Zephaniah 1:10
in Zephaniah 1On that day,” declares the LORD, “a cry will go up from the Fish Gate, a wail from the Second District, and a loud crashing from the hills.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And in that day, saith Jehovah, there shall be the noise of a cry from the fish gate, and a wailing from the second quarter, and a great crashing from the hills.
KJV
And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord, that there shall be the noise of a cry from the fish gate, and an howling from the second, and a great crashing from the hills.
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This verse in Zephaniah 1
Commentary
9 notes on this verseA cry from the fish-gate - This gate, which is mentioned Neh 3:3, was opposite to Joppa; and perhaps the way in which the news came of the irruption of the Chaldean army, the great crashing from the hills. The second - Or second city, may here mean a part of Jerusalem, mentioned 2Ki 22:14; 2Ch 34:22.
This site's exposition
a cry from the fish gate
on Zephaniah 1:10-11
The noise moves geographically through Jerusalem's own map, the fish gate on the north side, the second quarter inside it, and the hills where the city's wealthier districts stood, so the invasion is heard advancing street by street rather than described from a distance. Maktesh, meaning a mortar or hollow, names the merchants' quarter in the lower market, and the pun the bench notes is exact, the city built like a mortar for grinding is about to be ground itself. All they that bear silver are cut off ties the coming judgment to the very trade the district was built for, wealth offering no shelter from the day.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 10.) And it shall come to pass in that day, says the Lord, there shall be a voice of crying from the fish gate, and a wailing from the Second Quarter, and a great crashing from the hills. LXX: And it shall come to pass in that day, says the Lord, there shall be a voice of crying from the gate of the mourners, and a wailing from the Second Quarter, and a great crashing from the hills.
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
The noise - The great out-cry and lamentation. The fish gate - At which gate the Babylonians first entered into the city. The second - This gate was in the second wall of Jerusalem, which on that side was fortified with three walls.
It belonged to the city of David ( 2 Chron. xxxiii. 3 ); perhaps the same with that which is called the first gate ( Zech. xiv. 10 ), and, if so, it will explain what follows here, And a howling from the second, that is, the second gate, which was next to that fish-gate.
5 And them that worship the host of heaven upon the housetops; and them that worship and that swear by the L ORD , and that swear by Malcham; 6 And them that are turned back from the L ORD ; and those that have not sought the L ORD , nor enquired for him.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:88%@v5-6
And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord,....
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
The second, or lower city, answers to Akra, north of Zion, and separated from it by the valley of Tyropœon running down to the pool of Siloam [HENDERSON]. The Hebrew is translated "college," 2Ki 22:14; so VATABLUS would translate here. hills--not here those outside, but those within the walls: Zion, Moriah, and Ophel.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-curly-quotes
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
A cry from the fish-gate - “The fish-gate” was probably in the north of the wall of “the second city.” For in Nehemiah’s rebuilding, the restoration began at the sheep-gate Neh 3:1 (so called doubtless, because the sheep for the sacrifices were brought in by it), which, as being near the temple, was repaired by the priests; then it ascended northward, by two towers, the towers of Meah and Hananeel; then two companies repaired some undescribed part of the wall Neh 3:2, and then another company built the fish-gate Neh 3:3. Four companies are then mentioned, who repaired, in order, to the old gate, which was repaired by another company Neh 3:4-6. Three more companies repaired beyond these; and they left Jerusalem unto the broad wall Neh 3:7-8. After three more sections repaired by individuals, two others repaired a second measured portion, and the tower of the furnaces Neh 3:9-11. This order is reversed in the account of the dedication of the walls. The people being divided “into two great companies of them that give thanks” Neh 12:31-38, some place near “the tower of the furnaces” was the central point, from which both parted to encompass the city in opposite directions. In this account, we have two additional gates mentioned, “the gate of Ephraim” Neh 12:39, between the “broad wall” and the “old gate,” and “the prison-gate,” beyond “the sheep-gate,” from which the repairs had begun. “The gate of Ephraim” had obviously not been repaired, because, for some reason, it had not been destroyed. Elsewhere, Nehemiah, who describes the rebuilding of the wall so minutely, must have mentioned its rebuilding. It was obviously to the north, as leading to Ephraim. But the tower of Hananeel must have been a very marked tower. […]
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
from the fish gate Jonathan renders: from the gate of the fish; there was a gate in Jerusalem called by that name.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
you inhabitants of Maktesh The Kidron Valley, which is as deep as a mortar. This is according to Targum Jonathan. from the fish gate This is Acre, situated in the bosom of the sea, where many fish are caught.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
15 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְהָיָה֩ | vehayah | and it will be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| בַיּ֨וֹם | vaiyom | on the day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| הַה֜וּא | hahu' | <the> that | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| נְאֻם־ | neum- | [the] utterance of | H5002 → | 376 times |
| יְהוָ֗ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| ק֤וֹל | kol | [the] sound of | H6963 → | 506 times |
| צְעָקָה֙ | tzeakah | a cry of distress | H6818 → | |
| מִשַּׁ֣עַר | mishaar | from [the] gate of | H8179 → | |
| הַדָּגִ֔ים | hadagim | the fish<es> | H1709 → | |
| וִֽילָלָ֖ה | vilalah | and wailing | H3215 → | |
| מִן־ | min- | from | H4480 → | 1188 times |
| הַמִּשְׁנֶ֑ה | hamishneh | the second district | H4932 → | |
| וְשֶׁ֥בֶר | veshever | and a crashing | H7667 → | |
| גָּד֖וֹל | gadol | great | H1419 → | |
| מֵהַגְּבָעֽוֹת׃ | mehagevaot | from the hills | H1389 → |
וְהָיָה֩and it will be
vehayahH1961 →3559 times
בַיּ֨וֹםon the day
vaiyomH3117 →2304 times
הַה֜וּא<the> that
hahu'H1931 →1879 times
נְאֻם־[the] utterance of
neum-H5002 →376 times
יְהוָ֗הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
ק֤וֹל[the] sound of
kolH6963 →506 times
צְעָקָה֙a cry of distress
tzeakahH6818 →
מִשַּׁ֣עַרfrom [the] gate of
mishaarH8179 →
הַדָּגִ֔יםthe fish<es>
hadagimH1709 →
וִֽילָלָ֖הand wailing
vilalahH3215 →
מִן־from
min-H4480 →1188 times
הַמִּשְׁנֶ֑הthe second district
hamishnehH4932 →
וְשֶׁ֥בֶרand a crashing
vesheverH7667 →
גָּד֖וֹלgreat
gadolH1419 →
מֵהַגְּבָעֽוֹת׃from the hills
mehagevaotH1389 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Nehemiah 3:3The Fish Gate was rebuilt by the sons of Hassenaah. They laid its beams and installed its doors, bolts, and bars.
it leads to
- Nehemiah 12:39
over the Gate of Ephraim, the Jeshanah Gate, the Fish Gate, the Tower of Hananel, and the Tower of the Hundred, as far as the Sheep Gate. And they stopped at the Gate of…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 2 Chronicles 33:14
After this, Manasseh rebuilt the outer wall of the City of David from west of Gihon in the valley to the entrance of the Fish Gate, and he brought it around the hill of…
- Nehemiah 12:39
Through
Amos 8:3“In that day,” declares the Lord GOD, “the songs of the temple will turn to wailing. Many will be the corpses, strewn in silence everywhere!”
it leads to
- Amos 6:9–10
And if there are ten men left in one house, they too will die.
- Amos 5:23
Take away from Me the noise of your songs! I will not listen to the music of your harps.
- Jeremiah 9:21–22
For death has climbed in through our windows; it has entered our fortresses to cut off the children from the streets, the young men from the town squares.
- Amos 6:9–10
Through
2 Chronicles 33:14After this, Manasseh rebuilt the outer wall of the City of David from west of Gihon in the valley to the entrance of the Fish Gate, and he brought it around the hill of…
it leads to
- 2 Chronicles 27:3
Jotham rebuilt the Upper Gate of the house of the LORD, and he worked extensively on the wall at the hill of Ophel.
- 1 Kings 1:33
“Take my servants with you,” said the king. “Set my son Solomon on my own mule and take him down to Gihon.
- Nehemiah 3:3
The Fish Gate was rebuilt by the sons of Hassenaah. They laid its beams and installed its doors, bolts, and bars.
- 2 Chronicles 27:3
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Zephaniah
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Carl Friedrich Keil, The Twelve Minor Prophets; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Zephaniah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.