Isaiah 14:27
the remnant: "Fulfilled", 2 Kings 23:4, 2 Kings 23:5, 2 Chronicles 34:4
the Chemarims: Hosea 10:5, *marg.
Reciprocal: Deuteronomy 7:24 - their name 1 Kings 9:9 - Because 2 Chronicles 24:18 - wrath Isaiah 1:28 - they that Isaiah 48:19 - his name Isaiah 65:12 - will I Jeremiah 10:15 - in the Jeremiah 15:6 - stretch Jeremiah 44:26 - The Lord God Ezekiel 6:6 - your altars Ezekiel 20:39 - but Ezekiel 25:7 - I will stretch Zechariah 13:2 - I will cut Romans 11:4 - Baal
Cross-References
God called the dry ground "land" and the waters "seas." And God saw that it was good.
The land produced vegetation—all sorts of seed-bearing plants, and trees with seed-bearing fruit. Their seeds produced plants and trees of the same kind. And God saw that it was good.
to govern the day and night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good.
God made all sorts of wild animals, livestock, and small animals, each able to produce offspring of the same kind. And God saw that it was good.
Then God looked over all he had made, and he saw that it was very good! And evening passed and morning came, marking the sixth day.
I thought, "Wisdom is better than foolishness, just as light is better than darkness.
Light is sweet; how pleasant to see a new day dawning.
Gill's Notes on the Bible
I will also stretch out mine hand upon Judah,.... Under whom the tribe of Benjamin is comprehended, which are only designed; the ten tribes having been carried captive in Hezekiah's time many years before this: not "to Judah", as beckoning to come and hearken to him, as calling to repentance and reformation; this he had done, but was rejected, and therefore determines to stretch out his hand "upon" them; nor "over Judah", to protect and defend them; but "upon Judah", exerting his power, stirring up his wrath, and executing his vengeance; and this is dreadful and intolerable to bear! and when his hand is stretched out, it cannot be turned back; and when laid on, can never be removed, till he pleases:
and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem; the metropolis of Judea, the royal seat of the kings of the house of David; where were the temple of the Lord; the ark, the symbol of his presence; the altar, where his priests sacrificed, and the place where his people worshipped; and yet these inhabitants should not escape the hand of the Lord, having sinned against him; nor should these things be any security to them:
and I will cut off the remnant of Baal from this place; either what of the idolatry of Baal, or belonging to it, remained among the Jews after the ten tribes were carried captive; which must be the sense, if this prophecy was before the reformation was begun by Josiah; or, if after, the meaning is, what was left unremoved by him, as any of the images of Baal, or altars erected for his worship, or vessels consecrated to his service, or groves that were for his use; all which would be cut off and destroyed by the Chaldeans, as well as the worshippers of him that remained:
[and] the name of the Chemarims with the priests; that is, the priests of Baal, with the priests of the tribe of Levi, who sometimes tampered and officiated with them in idolatrous service; for the word "Chemarim" is translated "idolatrous priests", 2 Kings 23:5 said to be put down by Josiah, in whose days Zephaniah prophesied; and must be the same with these, and it is used for such in Hosea 10:5 so called, either from the black garments they wore, as some think; or from the colour of their faces, smutted with the smoke of the incense they frequently offered; or of the fires in which they sacrificed, or made the children to pass through to Molech. Hillerus k thinks they are the same with those heathen priests called "Phallophori"; deriving the word from one in the Arabic language, which has the signification of the "Phalli"; which were obscene images, carried about in an impudent manner by the priests of Bacchus, in the performance of his sacred rites: the carrying of them was first instituted by Isis, as Plutarch l says; and if this was the case here, it is no wonder they should be so severely threatened. Some take them to be a sort of servants or ministers to the priests of Baal, who waited on them at the time of service; and so are distinguished from them in this clause, taking the word "priests" in it to design the priests of Baal; and the Vulgate Latin version renders it, "the name of sextons with the priests". The word is used now by the Jews for Popish monks that live in cloisters; and Elias Levita m thinks these here are so called from their living in such like recluse places. The Targum is,
"and the name of their worshippers with their priests;''
one and the other; priests of Baal, and apostate priests of the Lord; the worshippers of Baal, and those that attend upon his priests, shall all feel the weight of Jehovah's hand, and the lighting down of his arm with indignation.
k Onomastic. Sacr. p. 113. l De Iside & Osiride. m Tishbi, p. 163. Vid. Buxtorf. Lex. Talmud. in voce כמר.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
I will also stretch out Mine Hand - As before on Egypt . Judah had gone in the ways of Egypt and learned her sins, and sinned worse than Egypt. “The mighty Hand and stretched-out Arm” Jeremiah 2:10-11, with which she had been delivered, shall be again “stretched out,” yet, not for her but “upon” her, “upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem.” In this threatened destruction of all, Judah and Jerusalem are singled out, because “judgment” shall “begin at the house of God” 1 Peter 4:17; Jeremiah 25:29. They who have sinned against the greater grace shall be most signally punished. Yet, the punishment of those whom God had so chosen and loved is an earnest of the general judgment. This too is not a partial but a general judgment “upon “all” the inhabitants of Jerusalem.”
And I will cut off the remnant of Baal - that is, to the very last vestige of it. Isaiah unites “name and residue” Isaiah 14:22, as equivalents, together with the proverbial, posterity and descendant. Zephaniah distributes them in parallel clauses, “the “residue” of Baal and the “name” of the Chemarim.” Good and evil have each a root, which remains in the ground, when the trunk has been hewn down. There is “a remnant according to the election of grace,” when “the rest have been blinded” Romans 11:5, Romans 11:7; and this is a “holy seed” Isaiah 6:13 to carry on the line of God. Evil too has its remnant, which, unless diligently kept down, shoots up again, after the conversion of peoples or individuals. The “mind of the flesh” remains in the regenerate also. The prophet foretells the complete excision of the whole “remnant of Baal,” which was fulfilled in it after the captivity, and shall be fulfilled as to all which it shadows forth, in the Day of Judgment. “From this place;” for in their phrensy, they dared to bring the worship of Baal into the very temple of the Lord 2 Kings 23:4. Ribera: “Who would ever believe that in Jerusalem, the holy city, and in the very temple idols should be consecrated? Whoso seeth the ways of our times will readily believe it. For among Christians and in the very temple of God, the abominations of the pagan are worshiped. Riches, pleasures, honors, are they not idols which Christians prefer to God Himself?”
And the name of the Chemarim with the priests - Of the “idolatrous priests” the very name shall be cut off, as God promises by Hosea, that He will “take away the names of Baalim” Hosea 2:17, and by Zechariah, that He “will cut off the names of the idols out of the land” Zechariah 13:2. Yet this is more. Not the “name” only “of the Chemarim,” but themselves with their name, their posterity, shall be blotted out; still more, it is God who cuts off all memory of them, blotting them out of the book of the living and out of His own.
They had but a name before, “that they were living, but were dead” Revelation 3:1. Jerome: “The Lord shall take away names of vain glory, wrongly admired, out of the Church yea, the very names of the priests with the priests who vainly flatter themselves with the name of Bishops and the dignity of Presbyters without their deeds. Whence he markedly says, not, “and the deeds of priests with the priests,” but the “names;” who only bear the false name, of dignities, and with evil works destroy their own names.” The “priests are priests of the Lord,” who live not like priests, corrupt in life and doctrine and corrupters of God’s people (see Jeremiah 2:8;Jeremiah 5:31). The judgment is pronounced alike on what was intrinsically evil, and on good which had corrupted itself into evil. The title of priest is no where given to the priest of a false God, without some mention in the context, implying that they were idolatrous priests; as the priests of Dagon 1 Samuel 5:5, of the high places as ordained by Jeroboam 1 Kings 13:2, 1Ki 13:33; 2 Kings 23:20; 2 Chronicles 11:15, of Baal 2 Kings 10:19; 2Ki 11:18; 2 Chronicles 23:17, of Bethel Amos 7:10, of Ahab 2 Kings 10:11, of those who were not gods 2 Chronicles 13:9, of On, where the sun was worshiped . “The priests” then were God’s priests, who in the evil days of Manasseh had manifoldly corrupted their life or their faith, and who were still evil.
The “priests” of Judah, with its kings its princes and the people of the land, were in Jeremiah’s inaugural vision enumerated as those, who “shall,” God says, “fight against thee, but shall not prevail against thee” Jeremiah 1:18-19. “The priests said not, Where is the Lord? and they that handle the law knew Me not” Jeremiah 2:7-8. In the general corruption, “A wonderful and horrible thing is committed in the land, the prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule at their hands” Jeremiah 5:30-31 : “the children of Israel and the children of Judah, their kings, their princes, their priests, and their prophets, and the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, have turned unto Me the back, and not the face” Jeremiah 32:32-33. Jeremiah speaks specifically of heavy moral sins. “From the prophet even unto the priest everyone dealeth falsely” Jeremiah 6:13; Jeremiah 8:10; “both prophet and priest are profane” Jeremiah 23:11; “for the sins of her prophets, the iniquities of her” Lamentations 4:13. And Isaiah says of her sensuality; “the priests and the prophets have erred through strong drink; they are swallowed up of wine; they are out of the way through strong drink” Isaiah 28:7.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse 4. I will cut off the remnant of Baal — I think he refers here, partly at least, to the reformation which Josiah was to bring about. See the account, 2 Kings 23:5.
The Chemarims — The black-robed priests of different idols. 2 Kings 23:5. These were put down by Josiah.
