Zephaniah 2:11 (KJV)

Passage

The LORD will be terrible unto them: for he will famish all the gods of the earth; and men shall worship him, every one from his place, even all the isles of the heathen.

Nearby Context

Zephaniah 2:9 Therefore as I live, saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, Surely Moab shall be as Sodom, and the children of Ammon as Gomorrah, even the breeding of nettles, and saltpits, and a perpetual desolation: the residue of my people shall spoil them, and the remnant of my people shall possess them.

Zephaniah 2:10 This shall they have for their pride, because they have reproached and magnified themselves against the people of the LORD of hosts.

Zephaniah 2:11 The LORD will be terrible unto them: for he will famish all the gods of the earth; and men shall worship him, every one from his place, even all the isles of the heathen.

Zephaniah 2:12 Ye Ethiopians also, ye shall be slain by my sword.

Zephaniah 2:13 And he will stretch out his hand against the north, and destroy Assyria; and will make Nineveh a desolation, and dry like a wilderness.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "lord", "terrible", "famish", "gods", "earth", "shall", "worship", and "place". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "lord" and "terrible", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 10's "This shall they have for their pride..." into verse 12's "Ye Ethiopians also ye shall be slain...", so "lord" and "terrible" 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 "lord" and "terrible" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.