Zephaniah 1:16
New International Version
a day of trumpet and battle cry against the fortified cities and against the corner towers.

New Living Translation
a day of trumpet calls and battle cries. Down go the walled cities and the strongest battlements!

English Standard Version
a day of trumpet blast and battle cry against the fortified cities and against the lofty battlements.

Berean Standard Bible
a day of horn blast and battle cry against the fortified cities, and against the high corner towers.

King James Bible
A day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities, and against the high towers.

New King James Version
A day of trumpet and alarm Against the fortified cities And against the high towers.

New American Standard Bible
A day of trumpet and battle cry Against the fortified cities And the high corner towers.

NASB 1995
A day of trumpet and battle cry Against the fortified cities And the high corner towers.

NASB 1977
A day of trumpet and battle cry, Against the fortified cities And the high corner towers.

Legacy Standard Bible
A day of trumpet and loud shouting Against the fortified cities And the high corner towers.

Amplified Bible
A day of trumpet and the battle cry [of invaders] Against the fortified cities And against the high corner towers (battlements).

Christian Standard Bible
a day of ram’s horn and battle cry against the fortified cities, and against the high corner towers.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
a day of trumpet blast and battle cry against the fortified cities, and against the high corner towers.

American Standard Version
a day of the trumpet and alarm, against the fortified cities, and against the high battlements.

Contemporary English Version
of trumpet calls and battle cries against fortified cities and mighty fortresses.

English Revised Version
a day of the trumpet and alarm, against the fenced cities, and against the high battlements.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
a day of rams' horns and battle cries against the fortified cities and against the high corner towers.

Good News Translation
a day filled with the sound of war trumpets and the battle cry of soldiers attacking fortified cities and high towers.

International Standard Version
a day of trumpet and battle cry against fortified cites and watch towers.

Majority Standard Bible
a day of horn blast and battle cry against the fortified cities, and against the high corner towers.

NET Bible
a day of trumpet blasts and battle cries. Judgment will fall on the fortified cities and the high corner towers.

New Heart English Bible
a day of the trumpet and alarm, against the fortified cities, and against the high battlements.

Webster's Bible Translation
A day of the trumpet and alarm against the fortified cities, and against the high towers.

World English Bible
a day of the trumpet and alarm against the fortified cities and against the high battlements.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
A day of horn and shouting against the fortified cities, "" And against the high corners.

Young's Literal Translation
A day of trumpet and shouting against the fenced cities, And against the high corners.

Smith's Literal Translation
A day of the trumpet and loud noise against the fortified cities, and against the high pinnacles.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
A day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities, and against the high bulwarks.

Catholic Public Domain Version
a day of the trumpet and the trumpet blast over fortified cities and over exalted ramparts.

New American Bible
A day of trumpet blasts and battle cries against fortified cities, against lofty battlements.

New Revised Standard Version
a day of trumpet blast and battle cry against the fortified cities and against the lofty battlements.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
A day of the trumpet and shouting against the fenced cities and against the high towers.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
The day is of the trumpet and of shouting against the fortress cities and against the corners of the high places
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
A day of the horn and alarm, Against the fortified cities, and against the high towers.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
a day of the trumpet and cry against the strong cities, and against the high towers.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
The Day of the LORD
15That day will be a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of destruction and desolation, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness, 16a day of horn blast and battle cry against the fortified cities, and against the high corner towers. 17I will bring such distress on mankind that 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.…

Cross References
Joel 2:1
Blow the ram’s horn in Zion; sound the alarm on My holy mountain! Let all who dwell in the land tremble, for the Day of the LORD is coming; indeed, it is near—

Amos 5:18-20
Woe to you who long for the Day of the LORD! What will the Day of the LORD be for you? It will be darkness and not light. / It will be like a man who flees from a lion, only to encounter a bear, or who enters his house and rests his hand against the wall, only to be bitten by a snake. / Will not the Day of the LORD be darkness and not light, even gloom with no brightness in it?

Isaiah 13:6-9
Wail, for the Day of the LORD is near; it will come as destruction from the Almighty. / Therefore all hands will fall limp, and every man’s heart will melt. / Terror, pain, and anguish will seize them; they will writhe like a woman in labor. They will look at one another, their faces flushed with fear. ...

Ezekiel 7:7
Doom has come to you, O inhabitants of the land. The time has come; the day is near; there is panic on the mountains instead of shouts of joy.

Jeremiah 4:19-21
My anguish, my anguish! I writhe in pain! Oh, the pain in my chest! My heart pounds within me; I cannot be silent. For I have heard the sound of the horn, the alarm of battle. / Disaster after disaster is proclaimed, for the whole land is laid waste. My tents are destroyed in an instant, my curtains in a moment. / How long must I see the signal flag and hear the sound of the horn?

Isaiah 22:5
For the Lord GOD of Hosts has set a day of tumult and trampling and confusion in the Valley of Vision—of breaking down the walls and crying to the mountains.

Ezekiel 30:2-3
“Son of man, prophesy and declare that this is what the Lord GOD says: Wail, ‘Alas for that day!’ / For the day is near, the Day of the LORD is near. It will be a day of clouds, a time of doom for the nations.

Malachi 4:1
“For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace, when all the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble; the day is coming when I will set them ablaze,” says the LORD of Hosts. “Not a root or branch will be left to them.”

Matthew 24:29-31
Immediately after the tribulation of those days: ‘The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.’ / At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and all the tribes of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. / And He will send out His angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.

Luke 21:25-27
There will be signs in the sun and moon and stars, and on the earth dismay among the nations, bewildered by the roaring of the sea and the surging of the waves. / Men will faint from fear and anxiety over what is coming upon the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. / At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.

Revelation 6:12-17
And I watched as the Lamb opened the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black like sackcloth of goat hair, and the whole moon turned blood red, / and the stars of the sky fell to the earth like unripe figs dropping from a tree shaken by a great wind. / The sky receded like a scroll being rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved from its place. ...

1 Thessalonians 5:2-3
For you are fully aware that the Day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. / While people are saying, “Peace and security,” destruction will come upon them suddenly, like labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.

2 Peter 3:10
But the Day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar, the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and its works will be laid bare.

Joel 2:11
The LORD raises His voice in the presence of His army. Indeed, His camp is very large, for mighty are those who obey His command. For the Day of the LORD is great and very dreadful. Who can endure it?

Isaiah 2:12
For the Day of the LORD of Hosts will come against all the proud and lofty, against all that is exalted—it will be humbled—


Treasury of Scripture

A day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities, and against the high towers.

day.

Isaiah 59:10
We grope for the wall like the blind, and we grope as if we had no eyes: we stumble at noonday as in the night; we are in desolate places as dead men.

Jeremiah 4:19,20
My bowels, my bowels! I am pained at my very heart; my heart maketh a noise in me; I cannot hold my peace, because thou hast heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war…

Jeremiah 6:1
O ye children of Benjamin, gather yourselves to flee out of the midst of Jerusalem, and blow the trumpet in Tekoa, and set up a sign of fire in Bethhaccerem: for evil appeareth out of the north, and great destruction.

and against.

Psalm 48:12,13
Walk about Zion, and go round about her: tell the towers thereof…

Isaiah 2:12-15
For the day of the LORD of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low: …

Isaiah 32:14
Because the palaces shall be forsaken; the multitude of the city shall be left; the forts and towers shall be for dens for ever, a joy of wild asses, a pasture of flocks;

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














a day of trumpet blast
The phrase "a day of trumpet blast" evokes the imagery of alarm and urgency. In ancient Israel, the trumpet, or "shofar" in Hebrew, was used to signal important events, such as the call to worship, the announcement of a new king, or the alarm for war. The sound of the trumpet was a call to attention, a divine summons that could not be ignored. In the context of Zephaniah, it signifies the impending judgment of God. The trumpet blast is a wake-up call for the people to recognize the seriousness of their situation and the need for repentance. It is a reminder of the covenant relationship between God and His people, where the trumpet also heralded the presence of God, as seen in Exodus 19:16 during the giving of the Law at Sinai.

and battle cry
The "battle cry" complements the trumpet blast, emphasizing the theme of warfare and conflict. In the Hebrew context, a battle cry was not just a shout of aggression but a declaration of intent and a psychological weapon meant to instill fear in the enemy. It signifies the intensity of the coming judgment and the spiritual warfare that the people of Judah are about to face. The battle cry is a metaphor for the divine confrontation against sin and rebellion. It serves as a call to arms for the faithful, urging them to stand firm in their faith amidst the chaos and to trust in God's ultimate victory.

against the fortified cities
"Against the fortified cities" highlights the futility of relying on human strength and defenses in the face of divine judgment. In the ancient Near East, cities were often fortified with walls and towers to protect against invaders. However, Zephaniah's prophecy underscores that no human fortification can withstand the power of God. This serves as a warning against placing trust in worldly security and encourages believers to seek refuge in God alone. The fortified cities symbolize human pride and self-reliance, which are ultimately powerless before the sovereignty of God.

and against the high corner towers
The "high corner towers" were strategic points in a city's defense, offering a vantage point for surveillance and protection. In biblical symbolism, high places often represent human arrogance and idolatry. The destruction of these towers signifies the dismantling of human pride and the false sense of security that comes from earthly power and achievements. It is a call to humility, reminding believers that true security and strength come from God. The imagery of the high towers being brought low is a powerful reminder of God's ability to humble the proud and exalt the humble, as echoed in the teachings of Jesus in the New Testament.

Verse 16. - A day of the trumpet and alarm. "Alarm" means "the sound of alarm." Among the Jews trumpets were used to announce the festivals (Numbers 29:1), and to give the signal for battle or of the approach of an enemy (Jeremiah 4:5, 19; Ezekiel 33:4). Here it is the signal of destruction (Amos 2:2). The fenced cities. The strongest fortresses shall feel the irresistible attack (Micah 5:11). The high towers. These are the turrets built at the angles of the walls for the better defence of the city, and to annoy the besiegers (Zephaniah 3:6). LXX., ἐπὶ τὰς γωνίας τὰς ὑψηλάς, "upon the lofty angles;" Vulgate, super angulos excelsos. Others take the words to mean "the battlements" on the walls. Henderson quotes Taeitus's description of the later walls of Jerusalem, "Duos colles immensum editos claudebant muri per artem obliqui aut introrsus sinuati, ut latera oppugnantium ad ictus patescerent" ('Hist.,' 5:11).

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
a day
י֥וֹם (yō·wm)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 3117: A day

of trumpet blast
שׁוֹפָ֖ר (šō·w·p̄ār)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 7782: A cornet, curved horn

and battle cry
וּתְרוּעָ֑ה (ū·ṯə·rū·‘āh)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 8643: Clamor, acclamation of joy, a battle-cry, clangor, of trumpets, as an alarum

against
עַ֚ל (‘al)
Preposition
Strong's 5921: Above, over, upon, against

the fortified
הַבְּצֻר֔וֹת (hab·bə·ṣu·rō·wṯ)
Article | Adjective - feminine plural
Strong's 1219: To cut off, make inaccessible, enclose

cities,
הֶעָרִ֣ים (he·‘ā·rîm)
Article | Noun - feminine plural
Strong's 5892: Excitement

and against
וְעַ֖ל (wə·‘al)
Conjunctive waw | Preposition
Strong's 5921: Above, over, upon, against

the high
הַגְּבֹהֽוֹת׃ (hag·gə·ḇō·hō·wṯ)
Article | Adjective - feminine plural
Strong's 1364: Elevated, powerful, arrogant

corner towers.
הַפִּנּ֥וֹת (hap·pin·nō·wṯ)
Article | Noun - feminine plural
Strong's 6438: An angle, a pinnacle, a chieftain


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OT Prophets: Zephaniah 1:16 A day of the trumpet and alarm (Zeph. Zep Zp)
Zephaniah 1:15
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