Zephaniah 1:4 Explained in Context

Selected verse

Verse 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;

King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions

Quick Meaning

This verse narrows the outstretched hand to Judah and Jerusalem and names Baal's remnant plus rare and ordinary priest terms.

Creation language first, then Judah's worship is named

This verse is one part of that explanation in Zephaniah 1:2-6. The complete section carries the connected meaning and how it should shape life.

Read It With

Zephaniah 1:2-6

Read Zephaniah 1:4 with 1:2-6. This verse narrows the outstretched hand to Judah and Jerusalem and names Baal's remnant plus rare and ordinary priest terms. The complete unit establishes this movement: The opening judgment uses creation-reversal language before concentrating on Judah's worship: open idolatry, mixed allegiance, abandonment, and refusal to seek the LORD all fall within the indictment.

Why This Verse Appears Here

The book begins by denying that covenant location shields Jerusalem: creation itself and Judah's religious life stand under the LORD's scrutiny before foreign nations are addressed. Within that movement, this verse narrows the outstretched hand to Judah and Jerusalem and names Baal's remnant plus rare and ordinary priest terms.

Read Zephaniah 1:2–6 together

Why these verses belong together: Creation-scale sweeping narrows into one list of Judah and Jerusalem's divided, abandoned, and unseeking worship.

Verse 2. I will utterly consume all things from off the land, saith the LORD.

Verse 3. 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.

Verse 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;

Verse 6. And them that are turned back from the LORD; and those that have not sought the LORD, nor enquired for him.

Follow the Context

Verse 2 opens with an emphatic sweeping formula over the face of the land or earth.
Verse 3 reverses the living-creature sequence through humans, beasts, birds, and fish and adds difficult stumbling-block language.
Verse 4 narrows the outstretched hand to Judah, Jerusalem, Baal's remnant, and disputed priestly wording.
Verse 5 names roof-top astral worship and people swearing to the LORD while also swearing by a disputed king or deity.
Verse 6 completes the list with people who turn back and those who neither seek nor inquire of the LORD.

Phrase-by-Phrase Explanation

“Chemarims with the priests”

In plain language: The KJV preserves a rare idolatrous-priest term beside the normal word for priests, and the relationship is disputed.

Narrows the outstretched hand to Judah and Jerusalem and names Baal's remnant plus rare and ordinary priest terms. Sacred location and office do not exempt corrupt worship from accountability.

Why it matters: The wording carries interpretive or ethical risk that requires the full unit and its stated limits.

How certain? probable

What This Verse Is Not Saying

Zephaniah 1:4 does not authorize antisemitism, religious coercion, or harm against clergy and worshipers.

What Remains True

Sacred location and office do not exempt corrupt worship from accountability.

How It Can Shape Life

Review religious leadership honestly while refusing contempt or violence toward Jews or other worshipers.

Teach It Back

Explain Zephaniah 1:4's contribution to Zephaniah 1:2-6: Narrows the outstretched hand to Judah and Jerusalem and names Baal's remnant plus rare and ordinary priest terms. Include what the surrounding verses add, the stated uncertainty, and what this verse does not authorize.

Explain the verse in context

Your explanation stays in this browser. It is not sent or saved.

Continue in Context

Read the complete section for the connected explanation and how it should shape life. This verse is a doorway into that passage, not a saying that stands alone.

Read Zephaniah 1:2-6 — Creation Is Swept Back and Judah's Divided Worship Is Named

Sources used for this Verse Lens

How certain is this explanation? probable

Where care is needed

The second priest term may be original, explanatory, or a later addition; 'remnant of Baal' can mean surviving cult or every trace.

These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.

Biblical text

King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006

eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society

USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.

Supports: Exact reader-facing Scripture wording, paragraph markers, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage.

Exact location: Zephaniah 1:2-6, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus

Open source ↗

hebrew text and morphology

Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Zephaniah

Open Scriptures

Open Scriptures, release 2.2

Supports: Masoretic Hebrew words, morphology, clause relationships, repeated roots, wordplays, names, and the base wording behind translation discussion.

Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Zeph.xml, 1:2-6

Open source ↗

translation and translator notes

NET Bible: Zephaniah with translators' notes

Biblical Studies Press

Biblical Studies Press, 2006

Supports: Verse-level translation, syntax, text-critical, poetic, historical, and uncertainty notes.

Exact location: NET Bible Zephaniah PDF, printed pp. 1777, translation and notes on 1:2-6

Open source ↗

Open the complete thought-unit research record