Zephaniah 3:1 (YLT)

Passage

Woe <FI>to<Fi> the rebellious and polluted, The oppressing city!

Nearby Context

Zephaniah 3:1 Woe <FI>to<Fi> the rebellious and polluted, The oppressing city!

Zephaniah 3:2 She hath not hearkened to the voice, She hath not accepted instruction, In Jehovah she hath not trusted, Unto her God she hath not drawn near.

Zephaniah 3:3 Her heads in her midst <FI>are<Fi> roaring lions, Her judges <FI>are<Fi> evening wolves, They have not gnawn the bone in the morning.

Study Lenses

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

The next verse adds "She hath not hearkened to the voice...", so "rebellious" 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 "rebellious" and "polluted" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.