The Meaning of Zephaniah 1:17 Explained

Zephaniah 1:17

KJV: 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.

YLT: 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.

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

ASV: 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.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

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. 

What does Zephaniah 1:17 Mean?

Verse Meaning

The Lord would distress His people so severely that they would grope around as though they were blind. He would do this because they had sinned against Him (cf. Deuteronomy 28:28-29). Their precious blood would lie all over the ground like common dust, and their dead flesh would lie in the streets like putrid, decaying dung.
"Humans may categorize their sins into the serious, the mediocre, and the insignificant. To Zephaniah (see James 2:10-11) the mere fact of sin excited and merited the whole weight of divine rage. The simple statement "they have sinned" is sufficient." [1]

Context Summary

Zephaniah 1:1-18 - "the Great Day Of The Lord"
Zephaniah means hidden of the Lord. He lived in Josiah's reign, and cooperated with that king in his efforts to put down idolatry. His prophecy deals with the sins that were rife in Judah and the fearful retribution that would be inflicted through the Chaldeans.
Approaching destruction, Zephaniah 1:2-6. The Chemarim, r.v., were idolatrous priests dressed in black garments. Malcam is Milcom or Moloch. Notice the successive classes of those who were to suffer in the overthrow. They constitute a series of concentric circles, narrowing down at last to those who had turned back, and to those who had never sought the Lord.
The invaders, Zephaniah 1:7-18. The guests whom God invited to the banquet were Nebuchadnezzar and his soldiers! They marched in through the Fish Gate; and, as they advanced, cry after cry arose from the affrighted populace, driven from quarter to quarter. Maktesh, Zephaniah 1:11, was probably the Vale of Siloam, where the merchant princes dwelt or pursued their business. None would be able to elude the coming vengeance. Those that affected foreign attire, or leaped across the threshold in superstition, or practiced deceit, would have to pay dearly for their sins. Fulfilled in the overthrow of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, and afterward by Titus, these words will always stand for the inevitable national sufferings which follow national crimes. [source]

Chapter Summary: Zephaniah 1

1  The time when Zephaniah prophesied
2  God's severe judgments against Judah

What do the individual words in Zephaniah 1:17 mean?

And I will bring distress upon men and they shall walk like blind men because against Yahweh they have sinned and shall be poured out their blood like dust and their flesh like refuse
וַהֲצֵרֹ֣תִי לָאָדָ֗ם וְהָֽלְכוּ֙ כַּֽעִוְרִ֔ים כִּ֥י לַֽיהוָ֖ה חָטָ֑אוּ וְשֻׁפַּ֤ךְ דָּמָם֙ כֶּֽעָפָ֔ר וּלְחֻמָ֖ם כַּגְּלָלִֽים

וַהֲצֵרֹ֣תִי  And  I  will  bring  distress 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Hifil, Conjunctive perfect, first person common singular
Root: צָרַר 
Sense: to bind, be narrow, be in distress, make narrow, cause distress, besiege, be straitened, be bound.
לָאָדָ֗ם  upon  men 
Parse: Preposition-l, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: אָדָם 
Sense: man, mankind.
וְהָֽלְכוּ֙  and  they  shall  walk 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, third person common plural
Root: הָלַךְ  
Sense: to go, walk, come.
כַּֽעִוְרִ֔ים  like  blind  men 
Parse: Preposition-k, Article, Adjective, masculine plural
Root: עִוֵּר  
Sense: blind.
כִּ֥י  because 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: כִּי 
Sense: that, for, because, when, as though, as, because that, but, then, certainly, except, surely, since.
לַֽיהוָ֖ה  against  Yahweh 
Parse: Preposition-l, Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
חָטָ֑אוּ  they  have  sinned 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: חָטָא 
Sense: to sin, miss, miss the way, go wrong, incur guilt, forfeit, purify from uncleanness.
וְשֻׁפַּ֤ךְ  and  shall  be  poured  out 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, QalPass, Conjunctive perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: שֶׂפֶק 
Sense: to pour, pour out, spill.
דָּמָם֙  their  blood 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine plural
Root: דָּם  
Sense: blood.
כֶּֽעָפָ֔ר  like  dust 
Parse: Preposition-k, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: עָפָר  
Sense: dry earth, dust, powder, ashes, earth, ground, mortar, rubbish.
וּלְחֻמָ֖ם  and  their  flesh 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine plural
Root: לְחוּם 
Sense: intestines, bowels.
כַּגְּלָלִֽים  like  refuse 
Parse: Preposition-k, Article, Noun, masculine plural
Root: גֵּל  
Sense: dung, ball of dung.