Zephaniah 1:4 (LSB)

Passage

“So I will stretch out My hand against Judah And against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And I will cut off the remnant of Baal from this place, And the names of the idolatrous priests along with the priests,

Nearby Context

Zephaniah 1:2 “I will completely end all things From the face of the ground,” declares Yahweh.

Zephaniah 1:3 “I will end man and beast; I will end the birds of the sky And the fish of the sea And the ruins along with the wicked; And I will cut off man from the face of the ground,” declares Yahweh.

Zephaniah 1:4 “So I will stretch out My hand against Judah And against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And I will cut off the remnant of Baal from this place, And the names of the idolatrous priests along with the priests,

Zephaniah 1:5 And those who worship on the housetops the host of heaven, And those who worship and swear to Yahweh and yet swear by Milcom,

Zephaniah 1:6 And those who have turned back from following Yahweh, And those who have not sought Yahweh or inquired of Him.”

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "stretch", "hand", "against", "judah", "inhabitants", "jerusalem", and "remnant". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "stretch" and "hand", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 3's "I will end man and beast I..." into verse 5's "And those who worship on the housetops...", so "stretch" and "hand" 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 "stretch" and "hand" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.