Zephaniah 1:13
“Therefore their goods shall become a booty, and their houses a desolation: they shall also build houses, but not inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, but not drink the wine thereof.”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →The complacent will lose everything they trusted in: their wealth plundered, their homes and vineyards left for strangers to enjoy.
What Does Zephaniah 1:13 Mean?
The verdict on the complacent is loss. Their goods become plunder, their houses fall to ruin. The prophet reaches for one of Scripture's old covenant warnings: they will build houses but not live in them, plant vineyards but not drink the wine. The fruit of their labor will be enjoyed by someone else.
This is the bitter reversal of every false security. Those who said God would do nothing find that He does indeed act, and their hoarded comfort slips through their fingers. The lesson is not that building and planting are wrong, but that a life poured entirely into possessions, with no thought of God, builds on sand. True and lasting inheritance is found in the Lord Himself, who alone gives a treasure that no enemy can carry off and no day of judgment can spoil.
In the Original Language
meshissah (מְשִׁסָּה), 'booty' -- spoil or plunder seized in war, here describing wealth that will be carried off rather than enjoyed.