IDOL-PRIESTS — a scornful word for PAGAN clergy, always used with disapproval and kept carefully distinct from kohanim, the legitimate priests of Jehovah. It occurs only three times: of the priests Josiah abolished at the high places (2 Kings 23:5), of the calf-cult priests of Bethel (Hosea 10:5), and here. ⚠ Zephaniah 1:4 cuts off 'the name of the KEMARIM along with the priests (kohanim)' — the false clergy and, tarred with them, the true, since the real priesthood had let the idol-priests operate alongside it. Probably from a root meaning 'to be black' (their dark vestments) or 'to be zealous/gloomy.' English versions transliterate it as 'the Chemarim' (KJV/ASV) rather than translate, marking it as a technical term of contempt. → first discussed at Zephaniah 1:4