Zephaniah 3:4

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Zephaniah 3:2–6 · Berean Standard Bible

2 She heeded no voice; she accepted no correction. She does not trust in the LORD; she has not drawn near to her God.

3 Her princes are roaring lions; her judges are evening wolves, leaving nothing for the morning.

4 Her prophets are reckless, faithless men. Her priests profane the sanctuary; they do violence to the law.

5 The LORD within her is righteous; He does no wrong. He applies His justice morning by morning; He does not fail at dawn, yet the unjust know no shame.

6 “I have cut off the nations; their corner towers are destroyed. I have made their streets deserted with no one to pass through. Their cities are laid waste, with no man, no inhabitant.

Hebrew words

Data created by STEPBible.org based on work at Tyndale House Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

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Cross-references

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge lists these related verses. Scripture text comes from the Berean Standard Bible.

Isaiah 9:15

The head is the elder and honorable man, and the tail is the prophet who teaches lies.

Isaiah 56:10

Israel’s watchmen are blind, they are all oblivious; they are all mute dogs, they cannot bark; they are dreamers lying around, loving to slumber.

Isaiah 56:11

Like ravenous dogs, they are never satisfied. They are shepherds with no discernment; they all turn to their own way, each one seeking his own gain:

Isaiah 56:12

“Come, let me get the wine, let us imbibe the strong drink, and tomorrow will be like today, only far better!”

Jeremiah 5:31

The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule by their own authority. My people love it so, but what will you do in the end?

Jeremiah 6:13

“For from the least of them to the greatest, all are greedy for gain; from prophet to priest, all practice deceit.

Jeremiah 6:14

They dress the wound of My people with very little care, saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ when there is no peace at all.

Jeremiah 8:10

Therefore I will give their wives to other men and their fields to new owners. For from the least of them to the greatest, all are greedy for gain; from prophet to priest, all practice deceit.

Jeremiah 14:13

“Ah, Lord GOD!” I replied, “Look, the prophets are telling them, ‘You will not see the sword or suffer famine, but I will give you lasting peace in this place.’”

Jeremiah 14:14

“The prophets are prophesying lies in My name,” replied the LORD. “I did not send them or appoint them or speak to them. They are prophesying to you a false vision, a worthless divination, the futility and delusion of their own minds.

Jeremiah 14:15

Therefore this is what the LORD says about the prophets who prophesy in My name: I did not send them, yet they say, ‘No sword or famine will touch this land.’ By sword and famine these very prophets will meet their end!

Jeremiah 23:9

As for the prophets: My heart is broken within me, and all my bones tremble. I have become like a drunkard, like a man overcome by wine, because of the LORD, because of His holy words.

Jeremiah 23:10

For the land is full of adulterers— because of the curse, the land mourns and the pastures of the wilderness have dried up— their course is evil and their power is misused.

Jeremiah 23:11

“For both prophet and priest are ungodly; even in My house I have found their wickedness,” declares the LORD.

Jeremiah 23:12

“Therefore their path will become slick; they will be driven away into the darkness and fall into it. For I will bring disaster upon them in the year of their punishment,” declares the LORD.

Jeremiah 23:13

“Among the prophets of Samaria I saw an offensive thing: They prophesied by Baal and led My people Israel astray.

Jeremiah 23:14

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 his back on wickedness. They are all like Sodom to Me; the people of Jerusalem are like Gomorrah.”

Jeremiah 23:15

Therefore this is what the LORD of Hosts says concerning the prophets: “I will feed them wormwood and give them poisoned water to drink, for from the prophets of Jerusalem ungodliness has spread throughout the land.”

Jeremiah 23:16

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.

Jeremiah 23:17

They keep saying to those who despise Me, ‘The LORD says that you will have peace,’ and to everyone who walks in the stubbornness of his own heart, ‘No harm will come to you.’

Jeremiah 23:25

“I have heard the sayings of the prophets who prophesy lies in My name: ‘I had a dream! I had a dream!’

Jeremiah 23:26

How long will this continue in the hearts of these prophets who prophesy falsehood, these prophets of the delusion of their own minds?

Jeremiah 23:27

They suppose the dreams that they tell one another will make My people forget My name, just as their fathers forgot My name through the worship of Baal.

Jeremiah 23:32

“Indeed,” declares the LORD, “I am against those who prophesy false dreams and retell them to lead My people astray with their reckless lies. It was not I who sent them or commanded them, and they are of no benefit at all to these people,” declares the LORD.

Jeremiah 27:14

Do not listen to the words of the prophets who say, ‘You must not serve the king of Babylon,’ for they are prophesying to you a lie.

Jeremiah 27:15

For I have not sent them, declares the LORD, and yet they are prophesying falsely in My name; therefore I will banish you, and you will perish—you and the prophets who prophesy to you.”

Lamentations 2:14

The visions of your prophets were empty and deceptive; they did not expose your guilt to ward off your captivity. The burdens they envisioned for you were empty and misleading.

Ezekiel 13:3

This is what the Lord GOD says: Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit, yet have seen nothing.

Ezekiel 13:4

Your prophets, O Israel, are like foxes among the ruins.

Ezekiel 13:5

You did not go up to the gaps or restore the wall around the house of Israel so that it would stand in the battle on the Day of the LORD.

Ezekiel 13:6

They see false visions and speak lying divinations. They claim, ‘Thus declares the LORD,’ when the LORD did not send them; yet they wait for the fulfillment of their message.

Ezekiel 13:7

Haven’t you seen a false vision and spoken a lying divination when you proclaim, ‘Thus declares the LORD,’ even though I have not spoken?

Ezekiel 13:8

Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: Because you have uttered vain words and seen false visions, I am against you, declares the Lord GOD.

Ezekiel 13:9

My hand will be against the prophets who see false visions and speak lying divinations. They will not belong to the council of My people or be recorded in the register of the house of Israel, nor will they enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Lord GOD.

Ezekiel 13:10

Because they have led My people astray, saying, ‘Peace,’ when there is no peace, and whitewashing any flimsy wall that is built,

Ezekiel 13:11

tell those whitewashing the wall that it will fall. Rain will come in torrents, I will send hailstones plunging down, and a windstorm will burst forth.

Ezekiel 13:12

Surely when the wall has fallen, you will not be asked, ‘Where is the whitewash with which you covered it?’

Ezekiel 13:13

Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: In My wrath I will release a windstorm, and in My anger torrents of rain and hail will fall with destructive fury.

Ezekiel 13:14

I will tear down the wall you whitewashed and level it to the ground, so that its foundation is exposed. The city will fall, and you will be destroyed within it. Then you will know that I am the LORD.

Ezekiel 13:15

And after I have vented My wrath against the wall and against those who whitewashed it, I will say to you: ‘The wall is gone, and so are those who whitewashed it—

Ezekiel 13:16

those prophets of Israel who prophesied to Jerusalem and saw a vision of peace for her when there was no peace, declares the Lord GOD.’

Hosea 9:7

The days of punishment have come; the days of retribution have arrived— let Israel know it. The prophet is called a fool, and the inspired man insane, because of the greatness of your iniquity and hostility.

Micah 2:11

If a man of wind were to come and say falsely, “I will preach to you of wine and strong drink,” he would be just the preacher for this people!

Micah 3:5

This is what the LORD says: “As for the prophets who lead My people astray, who proclaim peace while they chew with their teeth, but declare war against one who puts nothing in their mouths:

Micah 3:6

Therefore night will come over you without visions, and darkness without divination. The sun will set on these prophets, and the daylight will turn black over them.

Matthew 7:15

Beware of false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.

2 Corinthians 11:13

For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as apostles of Christ.

2 Peter 2:1

Now there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves.

2 Peter 2:2

Many will follow in their depravity, and because of them the way of truth will be defamed.

2 Peter 2:3

In their greed, these false teachers will exploit you with deceptive words. The longstanding verdict against them remains in force, and their destruction does not sleep.

1 John 4:1

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God. For many false prophets have gone out into the world.

Revelation 19:20

But the beast was captured along with the false prophet, who on its behalf had performed signs deceiving those who had the mark of the beast and worshiped its image. Both the beast and the false prophet were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur.

1 Samuel 2:12

Now the sons of Eli were wicked men; they had no regard for the LORD

1 Samuel 2:13

or for the custom of the priests with the people. When any man offered a sacrifice, the servant of the priest would come with a three-pronged meat fork while the meat was boiling

1 Samuel 2:14

and plunge it into the pan or kettle or cauldron or cooking pot. And the priest would claim for himself whatever the meat fork brought up. This is how they treated all the Israelites who came to Shiloh.

1 Samuel 2:15

Even before the fat was burned, the servant of the priest would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, “Give the priest some meat to roast, because he will not accept boiled meat from you, but only raw.”

1 Samuel 2:16

And if any man said to him, “The fat must be burned first; then you may take whatever you want,” the servant would reply, “No, you must give it to me right now. If you refuse, I will take it by force!”

1 Samuel 2:17

Thus the sin of these young men was severe in the sight of the LORD, for they were treating the LORD’s offering with contempt.

1 Samuel 2:22

Now Eli was very old, and he heard about everything his sons were doing to all Israel and how they were sleeping with the women who served at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.

Ezekiel 22:26

Her priests do violence to My law and profane My holy things. They make no distinction between the holy and the common, and they fail to distinguish between the clean and the unclean. They disregard My Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them.

Ezekiel 44:7

In addition to all your other abominations, you brought in foreigners uncircumcised in both heart and flesh to occupy My sanctuary; you defiled My temple when you offered My food—the fat and the blood; you broke My covenant.

Ezekiel 44:8

And you have not kept charge of My holy things, but have appointed others to keep charge of My sanctuary for you.’

Hosea 4:6

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you as My priests. Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I will also forget your children.

Hosea 4:7

The more they multiplied, the more they sinned against Me; they exchanged their Glory for a thing of disgrace.

Hosea 4:8

They feed on the sins of My people and set their hearts on iniquity.

Malachi 2:8

But you have departed from the way, and your instruction has caused many to stumble. You have violated the covenant of Levi,” says the LORD of Hosts.