Neville Goddard on Zephaniah 3:1-4 - Mystical Bible Interpretation

Read Zephaniah 3 in context

Scripture Focus

1Woe to her that is filthy and polluted, to the oppressing city!

2She obeyed not the voice; she received not correction; she trusted not in the LORD; she drew not near to her God.

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.

Zephaniah 3:1-4

Biblical Context

Zephaniah 3:1-4 speaks of a city polluted by disobedience and spiritual corruption, urging correction and a return to holiness.

Neville's Inner Vision

Your mind is the city Zephaniah speaks of. When it is filthy with habitual fear, pride, and resistance to the inner voice, it cannot know its true God. Saying 'the voice' and failing to heed it creates distance from the I AM within. The royal figures—princes, judges, and prophets—are inner faculties out of alignment: fierce lions of judgment, wolves of compromise, deceitful guides. They gnaw at your peace, not because you are punished, but because you have given power to thoughts that deny your divine government. The cure is not outward reform but inward rewrite: revise the picture of yourself as a holy sanctuary, draw near to the divine presence within, and obey the inner counsel. When you assume that state—trusting in the LORD as your own awareness—the inner movements shift; the city is purged by the recognition of your true identity. As your inner state clears, the outer life follows, mirroring the integrity of your sanctuary. You are not judged; you awaken to a simple truth: the law and the LORD dwell in you when you accept your rightful kingship within.

Practice This Now

Imaginative act: Close your eyes; picture a radiant sanctuary within your mind. Assume the state: I am the I AM, I draw near to God here and now, and feel every thought becoming pure.