The Meaning of Zephaniah 1:11 Explained

Zephaniah 1:11

KJV: Howl, ye inhabitants of Maktesh, for all the merchant people are cut down; all they that bear silver are cut off.

YLT: Howl, ye inhabitants of the hollow place, For cut off hath been all the merchant people, Cut off have been all bearing silver.

Darby: Howl, ye inhabitants of Maktesh; for all the people of Canaan are cut down, all they that are laden with silver are cut off.

ASV: Wail, ye inhabitants of Maktesh; for all the people of Canaan are undone; all they that were laden with silver are cut off.

Discover Zephaniah 1:11

CONTEXT: What is the Context of Zephaniah 1:11?

MEANING: What does Zephaniah 1:11 Mean?

WORDS: What do the individual words in Zephaniah 1:11 mean?

RELATIONS: What do the major concepts mean in Zephaniah 1:11?

What is the context of Zephaniah 1:11?

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Howl, ye inhabitants of Maktesh, for all the merchant people are cut down; all they that bear silver are cut off.

What does Zephaniah 1:11 Mean?

Study Notes

Maktesh
Lit. The Mortar, a depression in Jerusalem where the bazaars were.

Verse Meaning

Zephaniah called the inhabitants of the Mortar, the market or business district of Jerusalem, to wail because judgment was coming. This section of Jerusalem may have received the name "mortar" (bowl) because it lay in the somewhat geographically depressed Tyropoeon Valley. The Canaanites who did business there would fall silent because business would cease. Those who weighed silver as they conducted commercial transactions would also perish from the city.

Context Summary

Zephaniah 1:1-18 - "the Great Day Of The Lord"

Zephaniah means hidden of the Lord. He lived in Josiah's reign, and cooperated with that king in his efforts to put down idolatry. His prophecy deals with the sins that were rife in Judah and the fearful retribution that would be inflicted through the Chaldeans.

Approaching destruction, Zephaniah 1:2-6. The Chemarim, r.v., were idolatrous priests dressed in black garments. Malcam is Milcom or Moloch. Notice the successive classes of those who were to suffer in the overthrow. They constitute a series of concentric circles, narrowing down at last to those who had turned back, and to those who had never sought the Lord.

The invaders, Zephaniah 1:7-18. The guests whom God invited to the banquet were Nebuchadnezzar and his soldiers! They marched in through the Fish Gate; and, as they advanced, cry after cry arose from the affrighted populace, driven from quarter to quarter. Maktesh, Zephaniah 1:11, was probably the Vale of Siloam, where the merchant princes dwelt or pursued their business. None would be able to elude the coming vengeance. Those that affected foreign attire, or leaped across the threshold in superstition, or practiced deceit, would have to pay dearly for their sins. Fulfilled in the overthrow of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, and afterward by Titus, these words will always stand for the inevitable national sufferings which follow national crimes. [source]

Chapter Summary: Zephaniah 1

¹ The time when Zephaniah prophesied
² God's severe judgments against Judah

What do the individual words in Zephaniah 1:11 mean?

Wail you inhabitants of Maktesh for are cut down all the people merchant are cut off those who handle money

הֵילִ֖ילוּ יֹשְׁבֵ֣י הַמַּכְתֵּ֑שׁ כִּ֤י נִדְמָה֙ כָּל־ עַ֣ם כְּנַ֔עַן נִכְרְת֖וּ נְטִ֥ילֵי כָֽסֶף

הֵילִ֖ילוּ	Wail
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Imperative, masculine plural Root: יָלַל Sense: (Hiphil) to howl, wail, make a howling.
יֹשְׁבֵ֣י	you inhabitants
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine plural construct Root: יָשַׁב Sense: to dwell, remain, sit, abide.
הַמַּכְתֵּ֑שׁ	of Maktesh
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular Root: מַכְתֵּשׁ Sense: a hollow or valley evidently in the greater Jerusalem area.
נִדְמָה֙	are cut down
Parse: Verb, Nifal, Perfect, third person masculine singular Root: דָּמָה Sense: to cease, cause to cease, cut off, destroy, perish.
עַ֣ם	the people
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct Root: עַם Sense: nation, people.
כְּנַ֔עַן	merchant
Parse: Noun, masculine singular Root: כְּנַעַן Sense: the 4th son of Ham and the progenitor of the Phoenicians and of the various nations who peopled the seacoast of Palestine.
נִכְרְת֖וּ	are cut off
Parse: Verb, Nifal, Perfect, third person common plural Root: כָּרַת Sense: to cut, cut off, cut down, cut off a body part, cut out, eliminate, kill, cut a covenant.
נְטִ֥ילֵי	those who handle
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct Root: נָטִיל Sense: laden.
כָֽסֶף	money
Parse: Noun, masculine singular Root: כֶּסֶף Sense: silver, money.

What are the major concepts related to Zephaniah 1:11?

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Similar Scriptures for Zephaniah 1:11

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