ruin: The destruction was certain and could not be reversed (see Nahum 1:14; 2:13; 3:19). Zephaniah saw no future for Assyria or its capital. Nineveh was so completely destroyed that the Greek historian Xenophon passed by its ruins without knowing it was there.
hisses and shakes his fist: Those who suffered under Assyria's cruel empire would feel glad seeing it come to an end.