Zephaniah 1:5 (DRB)

Passage

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.

Nearby Context

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.

Zephaniah 1:6 And them that turn away from following after the Lord, and that have not sought the Lord, nor searched after him.

Zephaniah 1:7 Be silent before the face of the Lord God: for the day of the Lord is near, for the Lord hath prepared a victim, he hath sanctified his guests.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "worship", "host", "heaven", "upon", "tops", "houses", "adore", and "swear". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "worship" and "host", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 4's "And I will stretch out my hand..." into verse 6's "And them that turn away from following...", so "worship" and "host" 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 "worship" and "host" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.