1. Zephaniah 1:3 (ESV)
  2. Exposition

Who are the wicked?

Zephaniah 1:3 (ESV)

3 “I will sweep away man and beast; I will sweep away the birds of the heavens and the fish of the sea, and the rubble with the wicked. I will cut off mankind from the face of the earth,” declares the LORD.

While rubble (or stumbling blocks) can refer to either man or beast, only man can be wicked. Mankind alone has the duty to live according to God's law. Thus, the message in Zephaniah 1:2–3 of universal judgment concentrates on the devastation of humanity. Particularly, humanity in its wickedness shall be destroyed in a coming universal calamity.1