Verses 10 and 11 go together and describe a scene in which Jerusalem is being captured by an enemy army. This continues the theme of the LORD punishing his people, as is suggested by the repetition of the phrase On that day at the beginning of verse 10.

A cry will be heard from the Fish Gate: Good News Translation avoids the passive and supplies a subject, saying “you will hear the sound of crying.” The cry is the noise made by people shouting in distress, and in some languages it will be necessary to make this explicit and say “you will hear people (or, the sound of people) crying out.” The site of the Fish Gate can no longer be identified, but it was on the north side of the city (Neh 3.3), the side on which an enemy would attack. In some languages the Fish Gate may be expressed as “the gate named Fish.” It may also be helpful to identify the city as Jerusalem (Good News Translation).

A wail from the Second Quarter: a wail is also a sound expressing distress, but it is probably not intended as a contrast with the word translated cry. Rather the two words are in parallel with each other, and if translators can find two words in their own language with similar meanings, that will probably give much the same effect as the Hebrew. A wail may be translated as “you will hear people wailing.”

The Second Quarter: this was a district on the northern side of the city, near the Fish Gate (2 Kgs 22.14). As it had been built more recently than other areas, Good News Translation translates as “the newer part of the city.” One may also say “the new part of the town nearby (or, near the Fish Gate).”

In some languages it may be helpful to combine the two parallel clauses and say “you will hear the sound of people shouting and crying in distress at the Fish Gate and in the newer part of the city.”

The loud crash from the hills is caused by the fall of buildings being destroyed by the enemy army. In certain languages this will need to be made explicit by saying “the noise of buildings crashing down on the hills.” The hills refers to the hills on which Jerusalem was built, so one may say “from the hills in (or, of) Jerusalem.”

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 .