Zephaniah 1:4 (DBY)

Passage

And I will stretch forth my hand upon Judah, and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and I will cut off the remnant of Baal from this place, the name of the Chemarim with the priests;

Nearby Context

Zephaniah 1:2 I will utterly take away everything from off the face of the ground, saith Jehovah:

Zephaniah 1:3 I will take away man and beast; I will take away the fowl of the heavens and the fishes of the sea, and the stumbling-blocks with the wicked, and I will cut off mankind from off the face of the ground, saith Jehovah.

Zephaniah 1:4 And I will stretch forth my hand upon Judah, and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and I will cut off the remnant of Baal from this place, the name of the Chemarim with the priests;

Zephaniah 1:5 and them that bow down to the host of the heavens upon the housetops; and them that bow down to Jehovah, that swear by [him], and swear by Malcham;

Zephaniah 1:6 and them that turn back from after Jehovah, and that do not seek Jehovah, nor inquire for him.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "stretch", "forth", "hand", "upon", "judah", "inhabitants", and "jerusalem". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "stretch" and "forth", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 3's "I will take away man and beast..." into verse 5's "and them that bow down to the...", so "stretch" and "forth" 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 "stretch" and "forth" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.