Zephaniah 3:4

Linguistic Bible Translation from Source Texts

Her prophets are reckless, treacherous men; her priests have profaned the sanctuary and have done violence to the law.

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

נְבִיאֶ֙יהָ֙ פֹּֽחֲזִ֔ים אַנְשֵׁ֖י בֹּֽגְד֑וֹת כֹּהֲנֶ֙יהָ֙ חִלְּלוּ־קֹ֔דֶשׁ חָמְס֖וּ תּוֹרָֽה

Transliteration

nebîʾêhā pōḥăzîm ʾanšê bōgedôt; kōhănêhā ḥilelû-qōdeš, ḥāmesû tôrâ

Grammar Details

• *nebîʾêhā*: masculine plural noun with 3rd feminine singular suffix - her prophets
• *pōḥăzîm*: qal participle masculine plural - reckless/wanton/arrogant
• *ʾanšê*: masculine plural construct - men of
• *bōgedôt*: feminine plural noun - treacheries/betrayals
• *kōhănêhā*: masculine plural noun with 3rd feminine singular suffix - her priests
• *ḥilelû*: piel perfect 3rd common plural - they profaned/violated
• *qōdeš*: masculine singular noun - holy things/sanctuary
• *ḥāmesû*: qal perfect 3rd common plural - they did violence to
• *tôrâ*: feminine singular noun - law/instruction

Word Meanings

• *nebîʾêhā*: her prophets
• *pōḥăzîm*: reckless/wanton/arrogant/light
• *ʾanšê*: men of
• *bōgedôt*: treacheries/betrayals/faithlessness
• *kōhănêhā*: her priests
• *ḥilelû*: profaned/violated/desecrated
• *qōdeš*: holy things/sanctuary/what is holy
• *ḥāmesû*: did violence to/violated/twisted

Other Translations

• King James Version 1769 (Standard Version)

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

• KJV1611 – Modern English

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

• King James Version 1611 (Original)

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

• American Standard Version with Strong's Numbers

  Her prophets{H5030} are light{H6348} and treacherous{H900} persons;{H582} her priests{H3548} have profaned{H2490} the sanctuary,{H6944} they have done violence{H2554} to the law.{H8451}

• King James Version with Strong's Numbers

  Her prophets{H5030} are light{H6348}{(H8802)} and treacherous{H900} persons{H582}: her priests{H3548} have polluted{H2490}{(H8765)} the sanctuary{H6944}, they have done violence{H2554}{(H8804)} to the law{H8451}.

• Coverdale Bible (1535)

  Hir prophetes are light personnes and vn faithfull men: hir prestes vnhalowe the Sanctuary, and do wronge vnder the pretence of the lawe.

• Geneva Bible (1560)

  Her prophets are light, and wicked persons: her priests haue polluted the Sanctuarie: they haue wrested the Lawe.

• Bishops' Bible (1568)

  Her prophetes are light persons & vnfaythful men, her priestes haue polluted the sanctuarie, & haue wrested the law.

• Authorized King James Version (1611)

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

• Webster's Bible (1833)

  Her prophets are arrogant and treacherous people. Her priests have profaned the sanctuary. They have done violence to the law.

• Young's Literal Translation (1862/1898)

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

• American Standard Version (1901)

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

• American Standard Version (1901)

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

• Bible in Basic English (1941)

  Her prophets are good-for-nothing persons, full of deceit: her priests have made the holy place unclean and have gone violently against the law.

• World English Bible (2000)

  Her prophets are arrogant and treacherous people. Her priests have profaned the sanctuary. They have done violence to the law.

• NET Bible® (New English Translation)

  Her prophets are proud; they are deceitful men. Her priests have defiled what is holy; they have broken God’s laws.

Referenced Verses

• Ezek 22:26 : 26 Her priests do violence to my law and profane my holy things; they do not distinguish between the holy and the common or teach the difference between the unclean and the clean. They shut their eyes to my Sabbaths, and so I am profaned among them.
• Hos 9:7 : 7 The days of punishment have come; the days of recompense have arrived—let Israel know it! The prophet is called foolish, the inspired man is viewed as insane, because of the magnitude of your sin and great hostility.
• Mal 2:8 : 8 But you have turned aside from the way, and by your teaching have caused many to stumble. You have violated the covenant with Levi, says the Lord of Hosts.
• Matt 7:15 : 15 Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.
• 2 Cor 11:13 : 13 For such people are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ.
• 2 Pet 2:1-3 : 1 But just as there were false prophets among the people, there will also be false teachers among you. They will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves. 2 Many will follow their destructive ways, and because of them, the way of truth will be blasphemed. 3 In their greed, they will exploit you with deceptive words. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.
• 1 John 4:1 : 1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
• Rev 19:20 : 20 But the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who had performed the signs on his behalf. By these signs he had deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and worshiped its image. The two of them were thrown alive into the lake of fire burning with sulfur.
• Mic 2:11 : 11 If someone full of wind and deceit lies and says, 'I will preach to you about wine and strong drink,' that would be just the preacher for this people!
• Mic 3:5-6 : 5 This is what the LORD says: "As for the prophets who lead my people astray, they proclaim peace when they have something to eat but prepare for war against those who do not feed them. 6 Therefore night will come over you—without visions; the darkness will fall—without divination. The sun will set for the prophets, and the day will grow dark for them.
• Ezek 44:7-8 : 7 When you brought in foreigners, uncircumcised in heart and flesh, to be in My sanctuary and profane it—My house—by offering My food, the fat, and the blood, you broke My covenant with all your abominations. 8 You did not keep charge of My holy things, but appointed others to be in charge of My sanctuary for you.
• Hos 4:6-8 : 6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I reject you from being a priest to me. And since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children. 7 The more they increased, the more they sinned against me. I will turn their glory into shame. 8 They feed on the sins of my people; they are greedy for their iniquity.
• 1 Sam 2:12-17 : 12 'The sons of Eli were wicked men; they did not know the LORD.' 13 'This was the custom of the priests with the people: Whenever someone offered a sacrifice, the priest’s servant came with a three-pronged fork while the meat was boiling.' 14 'He would plunge it into the basin, kettle, cauldron, or pot, and whatever the fork brought up, the priest would take for himself. This is what they did to all the Israelites who came to Shiloh.' 15 But even before the fat was burned, the priest’s servant would come and say to the man offering the sacrifice, ‘Give the priest some meat to roast; he won’t accept boiled meat from you, but only raw.’ 16 And if the man said to him, ‘Let the fat be burned first, and then take whatever you want,’ the servant would reply, ‘No, give it to me now! If you don’t, I’ll take it by force.’ 17 So the sin of the young men was very great in the LORD’s sight, for they were treating the LORD’s offering with contempt.
• 1 Sam 2:22 : 22 Now Eli was very old, and he heard about everything his sons were doing to all Israel and how they slept with the women who served at the entrance to the tent of meeting.
• Isa 9:15 : 15 Those who guide this people mislead them, and those who are guided by them are swallowed up.
• Isa 56:10-12 : 10 Israel's watchmen are blind; they all lack knowledge. They are all mute dogs; they cannot bark. They lie around dreaming, loving to sleep. 11 Yet the dogs are greedy; they never have enough. They are shepherds who lack understanding; all of them turn to their own way, each seeking his own gain from every quarter. 12 "Come," they say, "let us fetch wine and drink our fill of strong drink! Tomorrow will be like today, or even far better."
• Jer 5:31 : 31 The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule by their own authority. And My people love it this way. But what will you do in the end?
• Jer 6:13-14 : 13 For from the least to the greatest, all are greedy for unjust gain; prophets and priests alike, all practice deceit. 14 They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious, saying, 'Peace, peace,' when there is no peace.
• Jer 8:10 : 10 Therefore, I will give their wives to others and their fields to new owners. From the least to the greatest, all are greedy for gain; prophets and priests alike, all practice deceit.
• Jer 14:13-15 : 13 But I said, "Ah, Sovereign LORD, the prophets are telling them, 'You will not see the sword or suffer famine, but I will give you lasting peace in this place.'" 14 The LORD said to me: "The prophets are prophesying lies in My name. I did not send them, command them, or speak to them. They are seeing false visions, giving worthless divinations and deceitful messages from their own hearts. 15 Therefore, this is what the LORD says about the prophets who prophesy in My name, though I did not send them, and who declare, 'No sword or famine will touch this land': By sword and famine, those prophets will meet their end.
• Jer 23:9-9 : 9 Concerning the prophets: My heart is broken within me; all my bones tremble. I am like a drunken man, like one overcome by wine, because of the LORD and His holy words. 10 The land is full of adulterers; because of the curse, the land mourns, and the pastures of the wilderness are dried up. Their course is evil, and their power is misused. 11 For both prophet and priest have become corrupt. Even in My house I have found their wickedness, declares the LORD. 12 Therefore, their path will become for them like slippery places in the darkness. They will be pushed and fall there, for I will bring disaster upon them in the year of their punishment, declares the LORD. 13 Among the prophets of Samaria I saw something disgraceful: They prophesied by Baal and led My people Israel astray. 14 And among the prophets of Jerusalem I have seen a horrible thing: They commit adultery and walk in lies. They strengthen the hands of evildoers, so that no one turns from their wickedness. They have all become to Me like Sodom, and the inhabitants like Gomorrah. 15 Therefore, this is what the LORD of Hosts says concerning the prophets: Behold, I will make them eat bitter wormwood and drink poisoned water, because from the prophets of Jerusalem ungodliness has spread throughout the land. 16 This is what the LORD of Hosts says: Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you. They are filling you with false hopes. They speak visions from their own minds, not from the mouth of the LORD. 17 They keep saying to those who despise the LORD, ‘The LORD says you will have peace.’ And to everyone who walks in the stubbornness of his heart they say, ‘No harm will come to you.’
• Jer 23:25-27 : 25 I have heard what the prophets who prophesy falsely in My name are saying: 'I have dreamed! I have dreamed!' 26 How long will this continue in the hearts of the prophets who prophesy falsehood, these prophets of deceit in their own hearts? 27 They plan to make My people forget My name through their dreams, which they tell to one another, just as their fathers forgot My name because of Baal.
• Jer 23:32 : 32 Indeed, I am against those who prophesy false dreams, declares the LORD. They tell them and lead My people astray with their lies and reckless boasting. Yet I did not send or command them to do so, and they do not benefit these people at all, declares the LORD.
• Jer 27:14-15 : 14 Do not listen to the words of the prophets who say to you, ‘You will not serve the king of Babylon,’ for they are prophesying lies to you. 15 For I have not sent them, declares the LORD, yet they prophesy lies in my name, so that I might drive you out, and you will perish—you and the prophets who are prophesying to you.
• Lam 2:14 : 14 The visions of your prophets were false and empty; they did not expose your iniquity to restore your fortunes. Instead, they saw false and misleading oracles for you.
• Ezek 13:3-9 : 3 This is what the Lord GOD says: Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit and have seen nothing! 4 Your prophets, Israel, are like foxes among ruins. 5 You have not gone up to the breaches or repaired the wall for the house of Israel, so that it can stand firm in battle on the day of the LORD. 6 They have seen false visions and lying divinations. They say, ‘This is the declaration of the LORD,’ when the LORD has not sent them, and they hope to fulfill their words. 7 Haven’t you seen a false vision and spoken a lying divination when you say, ‘Thus says the LORD,’ but I have not spoken? 8 Therefore, this is what the Lord GOD says: Because you have spoken falsehood and seen lies, I am against you, declares the Lord GOD. 9 My hand will be against the prophets who see false visions and utter lying divinations. They will not belong to the council of my people, nor be recorded in the register of the house of Israel, nor enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Lord GOD. 10 Because they have misled my people by saying, ‘Peace,’ when there is no peace, and because when a flimsy wall is built, they plaster it over with whitewash, 11 say to those who plaster it with whitewash that it will fall. There will be a flooding rain, hailstones will fall, and a stormy wind will break it. 12 When the wall falls, people will ask you, ‘Where is the whitewash you applied?’ 13 Therefore, this is what the Lord GOD says: In my wrath, I will unleash a stormy wind. In my anger, there will be flooding rain, and hailstones in fury will bring about destruction. 14 I will break down the wall that you plastered with whitewash, and bring it down to the ground so that its foundation is exposed. It will collapse, and you will perish within it. Then you will know that I am the LORD. 15 So I will pour out my wrath on the wall and on those who plaster it with whitewash. I will tell you, ‘The wall is gone, and so are those who plastered it,’ 16 along with the prophets of Israel who prophesied concerning Jerusalem and claimed visions of peace for her when there was no peace, declares the Lord GOD.