Zephaniah 3:4

Her prophets are proud; ¹  they are deceitful men. Her priests defile what is holy; ²  they break God’s laws. ³ 

1Sa 2:12-17,22; Isa 9:15; Isa 56:10-12; Jer 5:31; Jer 6:13,14; Jer 8:10; Jer 14:13-15; Jer 23:9-17,25-27; Jer 23:32; Jer 27:14,15; La 2:14; Eze 13:3-16; Eze 22:26; Eze 44:7,8; Ho 4:6-8; Ho 9:7; Mic 2:11; Mic 3:5,6; Mal 2:8; Mt 7:15; 2Co 11:13; 2Pe 2:1-3; 1Jo 4:1; Re 19:20

¹ sn Applied to prophets, the word פֹּחֲזִים (pokhazim, “proud”) probably refers to their audacity in passing off their own words as genuine prophecies from the Lord (see Jer 23:32).

² tn Or “defile the temple.”

sn These priests defile what is holy by not observing the proper distinctions between what is ritually clean and unclean (see Ezek 22:26).

³ tn Heb “they treat violently [the] law.”