Zephaniah 1:1 (KJV)

Passage

The word of the LORD which came unto Zephaniah the son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hizkiah, in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah.

Nearby Context

Zephaniah 1:1 The word of the LORD which came unto Zephaniah the son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hizkiah, in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah.

Zephaniah 1:2 I will utterly consume all things from off the land, saith the LORD.

Zephaniah 1:3 I will consume man and beast; I will consume the fowls of the heaven, and the fishes of the sea, and the stumbling blocks with the wicked: and I will cut off man from off the land, saith the LORD.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "word", "lord", "came", "zephaniah", "cushi", "gedaliah", "amariah", and "hizkiah". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "word" and "lord", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The next verse adds "I will utterly consume all things from...", so "word" and "lord" 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 "word" and "lord" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.