Zephaniah 3:3 · KJV
“Her princes within her {are} roaring lions; her judges {are} evening wolves; they gnaw not the bones till the morrow.”
— Zephaniah 3:3
She obeyed not the voice; she received not correction; she trusted not in the LORD; she drew not near to her God. {correction: or, instruction}
Her prophets {are} light {and} treacherous persons: her priests have polluted the sanctuary, they have done violence to the law.
Zephaniah 3 — Context
Woe to her that is filthy and polluted, to the oppressing city! {her...: or, gluttonous: Heb. craw}
2She obeyed not the voice; she received not correction; she trusted not in the LORD; she drew not near to her God. {correction: or, instruction}
3Her princes within her {are} roaring lions; her judges {are} evening wolves; they gnaw not the bones till the morrow.
4Her prophets {are} light {and} treacherous persons: her priests have polluted the sanctuary, they have done violence to the law.
5The just LORD {is} in the midst thereof; he will not do iniquity: every morning doth he bring his judgment to light, he faileth not; but the unjust knoweth no shame. {every...: Heb. morning by morning}
Cross References
Habakkuk 1:8
Their horses also are swifter than the leopards, and are more fierce than the evening wolves: and their horsemen shall spread themselves, and their horsemen shall come from far; they shall fly as the eagle {that} hasteth to eat. {fierce: Heb. sharp}
Ezekiel 22:25-27
{There is} a conspiracy of her prophets in the midst thereof, like a roaring lion ravening the prey; they have devoured souls; they have taken the treasure and precious things; they have made her many widows in the midst thereof.
Jeremiah 5:6
Wherefore a lion out of the forest shall slay them, {and} a wolf of the evenings shall spoil them, a leopard shall watch over their cities: every one that goeth out thence shall be torn in pieces: because their transgressions are many, {and} their backslidings are increased. {evenings: or, deserts} {are increased: Heb. are strong}
Ezekiel 22:6
Behold, the princes of Israel, every one were in thee to their power to shed blood. {power: Heb. arm}
Isaiah 1:23
Thy princes {are} rebellious, and companions of thieves: every one loveth gifts, and followeth after rewards: they judge not the fatherless, neither doth the cause of the widow come unto them.
Psalms 10:8-10
He sitteth in the lurking places of the villages: in the secret places doth he murder the innocent: his eyes are privily set against the poor. {are...: Heb. hide themselves}
Micah 3:1-4
And I said, Hear, I pray you, O heads of Jacob, and ye princes of the house of Israel; {Is it} not for you to know judgment?
Jeremiah 22:17
But thine eyes and thine heart {are} not but for thy covetousness, and for to shed innocent blood, and for oppression, and for violence, to do {it}. {violence: or, incursion}