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.

ZEPHANIAH 1:13KJV
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Zephaniah 1:13 (KJV)

What does Zephaniah 1:13 mean?

Zephaniah 1:13 warns that the people’s possessions will be taken as loot, their houses will be left empty and ruined, and although they will build homes and plant vineyards, they will not get to enjoy them. This verse describes a coming judgment where people’s efforts and wealth will be lost to others.

The prophet Zephaniah is speaking God’s message to the people of Judah, warning them about the consequences of their unfaithfulness and wrongdoing. The verse uses vivid images of loss—homes and vineyards—to show that the things people work for can be taken away as a result of judgment. This warning fits into a larger passage where Zephaniah describes the “day of the Lord,” a time of reckoning for the nation.

The Hebrew behind Zephaniah 1:13

  • "goods" (חֵיל, ḥēl): This word often means wealth or strength, emphasizing that not just material things but all sources of security will be lost.
  • "booty" (מַשָּׁס, mashas): This word refers to spoils taken in war, highlighting that the loss will be sudden and violent, like an invading army taking everything.
  • "desolation" (שַׁמָּה, shammah): This word means complete ruin or devastation, showing that the houses will not just be empty but utterly destroyed.
  • "inhabit" (יָשַׁב, yashav): This word means to dwell or settle, so the warning is not just about losing property, but about losing the ability to live in the land and enjoy its benefits.

Why Zephaniah 1:13 matters

  • Zephaniah 1:13 clarifies that judgment is not just spiritual or symbolic; it will have real, physical consequences for people’s daily lives and livelihoods.
  • The verse connects to a common theme in the prophets: people may work hard and build, but if they turn away from what is right, they can lose the very things they hoped to enjoy.
  • This verse sets up the seriousness of the coming “day of the Lord” in Zephaniah, showing that no amount of wealth or effort can shield someone from the consequences of injustice or unfaithfulness.

Where else these words appear

“booty” Hebrew H4933 · used in 6 verses

  • 2 Kings 21:14 And I will forsake the remnant of mine inheritance, and deliver them into the hand of their enemies; and they shall become a prey and a spoil to all their enemies;
  • Isaiah 42:22 But this is a people robbed and spoiled; they are all of them snared in holes, and they are hid in prison houses: they are for a prey, and none delivereth; for a spoil, and none saith, Restore.
  • Jeremiah 30:16 Therefore all they that devour thee shall be devoured; and all thine adversaries, every one of them, shall go into captivity; and they that spoil thee shall be a spoil, and all that prey upon thee will I give for a prey.

“desolation” Hebrew H8077 · used in 54 verses

  • Exodus 23:29 I will not drive them out from before thee in one year; lest the land become desolate, and the beast of the field multiply against thee.
  • Jeremiah 44:6 Wherefore my fury and mine anger was poured forth, and was kindled in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem; and they are wasted and desolate, as at this day.
  • Ezekiel 33:29 Then shall they know that I am the LORD, when I have laid the land most desolate because of all their abominations which they have committed.

“plant” Hebrew H5193 · used in 55 verses

  • Genesis 2:8 And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.
  • Psalms 94:9 He that planted the ear, shall he not hear? he that formed the eye, shall he not see?
  • Jeremiah 11:17 For the LORD of hosts, that planted thee, hath pronounced evil against thee, for the evil of the house of Israel and of the house of Judah, which they have done against themselves to provoke me to anger in offering incense unto Baal.

“vineyards” Hebrew H3754 · used in 82 verses

  • Genesis 9:20 And Noah began to be an husbandman, and he planted a vineyard:
  • 1 Kings 21:1 And it came to pass after these things, that Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard, which was in Jezreel, hard by the palace of Ahab king of Samaria.
  • Song of Solomon 8:12 My vineyard, which is mine, is before me: thou, O Solomon, must have a thousand, and those that keep the fruit thereof two hundred.