The Meaning of Zephaniah 1:3 Explained

Zephaniah 1:3

KJV: I will consume man and beast; I will consume the fowls of the heaven, and the fishes of the sea, and the stumblingblocks with the wicked; and I will cut off man from off the land, saith the LORD.

YLT: I consume man and beast, I consume fowl of the heavens, and fishes of the sea, And the stumbling-blocks -- the wicked, And I have cut off man from the face of the ground, An affirmation of Jehovah,

Darby: I will take away man and beast; I will take away the fowl of the heavens and the fishes of the sea, and the stumbling-blocks with the wicked, and I will cut off mankind from off the face of the ground, saith Jehovah.

ASV: I will consume man and beast; I will consume the birds of the heavens, and the fishes of the sea, and the stumblingblocks with the wicked; and I will cut off man from off the face of the ground, saith Jehovah.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

I will consume  man  and beast;  I will consume  the fowls  of the heaven,  and the fishes  of the sea,  and the stumblingblocks  with the wicked;  and I will cut off  man  from off  the land,  saith  the LORD. 

What does Zephaniah 1:3 Mean?

Verse Meaning

This verse particularizes the general statement in Zephaniah 1:2 (cf. Genesis 1:1-31). The Lord will remove animal life, not that plants will survive-if animals die, plants will undoubtedly die too-, but animal life was His focus of interest. This includes human beings, beasts of all types, birds, and fish, in other words, animal life on the land, in the air, and in the water. Ruins still standing from previous destructions, or perhaps false religious practices that have caused people to stumble, would perish, as would the wicked. The Lord repeated that He would cut off man to make that fact indisputable. This would be a reversal of Creation (cf. Genesis 1:20-26) and a judgment similar to the Flood in its scope ( Genesis 6:17; Genesis 7:21-23).
Does this prophecy refer to the judgments that will come during the Tribulation ( Revelation 6-18) or at the end of the Millennium ( 2 Peter 3:10; Revelation 20:11-15)? In view of what follows in this section describing judgment, especially Zephaniah 3:8, the parallel passage to Zephaniah 1:2-3, I think it refers to the Tribulation judgments.

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 1:3 mean?

I will consume man and beast the birds of the heavens and the fish of the sea and the stumbling blocks with the along with wicked and I will cut off - man from the face of the land says Yahweh
אָסֵ֨ף אָדָ֜ם וּבְהֵמָ֗ה עוֹף־ הַשָּׁמַ֙יִם֙ וּדְגֵ֣י הַיָּ֔ם וְהַמַּכְשֵׁל֖וֹת אֶת־ הָרְשָׁעִ֑ים וְהִכְרַתִּ֣י אֶת־ הָאָדָ֗ם מֵעַ֛ל פְּנֵ֥י הָאֲדָמָ֖ה נְאֻם־ יְהוָֽה

אָסֵ֨ף  I  will  consume 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Imperfect Jussive, first person common singular
Root: אָסַף 
Sense: to gather, receive, remove, gather in.
אָדָ֜ם  man 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: אָדָם 
Sense: man, mankind.
וּבְהֵמָ֗ה  and  beast 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, feminine singular
Root: בְּהֵמָה  
Sense: beast, cattle, animal.
עוֹף־  the  birds 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: עֹוף  
Sense: flying creatures, fowl, insects, birds.
הַשָּׁמַ֙יִם֙  of  the  heavens 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine plural
Root: שָׁמַיִם  
Sense: heaven, heavens, sky.
וּדְגֵ֣י  and  the  fish 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: דָּאג 
Sense: fish.
הַיָּ֔ם  of  the  sea 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: יָם  
Sense: sea.
וְהַמַּכְשֵׁל֖וֹת  and  the  stumbling  blocks 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Article, Noun, feminine plural
Root: מַכְשֵׁלָה  
Sense: overthrown mass, stumbling-block, something overthrown, decay, ruin.
הָרְשָׁעִ֑ים  the  along  with  wicked 
Parse: Article, Adjective, masculine plural
Root: רָשָׁע  
Sense: wicked, criminal.
וְהִכְרַתִּ֣י  and  I  will  cut  off 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Hifil, Conjunctive perfect, first person common singular
Root: כָּרַת  
Sense: to cut, cut off, cut down, cut off a body part, cut out, eliminate, kill, cut a covenant.
אֶת־  - 
Parse: Direct object marker
Root: אֹות 
Sense: sign of the definite direct object, not translated in English but generally preceding and indicating the accusative.
הָאָדָ֗ם  man 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: אָדָם 
Sense: man, mankind.
פְּנֵ֥י  the  face 
Parse: Noun, common plural construct
Root: לִפְנֵי 
Sense: face.
הָאֲדָמָ֖ה  of  the  land 
Parse: Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: אֲדָמָה 
Sense: ground, land.
נְאֻם־  says 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: נְאֻם  
Sense: (Qal) utterance, declaration (of prophet).
יְהוָֽה  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.