The Meaning of Zephaniah 3:4 Explained

Zephaniah 3:4

KJV: Her prophets are light and treacherous persons: her priests have polluted the sanctuary, they have done violence to the law.

YLT: Her prophets unstable -- men of treachery, Her priests have polluted the sanctuary, They have violated the law.

Darby: Her prophets are vain-glorious, treacherous persons; her priests profane the sanctuary, they do violence to the law.

ASV: Her prophets are light and treacherous persons; her priests have profaned the sanctuary, they have done violence to the law.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Her prophets  [are] light  [and] treacherous  persons:  her priests  have polluted  the sanctuary,  they have done violence  to the law. 

What does Zephaniah 3:4 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Jerusalem"s religious leaders, the (false) prophets and priests, provided examples of the city"s defiled condition ( Zephaniah 3:1). The prophets were reckless in the way they announced their own advice as divine revelation and treacherous in deceiving the people into thinking that their words were authoritative. The priests did not observe the laws of holiness that God had prescribed for worship, and they twisted the meaning of the Mosaic Law to suit their purposes (cf. Zephaniah 1:4-5).

Context Summary

Zephaniah 3:1-20 - Fullness Of Salvation
The sins of Jerusalem, Zephaniah 3:1-7. Uninfluenced by judgments upon other nations, Jerusalem pursued her course, morally impure, oppressive, refusing instruction, estranged from God. Yet God still dwelt in the city which He had chosen. Morning by morning His Spirit was appealing for repentance and righteousness. Through His faithful ones He was still shedding the light and glory of a holier civilization through the community, but the population at large refused to heed.
The effects of cleansing judgment, Zephaniah 3:8-20. These closing verses are marked by great tenderness, showing as they do, the results that God's dealings are designed to effect. A pure life; service with one consent; the trust of the afflicted soul in the love of God; the weaning of the heart from all iniquity-what great and lovely results of that long captivity! Let God have His way with you! He will change your sorrow into songs; will cast out your enemies and turn again your captivity; will manifest His infinite love, now in brooding tenderness, and then in outbursting songs. Those who have been filled with sorrow, and have borne the burden of reproach for God, shall be comforted. Even the halt and exiled shall participate, and become a name and a praise. The captives would be liberated and the dispersed would be gathered home [source]

Chapter Summary: Zephaniah 3

1  A sharp reproof of Jerusalem for various sins
8  An exhortation to wait for the restoration of Israel,
14  and to rejoice for their salvation by God

What do the individual words in Zephaniah 3:4 mean?

Her prophets are insolent people treacherous Her priests have polluted the sanctuary they have done violence to the law
נְבִיאֶ֙יהָ֙ פֹּֽחֲזִ֔ים אַנְשֵׁ֖י בֹּֽגְד֑וֹת כֹּהֲנֶ֙יהָ֙ חִלְּלוּ־ קֹ֔דֶשׁ חָמְס֖וּ תּוֹרָֽה

נְבִיאֶ֙יהָ֙  Her  prophets  are 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, third person feminine singular
Root: נָבִיא  
Sense: spokesman, speaker, prophet.
פֹּֽחֲזִ֔ים  insolent 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine plural
Root: פָּחַז  
Sense: (Qal) to be wanton, be reckless, be frothy.
אַנְשֵׁ֖י  people 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: אֱנׄושׁ 
Sense: man, mortal man, person, mankind.
בֹּֽגְד֑וֹת  treacherous 
Parse: Noun, feminine plural
Root: בֹּגְדֹות  
Sense: treacherous, treacherousness, men of treacherous behaviour.
כֹּהֲנֶ֙יהָ֙  Her  priests 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, third person feminine singular
Root: כֹּהֵן  
Sense: priest, principal officer or chief ruler.
חִלְּלוּ־  have  polluted 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: חָלַל 
Sense: to profane, defile, pollute, desecrate, begin.
קֹ֔דֶשׁ  the  sanctuary 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: קֹדֶשׁ  
Sense: apartness, holiness, sacredness, separateness.
חָמְס֖וּ  they  have  done  violence  to 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: חָמַס 
Sense: to wrong, do violence to, treat violently, do wrongly.
תּוֹרָֽה  the  law 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: תֹּורָה  
Sense: law, direction, instruction.