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New Living Translation

Zephaniah 3:4

Its prophets are arrogant liars seeking their own gain. Its priests defile the Temple by disobeying God's instructions.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Minister, Christian;   Thompson Chain Reference - Corrupt Priests;   Defilement-Cleansing;   False;   House of God;   Leaders;   Pollutions;   Priests;   Prophets;   Religious;   Temple;   Wicked, the;   The Topic Concordance - Priests;   Prophecy and Prophets;   Unjustness;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Defilement;   Prophets, False;  

Dictionaries:

- Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Priest;   Ruler;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Amon;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Zephaniah, the Book of;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Zephaniah, Book of;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Prophecy, Prophets;   Zephaniah (1);  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Person;   Zephaniah, Book of;  

Devotionals:

- Every Day Light - Devotion for February 19;  

Parallel Translations

Easy-to-Read Version
Her prophets are always making secret plans to get more and more. Her priests have treated holy things as if they were not holy. They have done bad things to God's teachings.
New American Standard Bible
Her prophets are insolent, treacherous men; Her priests have profaned the sanctuary. They have done violence to the Law.
New Century Version
Its prophets are proud; they are people who cannot be trusted. Its priests don't respect holy things; they break God's teachings.
Update Bible Version
Her prophets are light and treacherous persons; her priests have profaned the sanctuary, they have done violence to the law.
Webster's Bible Translation
Her prophets are light [and] treacherous persons: her priests have polluted the sanctuary, they have done violence to the law.
Amplified Bible
Her prophets are reckless and treacherous men; Her priests have profaned the sanctuary; They have done violence to the law [by pretending their word is God's word].
English Standard Version
Her prophets are fickle, treacherous men; her priests profane what is holy; they do violence to the law.
World English Bible
Her prophets are arrogant and treacherous people. Her priests have profaned the sanctuary. They have done violence to the law.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Profetis therof weren woode, vnfeithful men; prestis therof defouliden hooli thing, thei diden vniustli ayens the lawe.
English Revised Version
Her prophets are light and treacherous persons: her priests have profaned the sanctuary, they have done violence to the law.
Berean Standard Bible
Her prophets are reckless, faithless men. Her priests profane the sanctuary; they do violence to the law.
Contemporary English Version
Jerusalem's prophets are proud and not to be trusted. The priests have disgraced the place of worship and abused God's Law.
American Standard Version
Her prophets are light and treacherous persons; her priests have profaned the sanctuary, they have done violence to the law.
Bible in Basic English
Her prophets are good-for-nothing persons, full of deceit: her priests have made the holy place unclean and have gone violently against the law.
Complete Jewish Bible
Her prophets are reckless, treacherous men; her cohanim profane the holy and do violence to Torah.
Darby Translation
Her prophets are vain-glorious, treacherous persons; her priests profane the sanctuary, they do violence to the law.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
Her prophets are wanton and treacherous persons; her priests have profaned that which is holy, they have done violence to the law.
King James Version (1611)
Her prophets are light and treacherous persons: her priests haue polluted the Sanctuarie, they haue done violence to the Law.
New Life Bible
Her men who tell what is going to happen in the future are proud and cannot be trusted. Her religious leaders have made the holy place unclean. They have turned in anger against the Law.
New Revised Standard
Its prophets are reckless, faithless persons; its priests have profaned what is sacred, they have done violence to the law.
Geneva Bible (1587)
Her prophets are light, and wicked persons: her priests haue polluted the Sanctuarie: they haue wrested the Lawe.
George Lamsa Translation
Her prophets are wanton and treacherous persons; her priests have polluted the sanctuary, they have done violence to the law.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Her prophets, are reckless, treacherous men! her priests, have profaned the holy, done violence to law.
Douay-Rheims Bible
Her prophets are senseless, men without faith: her priests have polluted the sanctuary, they have acted unjustly against the law.
Revised Standard Version
Her prophets are wanton, faithless men; her priests profane what is sacred, they do violence to the law.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
Her prophetes are light persons & vnfaythful men, her priestes haue polluted the sanctuarie, & haue wrested the law.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
Her prophets are light and scornful men: her priests profane the holy things, and sinfully transgress the law.
Good News Translation
The prophets are irresponsible and treacherous; the priests defile what is sacred, and twist the law of God to their own advantage.
Christian Standard Bible®
Her prophets are reckless—treacherous men.Her priests profane the sanctuary;they do violence to instruction.
Hebrew Names Version
Her prophets are arrogant and treacherous people. Her Kohanim have profaned the sanctuary. They have done violence to the law.
King James Version
Her prophets are light and treacherous persons: her priests have polluted the sanctuary, they have done violence to the law.
Lexham English Bible
Her prophets are arrogant men of treachery; her priests have defiled that which is holy; they do violence to the law.
Literal Translation
Her prophets are proud, men of deceit; her priests have profaned the sanctuary; they have done violence to the Law.
Young's Literal Translation
Her prophets unstable -- men of treachery, Her priests have polluted the sanctuary, They have violated the law.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Hir prophetes are light personnes and vn faithfull men: hir prestes vnhalowe the Sanctuary, and do wronge vnder the pretence of the lawe.
New English Translation
Her prophets are proud; they are deceitful men. Her priests defile what is holy; they break God's laws.
New King James Version
Her prophets are insolent, treacherous people; Her priests have polluted the sanctuary, They have done violence to the law.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
Her prophets are reckless, treacherous men; Her priests have profaned the sanctuary. They have done violence to the law.
Legacy Standard Bible
Her prophets are reckless, treacherous men;Her priests have profaned the sanctuary.They have done violence to the law.

Contextual Overview

1 What sorrow awaits rebellious, polluted Jerusalem, the city of violence and crime! 2 No one can tell it anything; it refuses all correction. It does not trust in the Lord or draw near to its God. 3 Its leaders are like roaring lions hunting for their victims. Its judges are like ravenous wolves at evening time, who by dawn have left no trace of their prey. 4 Its prophets are arrogant liars seeking their own gain. Its priests defile the Temple by disobeying God's instructions. 5 But the Lord is still there in the city, and he does no wrong. Day by day he hands down justice, and he does not fail. But the wicked know no shame. 6 "I have wiped out many nations, devastating their fortress walls and towers. Their streets are now deserted; their cities lie in silent ruin. There are no survivors— none at all. 7 I thought, ‘Surely they will have reverence for me now! Surely they will listen to my warnings. Then I won't need to strike again, destroying their homes.' But no, they get up early to continue their evil deeds.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

light: Isaiah 9:15, Isaiah 56:10-12, Jeremiah 5:31, Jeremiah 6:13, Jeremiah 6:14, Jeremiah 8:10, Jeremiah 14:13-15, Jeremiah 23:9-17, Jeremiah 23:25-27, Jeremiah 23:32, Jeremiah 27:14, Jeremiah 27:15, Lamentations 2:14, Ezekiel 13:3-16, Hosea 9:7, Micah 2:11, Micah 3:5, Micah 3:6, Matthew 7:15, 2 Corinthians 11:13, 2 Peter 2:1-3, 1 John 4:1, Revelation 19:20

her priests: 1 Samuel 2:12-17, 1 Samuel 2:22, Ezekiel 22:26, Ezekiel 44:7, Ezekiel 44:8, Hosea 4:6-8, Malachi 2:8

Reciprocal: 2 Chronicles 36:14 - all the chief Isaiah 59:6 - their works Jeremiah 9:2 - an assembly Jeremiah 23:1 - pastors Jeremiah 23:11 - both Jeremiah 23:14 - in the Jeremiah 26:7 - General Jeremiah 29:23 - and have Jeremiah 34:19 - princes Lamentations 4:13 - the sins Ezekiel 7:23 - for Ezekiel 13:2 - prophesy against Ezekiel 22:12 - taken gifts Ezekiel 22:28 - seeing Ezekiel 34:2 - Woe Ezekiel 44:10 - the Levites Ezekiel 44:23 - General 1 Corinthians 3:17 - any 2 Corinthians 1:17 - lightness

Cross-References

Genesis 3:13
Then the Lord God asked the woman, "What have you done?" "The serpent deceived me," she replied. "That's why I ate it."
Deuteronomy 29:19
"Those who hear the warnings of this curse should not congratulate themselves, thinking, ‘I am safe, even though I am following the desires of my own stubborn heart.' This would lead to utter ruin!
2 Kings 1:4
Now, therefore, this is what the Lord says: You will never leave the bed you are lying on; you will surely die.'" So Elijah went to deliver the message.
2 Kings 1:6
They replied, "A man came up to us and told us to go back to the king and give him this message. ‘This is what the Lord says: Is there no God in Israel? Why are you sending men to Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, to ask whether you will recover? Therefore, because you have done this, you will never leave the bed you are lying on; you will surely die.'"
2 Kings 1:16
And Elijah said to the king, "This is what the Lord says: Why did you send messengers to Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, to ask whether you will recover? Is there no God in Israel to answer your question? Therefore, because you have done this, you will never leave the bed you are lying on; you will surely die."
2 Kings 8:10
And Elisha replied, "Go and tell him, ‘You will surely recover.' But actually the Lord has shown me that he will surely die!"
Psalms 10:11
The wicked think, "God isn't watching us! He has closed his eyes and won't even see what we do!"
2 Corinthians 2:11
so that Satan will not outsmart us. For we are familiar with his evil schemes.
2 Corinthians 11:3
But I fear that somehow your pure and undivided devotion to Christ will be corrupted, just as Eve was deceived by the cunning ways of the serpent.
1 Timothy 2:14
And it was not Adam who was deceived by Satan. The woman was deceived, and sin was the result.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Her prophets [are] light [and treacherous persons,.... The false prophets, as the Targum and Kimchi explain it: these seem to design the lawyers spoken of in the New Testament, whose business it was to interpret the law to the people; these were "light" men, good for nothing, of no worth and value; light in knowledge, as Kimchi gives the sense of the word; men of no brains; empty headed men, that had no substantial knowledge; giddy, unstable, and inconstant, and compliant with the humours and vices of the people; men of no gravity in their countenance, speech, and conversation. Schultens a, from the use of the word in the Arabic language, renders it "proud", as these men were, proud boasters; for, though they had but a superficial knowledge of things, they boasted of much, and carried it with a haughty and insolent air to the common people: and they were "treacherous" to God, and to his truths, and to the souls of men, and took away the key of knowledge from them; and particularly were so to Christ, of whom they were the betrayers and murderers, delivering him up into the hands of the Gentiles to be scourged and crucified, Matthew 20:18:

her priests have polluted the sanctuary; the temple; by selling, or suffering to be sold in it, various things, whereby it became a den of thieves, which once was called a house of prayer, Matthew 21:12 and also our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the sanctuary or temple was a type, by denying, blaspheming, and reproaching him, and by shedding his blood:

they have done violence to the law; by not teaching it as they should; and by their false glosses, senses, and interpretations of it; and by the traditions of the elders they preferred unto it, and whereby they made it void; see Matthew 5:1 and Matthew 15:1.

a Animadv. Philol. in Job, p. 144.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Her prophets are light - , boiling and bubbling, up, like water boiling over , empty boasters claiming the gift of prophecy, which they have not; “boldly and rashly pouring out what they willed as they willed;” promising good things which shall not be. So they are “her” prophets, to whom they “prophesy smooth things” (see Micah 2:11), “the prophets of this people” not the prophets of God; “treacherous persons” (literally, men of treacheries) wholly given to manifold treacheries against God in whose Name they spake and to the people whom they deceived. Jerome: “They spake as if from the mouth of the Lord and uttered everything against the Lord.” “The leaders of the people,” those who profess to lead it aright, Isaiah says, “are its misleaders” (Isaiah 9:15 (Isaiah 9:16 in English)). “Thy prophets,” Jeremiah says, “have seen vain and foolish things for thee; they have seen for thee false visions and causes of banishment” Lamentations 2:14.

Her priests have polluted her sanctuary - Literally, “holiness,” and so holy rites, persons Ezra 8:28, things, places (as the sanctuary), sacrifices. All these they polluted, being themselves polluted; they polluted first themselves, then the holy things which they handled, handling them as they ought not; carelessly and irreverently, not as ordained by God; turning them to their own use and self-indulgence, instead of the glory of God; then they polluted them in the eyes of the people, “making them to abhor the offering of the Lord” 1 Samuel 2:17, since, living scandalously, they themselves regarded the Ministry entrusted to them by God so lightly. Their office was to “put difference between holy and unholy and between clean and unclean, and to teach the children all the statutes which the Lord hath spoken unto them by Moses” Leviticus 10:10-11; that they “should sanctify themselves and be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy” (Leviticus 11:44; Leviticus 19:2, etc.). But they on the contrary, God says by Ezekiel, “have done violence to My law and have profaned My holy things; they have made no difference between holy and profane, and have taught none between clean and unclean” Ezekiel 22:26. “Holy” and “unholy” being the contradictory of each other, these changed what God had hallowed into its exact contrary. It was not a mere short-coming, but an annihilation (so to speak), of God’s purposes.

Cyril: “The priests of the Church then must keep strict watch, not to profane holy things. There is not one mode only of profaning them, but many and divers. For priests ought to be purified both in soul and body, and to cast aside every form of abominable pleasure. Rather should they be resplendent with zeal in well-doing, remembering what Paul saith, ‘walk in the Spirit and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh’ Galatians 5:16.”

They have oppressed, done violence, to the law - Openly violating it ; or straining it, or secretly wresting and using its forms to wrong and violence, as in the case of Naboth and of Him, of whom Naboth thus far bore the Image. “‘We have a law, and by our law He ought to die’ John 19:7. Law exists to restrain human violence; these reversed God’s ordinances; violence and law changed places: first, they did violence to the majesty of the law, which was the very voice of God, and then, through profaning it, did violence to man. Forerunners herein of those, who, when Christ came, “transgressed the commandment of God, and made it of none effect by their traditions” Matthew 15:6; omitting also the weightier matters of the law, judgment and mercy and faith; full of extortion and excess!” Matthew 23:23, Matthew 23:25.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 4. Her prophets are light and treacherous persons — They have no seriousness, no deep conviction of the awful nature of their office, no concern for the immortal souls of the people. Treacherous persons - they betray the souls of the people for the sake of worldly honour, pleasure, and profit. Even in our own enlightened country we find prophets who prefer hunting the hare or the fox, and pursuing the partridge and pheasant, to visiting the sick, and going after the strayed, lost sheep of the house of Israel. Poor souls! They know neither God nor themselves; and if they did visit the sick, they could not speak to them to exhortation, edification, or comfort. God never called them to his work; therefore they know nothing of it. But O, what an account have these pleasure-taking false prophets to render to the Shepherd of souls!

They have done violence to the law. — They have forced wrong constructions on it in order to excuse themselves, and lull the people into spiritual slumber. So we find that it was an ancient practice for men to wrest the Scriptures to their own destruction.


 
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