Zephaniah 1:3 (DRB)

Passage

I will gather man, and beast, I will gather the birds of the air, and the fishes of the sea: and the ungodly shall meet with ruin: and I will destroy men from off the face of the land, saith the Lord.

Nearby Context

Zephaniah 1:1 The word of the Lord that came to Zephaniah the son of Chusi, the son of Godolias, the son of Amarias, the son of Ezechias, in the days of Josias, the son of Amon king of Juda.

Zephaniah 1:2 Gathering, I will gather together all things from off the face of the land, saith the Lord:

Zephaniah 1:3 I will gather man, and beast, I will gather the birds of the air, and the fishes of the sea: and the ungodly shall meet with ruin: and I will destroy men from off the face of the land, saith the Lord.

Zephaniah 1:4 And I will stretch out my hand upon Juda, and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem: and I will destroy out of this place the remnant of Baal, and the names of the wardens of the temples with the priests:

Zephaniah 1:5 And them that worship the host of heaven upon the tops of houses, and them that adore, and swear by the Lord, and swear by Melchom.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "gather", "beast", "birds", "fishes", "ungodly", "shall", and "meet". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "gather" and "beast", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 2's "Gathering I will gather together all things..." into verse 4's "And I will stretch out my hand...", so "gather" and "beast" 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 "gather" and "beast" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.