Zephaniah 1:3 (GNV)

Passage

I will destroy man and beast: I wil destroy the foules of the heauen, and the fishes of the sea, and ruines shalbe to the wicked, and I will cut off man from off the land, saith the Lord.

Nearby Context

Zephaniah 1:1 The word of the Lord, which came vnto Zephaniah ye sonne of Cushi, the sonne of Gedaliah, the sonne of Amariah, the sonne of Hizkiah, in the dayes of Iosiah, the sonne of Amon King of Iudah.

Zephaniah 1:2 I will surely destroy all things from off the land, saith the Lord.

Zephaniah 1:3 I will destroy man and beast: I wil destroy the foules of the heauen, and the fishes of the sea, and ruines shalbe to the wicked, and I will cut off man from off the land, saith the Lord.

Zephaniah 1:4 I will also stretch out mine hand vpon Iudah, and vpon all the inhabitants of Ierusalem, and I wil cut off the remnant of Baal from this place, and the name of the Chemarims with ye Priestes,

Zephaniah 1:5 And them that worship the hoste of heauen vpon the house tops, and them that worship and sweare by the Lord, and sweare by Malcham,

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "destroy", "beast", "foules", "heauen", "fishes", "ruines", and "shalbe". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "destroy" and "beast", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

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