Bible Strands
Zephaniah 1:3
“I will sweep away man and beast; I will sweep away the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, and the idols with their wicked worshipers. I will cut off mankind from the face of the earth,” declares the LORD.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The LORD speaks through Zephaniah to Judah and Jerusalem, immediately following a declaration to sweep away everything from the earth.
The words — אָסֵף ('a.Sef), translated "I will bring to an end," is repeated to stress total removal, while אָדָם ('a.Dam) specifies "human being" as the primary focus of the coming cutoff.
The thread — This sweeping judgment motif runs through Hosea 4:3, where land and creatures waste away, and stands in contrast to Ezekiel 7:19, where silver and gold are declared unable to save.
Why it lands — The text presents a concrete warning that no creature, idol, or wealth provides refuge from divine judgment, requiring readers to acknowledge the certainty of the cutoff before the declared moment arrives.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
I will consume man and beast; I will consume the fowls of the heaven, and the fishes of the sea, and the stumblingblocks with the wicked; and I will cut off man from off the land, saith the Lord.
Cross-references
- Hosea 4:3 Therefore the land mourns, and all who dwell in it will waste away with the beasts of the field and the birds of the air; even the fish of the sea disappear.
- Ezekiel 7:19 They will throw their silver into the streets, and their gold will seem unclean. Their silver and gold cannot save them in the day of the wrath of the LORD. They cannot satisfy their appetites or fill their stomachs with wealth, for it became the stumbling block that brought their iniquity.
- Isaiah 27:9 Therefore Jacob’s guilt will be atoned for, and the full fruit of the removal of his sin will be this: When he makes all the altar stones like crushed bits of chalk, no Asherah poles or incense altars will remain standing.
- Jeremiah 12:4 How long will the land mourn and the grass of every field be withered? Because of the evil of its residents, the animals and birds have been swept away, for the people have said, “He cannot see what our end will be.”
- Ezekiel 14:13 “Son of man, if a land sins against Me by acting unfaithfully, and I stretch out My hand against it to cut off its supply of food, to send famine upon it, and to cut off from it both man and beast,
- Matthew 23:39 For I tell you that you will not see Me again until you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.’”
- Jeremiah 4:23 I looked at the earth, and it was formless and void; I looked to the heavens, and they had no light.
- Ezekiel 14:3 “Son of man, these men have set up idols in their hearts and put wicked stumbling blocks before their faces. Should I consult with them in any way?
- Ezekiel 15:6 Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Like the wood of the vine among the trees of the forest, which I have given to the fire for fuel, so I will give up the people of Jerusalem.
- Hosea 14:3 Assyria will not save us, nor will we ride on horses. We will never again say, ‘Our gods!’ to the work of our own hands. For in You the fatherless find compassion.”