Zephaniah 1:5

those who bow on the rooftops to worship the host of heaven, those who bow down and swear by the LORD but also swear by Milcom,

Berean Standard Bible

Follow its threads on the canvas →

Study note

Setting — The LORD pronounces judgment on Judah and Jerusalem during a period of widespread covenant apostasy and syncretistic idolatry.

The words — מִשְׁתַּחֲוִים (mish'tachavim) means "those who bow down," and גַּגּוֹת (gagghot) translates literally to "roofs."

The thread — This rooftop astral worship and dual allegiance to YHWH and foreign gods echoes the northern kingdom's syncretism (2 Kings 17:33), the defilement of Jerusalem's houses (Jeremiah 19:13), and the historical introduction of Milcom (1 Kings 11:33).

Why it lands — The text exposes a population that maintains outward religious routines while actively swearing allegiance to other deities, demanding a clear assessment of where covenant loyalty actually resides.

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

וְאֶת־ve./'Etand/ <obj.>הַמִּשְׁתַּחֲוִ֥יםha./mish.ta.cha.Vimthose/ [who] bow down עַל־'al-on הַגַּגּ֖וֹתha./ga.Gotthe/ roofs לִצְבָ֣אli/tz.Va'to/ [the] host of הַשָּׁמָ֑יִםha./sha.Ma.yimthe/ heavens וְאֶת־ve./'Etand/ <obj.>הַמִּֽשְׁתַּחֲוִים֙ha./mish.ta.cha.Vimthose/ [who] bow down הַנִּשְׁבָּעִ֣יםha./nish.ba.'Imthose/ [who] swear an oath לַֽיהוָ֔הla./Yah.wehto/ Yahweh וְהַנִּשְׁבָּעִ֖יםve./ha./nish.ba.'Imand/ those/ [who] swear an oath בְּמַלְכָּֽם׃be./mal.Kamby/ Milcom

King James Version

And them that worship the host of heaven upon the housetops; and them that worship and that swear by the Lord, and that swear by Malcham;

Cross-references

2 Kings 17:33 They worshiped the LORD, but they also served their own gods according to the customs of the nations from which they had been carried away.
Jeremiah 19:13 The houses of Jerusalem and the houses of the kings of Judah will be defiled like that place, Topheth—all the houses on whose rooftops they burned incense to all the host of heaven and poured out drink offerings to other gods.”
1 Kings 11:33 For they have forsaken Me to worship Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Milcom the god of the Ammonites. They have not walked in My ways, nor done what is right in My eyes, nor kept My statutes and judgments, as Solomon’s father David did.
1 Kings 18:21 Then Elijah approached all the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him. But if Baal is God, follow him.” But the people did not answer a word.
2 Kings 17:41 So these nations worshiped the LORD but also served their idols, and to this day their children and grandchildren continue to do as their fathers did.
2 Kings 23:12 He pulled down the altars that the kings of Judah had set up on the roof near the upper chamber of Ahaz, and the altars that Manasseh had set up in the two courtyards of the house of the LORD. The king pulverized them there and threw their dust into the Kidron Valley.
Deuteronomy 10:20 You are to fear the LORD your God and serve Him. Hold fast to Him and take your oaths in His name.
Joshua 23:7 So you are not to associate with these nations that remain among you. You must not call on the names of their gods or swear by them, and you must not serve them or bow down to them.
1 Kings 11:5 Solomon followed Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians and Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites.
Isaiah 44:5 One will say, ‘I belong to the LORD,’ another will call himself by the name of Jacob, and still another will write on his hand, ‘The LORD’s,’ and will take the name of Israel.”