Zephaniah 1:12
“And it shall come to pass at that time, that I will search Jerusalem with candles, and punish the men that are settled on their lees: that say in their heart, The LORD will not do good, neither will he do evil.”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →God will search Jerusalem thoroughly to expose the complacent who assume He neither acts nor cares.
What Does Zephaniah 1:12 Mean?
God pictures Himself searching Jerusalem with lamps, leaving no corner dark, hunting out those settled on their lees. Wine left undisturbed on its sediment grows thick and stale; so these people had grown spiritually dull through comfort. Their settled hearts had reached a quiet verdict: the LORD will do neither good nor evil, as if He were absent or indifferent.
Complacency tells itself a lie, that God does not really see and will not really act. It is the sin of those too comfortable to fear and too dull to hope. But God will search even the hidden thoughts of the heart, and nothing escapes His lamp. The remedy is to be stirred from the lees, to take seriously that the living God both sees and acts. He is neither absent nor indifferent; He is present, and He calls the settled soul awake.
In the Original Language
shemarim (שְׁמָרִים), 'lees' -- the dregs or sediment left after wine settles, a picture of stagnant, untroubled complacency.