Zephaniah 1:5 (YLT)

Passage

And those bowing themselves On the roofs to the host of the heavens, And those bowing themselves, Swearing to Jehovah, and swearing by Malcham,

Nearby Context

Zephaniah 1:3 I consume man and beast, I consume fowl of the heavens, and fishes of the sea, And the stumbling-blocks--the wicked, And I have cut off man from the face of the ground, An affirmation of Jehovah,

Zephaniah 1:4 And stretched out My hand against Judah, And against all inhabiting Jerusalem, And cut off from this place the remnant of Baal, The name of the idolatrous priests, with the priests,

Zephaniah 1:5 And those bowing themselves On the roofs to the host of the heavens, And those bowing themselves, Swearing to Jehovah, and swearing by Malcham,

Zephaniah 1:6 And those removing from after Jehovah, And who have not sought Jehovah, nor besought Him.

Zephaniah 1:7 Hush! because of the Lord Jehovah, For near <FI>is<Fi> a day of Jehovah, For prepared hath Jehovah a sacrifice, He hath sanctified His invited ones.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "bowing", "themselves", "roofs", "host", "heavens", and "swearing". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "bowing" and "themselves", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 4's "And stretched out My hand against Judah..." into verse 6's "And those removing from after Jehovah And...", so "bowing" and "themselves" 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 "bowing" and "themselves" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.