Zephaniah 3:4 (ASV)

Passage

Her prophets are light and treacherous persons; her priests have profaned the sanctuary, they have done violence to the law.

Nearby Context

Zephaniah 3:2 She obeyed not the voice; she received not correction; she trusted not in Jehovah; she drew not near to her God.

Zephaniah 3:3 Her princes in the midst of her are roaring lions; her judges are evening wolves; they leave nothing till the morrow.

Zephaniah 3:4 Her prophets are light and treacherous persons; her priests have profaned the sanctuary, they have done violence to the law.

Zephaniah 3:5 Jehovah in the midst of her is righteous; he will not do iniquity; every morning doth he bring his justice to light, he faileth not; but the unjust knoweth no shame.

Zephaniah 3:6 I have cut off nations; their battlements are desolate; I have made their streets waste, so that none passeth by; their cities are destroyed, so that there is no man, so that there is no inhabitant.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "light", "prophets", "treacherous", "persons", "priests", "profaned", "sanctuary", and "done". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "light" and "prophets", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 3's "Her princes in the midst of her..." into verse 5's "Jehovah in the midst of her is...", so "light" and "prophets" 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 "light" and "prophets" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.