Zephaniah 1:13 (DRB)

Passage

And their strength shall become a booty, and their houses as a desert: and they shall build houses, and shall not dwell in them: and they shall plant vineyards, and shall not drink the wine of them.

Nearby Context

Zephaniah 1:11 Howl, ye inhabitants of the Morter. All the people of Chanaan is hush, all are cut off that were wrapped up in silver.

Zephaniah 1:12 And it shall come to pass at that time, that I will search Jerusalem with lamps, and will visit upon the men that are settled on their lees: that say in their hearts: The Lord will not do good, nor will he do evil.

Zephaniah 1:13 And their strength shall become a booty, and their houses as a desert: and they shall build houses, and shall not dwell in them: and they shall plant vineyards, and shall not drink the wine of them.

Zephaniah 1:14 The great day of the Lord is near, it is near and exceeding swift: the voice of the day of the Lord is bitter, the mighty man shall there meet with tribulation.

Zephaniah 1:15 That day is a day of wrath, a day of tribulation and distress, a day of calamity and misery, a day of darkness and obscurity, a day of clouds and whirlwinds,

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "strength", "shall", "become", "booty", "houses", "desert", and "build". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "strength" and "shall", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 12's "And it shall come to pass at..." into verse 14's "The great day of the Lord is...", so "strength" and "shall" 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 "strength" and "shall" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.