Zephaniah 1:10
“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.”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →The day of judgment will fill Jerusalem with cries of alarm rising from its gates and districts.
What Does Zephaniah 1:10 Mean?
The prophet lets us hear the day before he explains it. A cry rises from the fish gate, a wail from the second quarter, a great crashing from the hills. These were real places in Jerusalem, and the sound moves through the city like an advancing wave of dread. Judgment is not an abstraction; it lands on familiar streets.
By naming specific gates and neighborhoods, God makes clear that His word touches actual life, not some distant idea. The places where people bought and sold and felt secure become places of mourning. Yet even this terrible noise serves a merciful purpose, for it is a warning sounded in time. The God who tells His people exactly where the cry will rise is giving them the chance to turn before it does, to seek the refuge that no falling wall can shake.
In the Original Language
shaar hadagim (שַׁעַר הַדָּגִים), 'fish gate' -- a known gate in Jerusalem's wall, named for the fish market nearby, here a point where the cry of judgment begins.