Zephaniah 1:6 (GNV)

Passage

And them that are turned backe from the Lord, and those that haue not sought the Lord, nor inquired for him.

Nearby Context

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,

Zephaniah 1:6 And them that are turned backe from the Lord, and those that haue not sought the Lord, nor inquired for him.

Zephaniah 1:7 Be stil at the presence of the Lord God: for the day of the Lord is at hand: for the Lord hath prepared a sacrifice, and hath sanctified his ghests.

Zephaniah 1:8 And it shalbe in the day of the Lords sacrifice, that I will visite the princes and the Kings children, and all such as are clothed with strange apparell.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "turned", "backe", "lord", "haue", "sought", and "inquired". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "turned" and "backe", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 5's "And them that worship the hoste of..." into verse 7's "Be stil at the presence of the...", so "turned" and "backe" 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 "turned" and "backe" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.