Zephaniah 3:1 (GNV)

Passage

Woe to her that is filthie and polluted, to the robbing citie.

Nearby Context

Zephaniah 3:1 Woe to her that is filthie and polluted, to the robbing citie.

Zephaniah 3:2 She heard not the voyce: she receiued not correction: she trusted not in the Lord: she drew not neere to her God.

Zephaniah 3:3 Her princes within her are as roaring lyons: her iudges are as wolues in the euening, which leaue not the bones till the morow.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "filthie", "polluted", "robbing", and "citie". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "filthie" and "polluted", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The next verse adds "She heard not the voyce she receiued...", so "filthie" and "polluted" should be read forward into that movement. In Zephaniah context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "filthie" and "polluted" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.