Zephaniah 1:3 (KJV)

Passage

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.

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.

Zephaniah 1:4 I will also stretch out mine hand upon Judah, and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and I will cut off the remnant of Baal from this place, and the name of the Chemarims with the priests;

Zephaniah 1:5 And them that worship the host of heaven upon the housetops; and them that worship and that swear by the LORD, and that swear by Malcham;

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "consume", "beast", "fowls", "heaven", "fishes", "stumbling", and "blocks". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "consume" and "beast", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 2's "I will utterly consume all things from..." into verse 4's "I will also stretch out mine hand...", so "consume" and "beast" 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 "consume" and "beast" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.