The opening words On that day (compare 1.9; 3.16) refer to the period when the LORD’s punishment is carried out and the time immediately following, rather than to a particular day. Good News Translation accordingly translates by a more general term, “At that time.”
The verbs have a second person singular feminine subject, which is the city of Jerusalem, or as the paragraph goes on to explain, the few remaining people in the city who trust the LORD. Good News Translation makes it clear at this point that the subject is different from the previous verses by saying “you, my people.”
The exact sense here of the verb rendered you shall not be put to shame is uncertain. Revised Standard Version together with New English Bible and New International Version seems to understand it to mean “you will no longer need to suffer shame and punishment for your wicked deeds.” This will be because the wicked people will have been removed, as the rest of the verse states. An alternative possibility is that, because the people responsible for the wicked deeds are no longer there, the righteous people who remain will no longer need to feel ashamed of what had happened in the past. This understanding is somewhat less convincing but is represented in Good News Translation‘s wording, “you … will no longer need to be ashamed” (compare Bible en français courant, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch). Good News Translation‘s “you, my people” may be expressed in many languages as “you, who are my people.” The concept of shame may be translated in many languages idiomatically as “lose face” (Mandarin, Thai, Lao, and others) or even “lose face lose eye” (Thai).
The reason for the shame which the people had either suffered or felt was the wicked deeds of the leaders (verses 3-4), which showed that they had rebelled against the LORD. The word rebelled emphasizes deliberate rejection of the LORD’s commands. In certain languages it will be necessary to make the underlying meaning explicit and say “you refused to obey my commands.”
In certain languages it will be necessary to expand the clause I will remove from your midst to “I will remove (or, take away) all of you who…” or “I will remove every person from Jerusalem (or, from among you) who….” Those leaders who had rebelled the LORD will remove from among his people as part of his judgment. They are described as proudly exultant, the same phrase as is used in Isaiah 13.3 to describe conquering soldiers who are confident in their own power. Good News Translation uses more natural English in translating as “everyone who is proud and arrogant.” See 2.10 for comments on how to translate “arrogant.” In languages where it is difficult to find two words with similar meaning like “proud” and “arrogant,” it may be necessary to say “very proud.” Pride is regarded as the basic human sin, and when the leaders are taken away, no one else will be haughty in my holy mountain. The word translated be haughty implies an open show of contempt for God. This effect is conveyed in various ways in modern English translations such as “you will cease to strut” (Jerusalem Bible) and “never again shall you flaunt your pride” (New English Bible). The religious aspect of the pride is underlined by the words in my holy mountain, that is, the hill where the LORD’s Temple stood. Human pride exhibited in such a place was an intentional insult to the LORD, and so Good News Translation translates “you will never again rebel against me on my sacred hill.” “On my sacred hill” may be translated “on the hill where my sacred (or, holy) house stands.” See verse 4 for comments on ways to translate “sacred” or holy.
Quoted with permission from Clark, David J. & Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on the Book of Zephaniah. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1989. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .