Zephaniah 1:3 (ASV)

Passage

I will consume man and beast; I will consume the birds of the heavens, and the fishes of the sea, and the stumblingblocks with the wicked; and I will cut off man from off the face of the ground, saith Jehovah.

Nearby Context

Zephaniah 1:1 The word of Jehovah which came unto Zephaniah the son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah.

Zephaniah 1:2 I will utterly consume all things from off the face of the ground, saith Jehovah.

Zephaniah 1:3 I will consume man and beast; I will consume the birds of the heavens, and the fishes of the sea, and the stumblingblocks with the wicked; and I will cut off man from off the face of the ground, saith Jehovah.

Zephaniah 1:4 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;

Zephaniah 1:5 and them that worship the host of heaven upon the housetops; and them that worship, that swear to Jehovah and swear by Malcam;

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "consume", "beast", "birds", "heavens", "fishes", "stumblingblocks", and "wicked". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "consume" and "beast", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 2's "I will utterly consume all things from..." into verse 4's "And I will stretch out my hand...", so "consume" and "beast" belong inside that flow. In Zephaniah context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "consume" and "beast" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.