Zephaniah 1:9 (DBY)

Passage

And in that day will I punish all those that leap over the threshold, who fill their master's house with violence and deceit.

Nearby Context

Zephaniah 1:7 Be silent at the presence of the Lord Jehovah; for the day of Jehovah is at hand; for Jehovah hath prepared a sacrifice, he hath hallowed his guests.

Zephaniah 1:8 And it shall come to pass in the day of Jehovah's sacrifice, that I will punish the princes, and the king's sons, and all such as are clothed with foreign apparel.

Zephaniah 1:9 And in that day will I punish all those that leap over the threshold, who fill their master's house with violence and deceit.

Zephaniah 1:10 And in that day, saith Jehovah, there shall be the noise of a cry from the fish-gate, and a howling from the second [quarter], and a great crashing from the hills.

Zephaniah 1:11 Howl, ye inhabitants of Maktesh; for all the people of Canaan are cut down, all they that are laden with silver are cut off.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "punish", "leap", "over", "threshold", "fill", "master's", "house", and "violence". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "punish" and "leap", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 8's "And it shall come to pass in..." into verse 10's "And in that day saith Jehovah there...", so "punish" and "leap" 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 "punish" and "leap" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.