Zephaniah 1:17

KJV1611 – Modern English

And I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the LORD: and their blood shall be poured out like dust, and their flesh like refuse.

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

וַהֲצֵרֹ֣תִי לָאָדָ֗ם וְהָֽלְכוּ֙ כַּֽעִוְרִ֔ים כִּ֥י לַֽיהוָ֖ה חָטָ֑אוּ וְשֻׁפַּ֤ךְ דָּמָם֙ כֶּֽעָפָ֔ר וּלְחֻמָ֖ם כַּגְּלָלִֽים׃

Transliteration

wahăṣērōṯî lāʾāḏām wəhāləḵû kaʿiwrîm, kî la-YHWH ḥāṭāʾû; wəšuppaḵ dāmām keʿāp̄ār ûləḥumām kaggəlālîm.

Grammar Details

• *wahăṣērōṯî*: conjunction + hiphil perfect, 1st person singular - and I will bring distress
• *lāʾāḏām*: preposition + noun, masculine singular with definite article - to mankind
• *wəhāləḵû*: conjunction + qal perfect, 3rd person plural - and they will walk
• *kaʿiwrîm*: preposition + noun, masculine plural - like blind men
• *kî*: conjunction - because
• *la-YHWH*: preposition + divine name - against YHWH
• *ḥāṭāʾû*: qal perfect, 3rd person plural - they have sinned
• *wəšuppaḵ*: conjunction + pual perfect, 3rd person masculine singular - and will be poured out
• *dāmām*: noun, masculine singular with 3rd person masculine plural suffix - their blood
• *keʿāp̄ār*: preposition + noun, masculine singular - like dust
• *ûləḥumām*: conjunction + noun, masculine singular with 3rd person masculine plural suffix - and their flesh
• *kaggəlālîm*: preposition + noun, masculine plural with definite article - like dung

Word Meanings

• *wahăṣērōṯî*: and I will bring distress/cause distress/make narrow
• *kaʿiwrîm*: like blind men/as the blind
• *ḥāṭāʾû*: they have sinned/transgressed/offended
• *wəšuppaḵ*: and will be poured out/spilled
• *keʿāp̄ār*: like dust/dirt/powder
• *ûləḥumām*: and their flesh/internal organs/body
• *kaggəlālîm*: like dung/excrement/refuse

Other Translations

• Linguistic Bible Translation from Source Texts

  I will bring distress on mankind, and they will walk like the blind because they have sinned against the Lord. Their blood will be poured out like dust, and their flesh like dung.

• King James Version 1769 (Standard Version)

  And I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the LORD: and their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as the dung.

• American Standard Version with Strong's Numbers

  And I will bring distress{H6887} upon men,{H120} that they shall walk{H1980} like blind men,{H5787} because they have sinned{H2398} against Jehovah;{H3068} and their blood{H1818} shall be poured out{H8210} as dust,{H6083} and their flesh{H3894} as dung.{H1561}

• King James Version with Strong's Numbers

  And I will bring distress{H6887}{(H8689)} upon men{H120}, that they shall walk{H1980}{(H8804)} like blind men{H5787}, because they have sinned{H2398}{(H8804)} against the LORD{H3068}: and their blood{H1818} shall be poured out{H8210}{(H8795)} as dust{H6083}, and their flesh{H3894} as the dung{H1561}.

• Coverdale Bible (1535)

  I wil bringe ye people into soch vexacion, that they shal go aboute like blinde me, because they haue synned agaynst the LORDE. Their bloude shalbe shed as the dust, & their bodies as the myre.

• Geneva Bible (1560)

  And I will bring distresse vpon men, that they shall walke like blind men, because they haue sinned against the Lorde, and their blood shall be powred out as dust, and their flesh as the dongue.

• Bishops' Bible (1568)

  I will bring the people into such vexation, that they shall go about like blinde men, because they haue sinned against the Lorde, their blood shalbe powred out as dust, & their bodies as the myre.

• Authorized King James Version (1611)

  And I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the LORD: and their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as the dung.

• Webster's Bible (1833)

  I will bring distress on men, that they will walk like blind men, because they have sinned against Yahweh, and their blood will be poured out like dust, and their flesh like dung.

• Young's Literal Translation (1862/1898)

  And I have sent distress to men, And they have walked as the blind, For against Jehovah they have sinned, And poured out is their blood as dust, And their flesh `is' as dung.

• American Standard Version (1901)

  And I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against Jehovah; and their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as dung.

• American Standard Version (1901)

  And I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against Jehovah; and their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as dung.

• Bible in Basic English (1941)

  And I will send trouble on men so that they will go about like the blind, because they have done evil against the Lord: and their blood will be drained out like dust, and their strength like waste.

• World English Bible (2000)

  I will bring distress on men, that they will walk like blind men, because they have sinned against Yahweh, and their blood will be poured out like dust, and their flesh like dung.

• NET Bible® (New English Translation)

  I will bring distress on the people and they will stumble like blind men, for they have sinned against the LORD. Their blood will be poured out like dirt; their flesh will be scattered like manure.

Referenced Verses

• Ps 83:10 : 10 Who perished at Endor: they became as dung for the ground.
• Isa 24:5-6 : 5 The earth also is defiled under its inhabitants because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant. 6 Therefore the curse has devoured the earth, and those who dwell in it are desolate; therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left.
• Isa 29:10 : 10 For the LORD has poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and has closed your eyes: the prophets and your rulers, the seers has He covered.
• Isa 50:1 : 1 Thus says the LORD, Where is the certificate of your mother's divorce, whom I have put away? Or which of my creditors is it to whom I have sold you? Behold, for your iniquities you have sold yourselves, and for your transgressions your mother is put away.
• Isa 59:9-9 : 9 Therefore justice is far from us, nor does righteousness overtake us: we wait for light, but see obscurity; for brightness, but we walk in darkness. 10 We grope for the wall like the blind, and we grope as if we had no eyes: we stumble at noon as in the night; we are in desolate places like dead men.
• Isa 59:12-15 : 12 For our transgressions are multiplied before you, and our sins testify against us: for our transgressions are with us; and as for our iniquities, we know them; 13 In transgressing and lying against the Lord, and departing from our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood. 14 And judgment is turned backward, and justice stands far off: for truth has fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter. 15 Yes, truth fails; and he who departs from evil makes himself a prey: and the Lord saw it, and it displeased him that there was no judgment.
• Jer 2:17 : 17 Have you not brought this upon yourself, in that you have forsaken the LORD your God, when he led you in the way?
• Jer 2:19 : 19 Your own wickedness shall correct you, and your backslidings shall reprove you: know therefore and see that it is an evil thing and bitter, that you have forsaken the LORD your God, and that my fear is not in you, says the Lord GOD of hosts.
• Jer 4:18 : 18 Your way and your deeds have procured these things for you; this is your wickedness, because it is bitter, because it reaches to your heart.
• Jer 9:21-22 : 21 For death has climbed up into our windows, and has entered into our palaces, to cut off the children from outside, and the young men from the streets. 22 Speak, Thus says the LORD, 'Even the carcasses of men shall fall as dung on the open field, and as the handful after the harvester, and no one shall gather them.'
• Jer 10:18 : 18 For thus says the LORD, Behold, I will sling out the inhabitants of the land at this time, and will distress them, that they may find it so.
• Jer 15:3 : 3 And I will appoint over them four kinds, says the LORD: the sword to slay, and the dogs to tear, and the birds of the heavens, and the beasts of the earth, to devour and destroy.
• Jer 16:4-6 : 4 They shall die of grievous deaths; they shall not be mourned, nor shall they be buried; but they shall be as dung upon the face of the earth. They shall be consumed by the sword and by famine, and their carcasses shall be food for the birds of heaven and the beasts of the earth. 5 For thus says the LORD, Do not enter the house of mourning, nor go to lament or bemoan them, for I have taken away my peace from this people, says the LORD, even lovingkindness and mercies. 6 Both the great and the small shall die in this land; they shall not be buried, nor shall anyone mourn for them, nor cut themselves, nor make themselves bald for them.
• Jer 18:21 : 21 Therefore deliver up their children to the famine, and pour out their blood by the force of the sword; and let their wives be bereaved of their children, and be widows; and let their men be put to death; let their young men be slain by the sword in battle.
• Lam 1:8 : 8 Jerusalem has grievously sinned; therefore she is removed: all that honored her despise her, because they have seen her nakedness: yes, she sighs, and turns backward.
• Lam 1:14 : 14 The yoke of my transgressions is bound by his hand: they are woven together, and come upon my neck: he has made my strength to fall, the Lord has delivered me into their hands, from whom I am not able to rise up.
• Lam 1:18 : 18 The LORD is righteous; for I have rebelled against his commandment: hear, I pray you, all people, and behold my sorrow: my virgins and my young men have gone into captivity.
• Lam 2:21 : 21 The young and the old lie on the ground in the streets: my virgins and my young men have fallen by the sword; You have slain them in the day of Your anger; You have killed, and not pitied.
• Lam 4:13-15 : 13 For the sins of her prophets, and the iniquities of her priests, who have shed the blood of the just in her midst, 14 They have wandered as blind men in the streets, they have defiled themselves with blood, so that men could not touch their garments. 15 They cried to them, 'Depart! Unclean! Depart, depart, do not touch!' When they fled and wandered, they said among the nations, 'They shall no longer dwell there.'
• Lam 5:16-17 : 16 The crown has fallen from our head; woe to us, for we have sinned! 17 For this our heart is faint; for these things our eyes are dim.
• Ezek 22:25-31 : 25 There is a conspiracy of her prophets in its midst, like a roaring lion ravening the prey; they have devoured souls; they have taken treasure and precious things; they have made her many widows in its midst. 26 Her priests have violated My law, and have profaned My holy things: they have put no difference between the holy and unholy, neither have they shown difference between the unclean and the clean, and have hidden their eyes from My sabbaths, and I am profaned among them. 27 Her princes in its midst are like wolves ravening the prey, to shed blood, and to destroy souls, to get dishonest gain. 28 And her prophets have daubed them with untempered mortar, seeing false visions, and divining lies to them, saying, Thus says the Lord GOD, when the LORD has not spoken. 29 The people of the land have used oppression, and committed robbery, and have wronged the poor and needy: yes, they have oppressed the stranger wrongfully. 30 And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before Me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none. 31 Therefore have I poured out My indignation upon them; I have consumed them with the fire of My wrath: their own way have I recompensed upon their heads, says the Lord GOD.
• Dan 9:5-9 : 5 We have sinned and committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from Your precepts and from Your judgments: 6 Neither have we listened to Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land. 7 O Lord, righteousness belongs to You, but to us belongs confusion of face, as it is this day; to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to all Israel, those near and those far off, through all the countries where You have driven them, because of their trespass which they have trespassed against You. 8 O Lord, to us belongs confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against You. 9 To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgiveness, though we have rebelled against Him; 10 Neither have we obeyed the voice of the LORD our God, to walk in His laws, which He set before us by His servants the prophets. 11 Yes, all Israel has transgressed Your law, even by departing, that they might not obey Your voice; therefore, the curse is poured upon us, and the oath that is written in the law of Moses the servant of God, because we have sinned against Him. 12 And He has confirmed His words, which He spoke against us and against our judges who judged us, by bringing upon us a great calamity: for under the whole heaven, such as has been done upon Jerusalem has not been done. 13 As it is written in the law of Moses, all this calamity has come upon us: yet we have not made our prayer before the LORD our God, that we might turn from our iniquities and understand Your truth. 14 Therefore the LORD has watched over the calamity, and brought it upon us: for the LORD our God is righteous in all His works which He does: for we have not obeyed His voice. 15 And now, O Lord our God, who brought Your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and made Yourself a name, as it is this day; we have sinned, we have done wickedly. 16 O Lord, according to all Your righteousness, I plead with You, let Your anger and Your fury be turned away from Your city Jerusalem, Your holy mountain: because for our sins and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and Your people have become a reproach to all around us. 17 Now therefore, O our God, hear the prayer of Your servant, and his supplications, and cause Your face to shine upon Your sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord's sake. 18 O my God, incline Your ear, and hear; open Your eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by Your name: for we do not present our supplications before You for our righteousness, but for Your great mercies. 19 O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, listen and act; do not delay, for Your own sake, O my God: for Your city and Your people are called by Your name.
• Amos 4:10 : 10 I have sent among you the pestilence after the manner of Egypt: your young men I have slain with the sword, and have taken away your horses; and I have made the stench of your camps to come up to your nostrils: yet you have not returned to me, says the LORD.
• Mic 3:9-9 : 9 Hear this, I pray you, you leaders of the house of Jacob, and rulers of the house of Israel, who abhor judgment, and pervert all equity. 10 They build up Zion with blood, and Jerusalem with iniquity. 11 The leaders judge for reward, and the priests teach for hire, and the prophets divine for money: yet will they lean upon the LORD, and say, Is not the LORD among us? No harm can come upon us. 12 Therefore for your sake Zion shall be plowed as a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of the forest.
• Mic 7:13 : 13 Yet the land shall be desolate because of those who dwell in it, for the fruit of their doings.
• Matt 15:14 : 14 Let them alone: they are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.
• John 9:40-41 : 40 And some of the Pharisees who were with him heard these words, and said to him, Are we blind also? 41 Jesus said to them, If you were blind, you would have no sin: but now you say, We see; therefore your sin remains.
• Rom 11:7 : 7 What then? Israel has not obtained what it seeks; but the elect have obtained it, and the rest were blinded.
• Rom 11:25 : 25 For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.
• 2 Cor 4:4 : 4 In whom the god of this world has blinded the minds of those who do not believe, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
• 2 Pet 1:9 : 9 But he who lacks these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins.
• 1 John 2:11 : 11 But he who hates his brother is in darkness, and walks in darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.
• Rev 3:17 : 17 Because you say, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and do not know that you are wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:
• Deut 28:28-29 : 28 The LORD shall strike you with madness, and blindness, and astonishment of heart: 29 And you shall grope at noonday, as the blind gropes in darkness, and you shall not prosper in your ways: and you shall be only oppressed and plundered evermore, and no man shall save you.
• 2 Kgs 9:33-37 : 33 And he said, Throw her down. So they threw her down: and some of her blood was sprinkled on the wall, and on the horses: and he trampled her underfoot. 34 And when he had come in, he ate and drank, and said, Go, see now this cursed woman, and bury her: for she is a king's daughter. 35 And they went to bury her: but they found no more of her than the skull, and the feet, and the palms of her hands. 36 Therefore they came back and told him. And he said, This is the word of the LORD, which he spoke by his servant Elijah the Tishbite, saying, In the plot of Jezreel dogs shall eat the flesh of Jezebel: 37 And the body of Jezebel shall be as dung on the face of the field in the plot of Jezreel; so that they shall not say, This is Jezebel.
• Ps 79:2-3 : 2 The dead bodies of Your servants they have given to be food for the birds of the sky, the flesh of Your saints to the beasts of the earth. 3 Their blood they have shed like water all around Jerusalem, and there was no one to bury them.