The whole land shall be turned into a plain: As the following description makes clear, The whole land here refers not to the entire world as in verse 9, but to the land of Judah. Shall be turned into a plain is literally “shall become like the Arabah” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh). The “Arabah” is the Jordan Valley. New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh in a footnote claims that the point of the comparison is the low-lying nature of the Jordan Valley, which at 1,200 feet (about 360 meters) below sea level is the lowest point on the surface of the earth. However, most scholars consider that it is the flatness of the Jordan Valley in contrast with the mountains on both sides which is the point of the comparison. This is the basis of expressions like turned into a plain, “made level” (Good News Translation), and “turned into flatlands” (Contemporary English Version).

From Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem: Geba was a town at the northern border of Judah before the exile (1 Kgs 15.22; 2 Kgs 23.8), about ten kilometers (six miles) north of Jerusalem. Rimmon cannot be certainly identified, but was a town somewhere in the south (compare Josh 15.32; Josh 19.7; Neh 11.29), about 55 kilometers (35 miles) southwest of Jerusalem, according to Baldwin. The fact that it is qualified by the description south of Jerusalem suggests that it may not have been a very well-known place in the prophet’s own day. Whatever its exact location, there is little doubt that the names of Geba and Rimmon used together like this indicate “from the northern to the southern extremities of the land” or “from one end of the country to the other.” Good News Translation is justified in making this clear by saying “from Geba in the north to Rimmon in the south” (as also Bible en français courant, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente). In some languages it will be necessary to relate these directions to Jerusalem, as Revised Standard Version does with south of Jerusalem, or for the first sentence translators may say, for example, “The whole of Judah from Geba to the north of Jerusalem as far as Rimmon to the south will become flatlands [or, a plain].”

But Jerusalem shall remain aloft upon its site: The hills around Jerusalem are in present reality higher than the city itself. While they will all be flattened, the city will remain on its hill, at that time towering above the surrounding plain. Jerusalem is about 760 meters (2,500 feet) above sea level. The picture of the city standing higher than the land around fits its status as the central point of the LORD’s rule, and is related to similar ideas in Isa 2.2 and Micah 4.1. Another way to render this is “But Jerusalem will remain standing high above the plain [or, flatlands].”

From the Gate of Benjamin to the place of the former gate, to the Corner Gate: The rest of the verse is generally agreed to describe the extent of the city of Jerusalem, though some of the details are no longer entirely clear. The Gate of Benjamin (mentioned for instance also in Jer 37.13; Jer 38.7) was more or less at the northeastern extremity of the city wall. Some translators have taken the expression that Revised Standard Version renders the former gate as a proper name: “the First Gate” (Jerusalem Bible, New International Version) or “Old Gate Place” (Contemporary English Version). Either way, it is not certain whether the place of the former gate is related to the Corner Gate so that both phrases refer to a single place, or whether they describe two separate places. Good News Translation takes the first view, and restructures to express it unambiguously: “from the Benjamin Gate to the Corner Gate, where there had been an earlier gate” (also Jerusalem Bible, Bible en français courant, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente). New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh takes the second view, and expresses it clearly with “from the Gate of Benjamin to the site of the Old Gate, down to the Corner Gate” (similarly New Living Translation). Several versions, like Revised Standard Version, are ambiguous. Translators should make a decision, as Good News Translation and New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh have, and their rendering should show which decision they have made. Since the extent of the city is being described, it seems slightly more likely that there would be a total of four points of reference rather than five. We therefore favor the decision taken by Good News Translation, though it is impossible to be certain whether this is correct.

The Corner Gate is also mentioned in 2 Kgs 14.13; 2 Chr 26.9 and Jer 31.38. It was probably near the northwestern corner of the city. If so, then a line from the Gate of Benjamin to the Corner Gate would indicate the approximate size of the city from east to west.

From the Tower of Hananel to the king’s wine presses: The Tower of Hananel is mentioned in Neh 3.1 and 12.39. If translators need to be more precise about the relationship underlying the word of, they may assume that Hananel was the person who had the Tower built (Gaide). This tower was part of the fortifications of the wall on the northern side of the city, probably not far from the Benjamin Gate (Meyers & Meyers). Tower may also be rendered as “a strong high building in the wall.” The location of the king’s wine presses is not known, but it was probably at the south end of the city in the vicinity of “the king’s garden” (Neh 3.15; Jer 39.4). Wine presses are places where grapes are squeezed to extract the juice for making wine. In cultures where wine-making is not practiced, translators may need to avoid a specific term like wine presses. They may say, for example, “the place where people squeezed juice from the king’s grapes [or, from the king’s fruit].”

A line from the Tower of Hananel to the king’s wine presses would indicate the approximate size of the city from north to south. Thus the geographical part of the verse is saying that the whole of Jerusalem from its eastern to its western limits, and from its northern to its southern limits, will be raised above the surrounding countryside, and will dominate the whole region.

Quoted with permission from Clark, David J. & Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Zechariah. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2002. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .