Zephaniah first targets religious corruption in Judah and Jerusalem. He mentions Baal, idolatrous priests, astral worship, and people who mix worship of the LORD with oaths to other gods (Zephaniah 1:4–5).
In Zephaniah 1:4–6 God announces direct action against Judah and Jerusalem, focusing on religious corruption. The target is not only open devotion to other gods (Baal and astral worship) but also mixed loyalties where people use Yahweh’s name while binding themselves to another deity. These verses sit within Zephaniah’s opening announcement of sweeping judgment that narrows from the whole creation (1:2–3) to Judah’s capital (1:4).
Zephaniah 1:4–6 presents God as personally and intentionally moving against Judah and Jerusalem because their worship has become corrupt and hollow.
A careful answer keeps the immediate passage, the book's argument, and the whole-Bible storyline together, so the question is answered in context instead of as a detached idea.
Start with Zephaniah 1:4-5, then read the surrounding section so the answer stays connected to the passage's flow.
4I will stretch out my hand against Judah, and against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem. I will cut off the remnant of Baal from this place: the name of the idolatrous and pagan priests,
5those who worship the host of the sky on the housetops, those who worship and swear by Yahweh and also swear by Malcam,