Zephaniah 1:15 (DBY)

Passage

That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of ruin and desolation, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and gross darkness,

Nearby Context

Zephaniah 1:13 And their wealth shall become a booty, and their houses a desolation; and they shall build houses, and not inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and not drink the wine thereof.

Zephaniah 1:14 The great day of Jehovah is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly. The voice of the day of Jehovah: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly.

Zephaniah 1:15 That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of ruin and desolation, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and gross darkness,

Zephaniah 1:16 a day of the trumpet and alarm, against the fenced cities and against the high battlements.

Zephaniah 1:17 And I will bring distress upon men, and they shall walk like blind men; for they have sinned against Jehovah; and their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as dung:

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "darkness", "wrath", "trouble", "distress", "ruin", "desolation", "gloom", and "clouds". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "darkness" and "wrath", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 14's "The great day of Jehovah is near..." into verse 16's "a day of the trumpet and alarm...", so "darkness" and "wrath" 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 "darkness" and "wrath" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.