What Does Zephaniah 1:8 Mean in the King James?
And it shall come to pass in the day of the LORD’s sacrifice, that I will punish the princes, and the king’s children, and all such as are clothed with strange apparel.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
The LORD’s sacrifice is also a reckoning: rank and clothing alike offer no cover from being seen.
THE MEANING
When power or outward appearance feels like protection, this verse exposes its limit: the LORD’s reckoning reaches princes, the king’s children, and everyone clothed in strange apparel. The day belongs to the LORD, and no title or garment stands beyond its reach.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
A title or a chosen public appearance can shield someone from the LORD’s accounting.
THE ROOT
זֶבַח
zevach
GROWS FROM
זבח
The root זבח (z-v-ḥ) means to slaughter for sacrifice; זֶבַח (zevach) is the sacrifice itself.
The verse calls this the LORD’s זֶבַח (zevach), a slaughter or sacrifice, then names people the LORD will פָּקַד (paqad), attend to or reckon with. The sacrifice image and the personal accounting stand together: the day’s prepared rite does not make its human stakes disappear.
ALSO GROWS
zavach: To slaughter or sacrifice
זָבַח
It makes the sacrifice concrete: this day is marked by an act of slaughter, not merely a date on a calendar.
mizbeach: Altar
מִזְבֵּחַ
The altar is the place associated with sacrifice, extending the root from the act to its setting.
וּפָקַדְתִּי
ufaqadti
GROWS FROM
פקד
The root פקד (p-q-d) means to attend to, visit, muster, or appoint; here וּפָקַדְתִּי (ufaqadti) means “I will attend to” or “I will reckon with.”
The word translated “punish” carries the image of the LORD attending to those named and calling them to account. Its range holds both oversight and visitation, so the judgment is direct attention: princes, royal children, and the clothed are all brought into view.
ALSO GROWS
pequddah: Oversight, charge, or visitation
פְּקֻדָּה
This noun keeps the root’s sense of being assigned or attended to, illuminating judgment as an act of oversight.
paqīd: Officer or overseer
פָּקִיד
The overseer is one who attends to a charge, echoing the root’s movement from attention to accountability.
הַלֹּבְשִׁים מַלְבּוּשׁ
hallovshim malbush
GROWS FROM
לבש
The root לבש (l-b-sh) means to put on or wear; לֹבְשִׁים (lovshim) means “those wearing,” and מַלְבּוּשׁ (malbush) means “garment.”
Hebrew uses the same root for the act of wearing and the garment worn: “those wearing a garment.” The verse’s focus falls on people actively clothed in foreign apparel, making what they put on part of what the LORD brings into view.
ALSO GROWS
lavash: To put on or wear
לָבַשׁ
This is the action in “those who are clothed,” emphasizing the person’s relation to what is worn.
malbush: Garment or clothing
מַלְבּוּשׁ
The noun shares the root with the act of wearing, keeping wearer and garment linguistically joined.
THE PATTERN
The LORD’s reckoning reaches through both apparent status and what people keep covered.
The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day.For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known.And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man’s work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear:THE THREAD
Hold thy peace at the presence of the Lord GOD: for the day of the LORD is at hand: for the LORD hath prepared a sacrifice, he hath bid his guests.The same Hebrew word זֶבַח (zevach), “sacrifice,” appears in both verses. Verse 7 names the prepared sacrifice and its invited guests; verse 8 turns to those the LORD will attend to, placing the feast image beside the reckoning.
Read the SDV Bible.
Every verse has a Deep Dive in the app.
The iPhone Bible app with the Selah Decoded Version.
Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us