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The Lord's Message about Philistia

47 (A)Before the king of Egypt attacked Gaza, the Lord spoke to me about Philistia. He said:

“Look! Waters are rising in the north
    and will rush like a river in flood.
They will cover the land and everything on it,
    cities and the people who live there.
People will call out for help;
    everyone on earth will cry bitterly.
They will hear the hoofbeats of horses,
    the clatter of chariots,
    the rumble of wheels.
Parents will not turn back for their children;
    their hands will hang limp at their sides.
The time has come to destroy Philistia,
    to cut off from Tyre and Sidon
    all the help that remains.
I, the Lord, will destroy the Philistines,
    all who came from the shores of Crete.
Great sorrow has come to the people of Gaza,
    and Ashkelon's people are silent.
    How long will the rest of Philistia mourn?
You cry out, ‘Sword of the Lord!
    How long will you go on slashing?
Go back to your scabbard,
    stay there and rest!’
But how can it rest,
    when I have given it work to do?
I have commanded it to attack Ashkelon
    and the people who live on the coast.”

A Message About the Philistines

47 This is the word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the Philistines(A) before Pharaoh attacked Gaza:(B)

This is what the Lord says:

“See how the waters are rising in the north;(C)
    they will become an overflowing torrent.
They will overflow the land and everything in it,
    the towns and those who live in them.
The people will cry out;
    all who dwell in the land will wail(D)
at the sound of the hooves of galloping steeds,
    at the noise of enemy chariots(E)
    and the rumble of their wheels.
Parents will not turn to help their children;
    their hands will hang limp.(F)
For the day has come
    to destroy all the Philistines
and to remove all survivors
    who could help Tyre(G) and Sidon.(H)
The Lord is about to destroy the Philistines,(I)
    the remnant from the coasts of Caphtor.[a](J)
Gaza will shave(K) her head in mourning;
    Ashkelon(L) will be silenced.
You remnant on the plain,
    how long will you cut(M) yourselves?

“‘Alas, sword(N) of the Lord,
    how long till you rest?
Return to your sheath;
    cease and be still.’(O)
But how can it rest
    when the Lord has commanded it,
when he has ordered it
    to attack Ashkelon and the coast?”(P)

Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 47:4 That is, Crete

47 The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet against the Philistines, before that Pharaoh smote Gaza.

Thus saith the Lord; Behold, waters rise up out of the north, and shall be an overflowing flood, and shall overflow the land, and all that is therein; the city, and them that dwell therein: then the men shall cry, and all the inhabitants of the land shall howl.

At the noise of the stamping of the hoofs of his strong horses, at the rushing of his chariots, and at the rumbling of his wheels, the fathers shall not look back to their children for feebleness of hands;

Because of the day that cometh to spoil all the Philistines, and to cut off from Tyrus and Zidon every helper that remaineth: for the Lord will spoil the Philistines, the remnant of the country of Caphtor.

Baldness is come upon Gaza; Ashkelon is cut off with the remnant of their valley: how long wilt thou cut thyself?

O thou sword of the Lord, how long will it be ere thou be quiet? put up thyself into thy scabbard, rest, and be still.

How can it be quiet, seeing the Lord hath given it a charge against Ashkelon, and against the sea shore? there hath he appointed it.

Prophecy against Philistia

15 (A)The Sovereign Lord said, “The Philistines have taken cruel revenge on their agelong enemies and destroyed them in their hate. 16 And so I am announcing that I will attack the Philistines and wipe them out. I will destroy everyone left living there on the Philistine Plain. 17 I will punish them severely and take full revenge on them. They will feel my anger. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”

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A Prophecy Against Philistia

15 “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: ‘Because the Philistines(A) acted in vengeance and took revenge with malice(B) in their hearts, and with ancient hostility sought to destroy Judah, 16 therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am about to stretch out my hand against the Philistines,(C) and I will wipe out the Kerethites(D) and destroy those remaining along the coast.(E) 17 I will carry out great vengeance(F) on them and punish(G) them in my wrath. Then they will know that I am the Lord,(H) when I take vengeance on them.(I)’”

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15 Thus saith the Lord God; Because the Philistines have dealt by revenge, and have taken vengeance with a despiteful heart, to destroy it for the old hatred;

16 Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will stretch out mine hand upon the Philistines, and I will cut off the Cherethims, and destroy the remnant of the sea coast.

17 And I will execute great vengeance upon them with furious rebukes; and they shall know that I am the Lord, when I shall lay my vengeance upon them.

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(A)“What are you trying to do to me, Tyre, Sidon, and all of Philistia? Are you trying to pay me back for something? If you are, I will quickly pay you back! You have taken my silver and gold and carried my rich treasures into your temples. You have taken the people of Judah and Jerusalem far from their own country and sold them to the Greeks. Now I am going to bring them out of the places to which you have sold them. I will do to you what you have done to them. I will let your sons and daughters be sold to the people of Judah; they will sell them to the far-off Sabeans. I, the Lord, have spoken.

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“Now what have you against me, Tyre and Sidon(A) and all you regions of Philistia?(B) Are you repaying me for something I have done? If you are paying me back, I will swiftly and speedily return on your own heads what you have done.(C) For you took my silver and my gold and carried off my finest treasures to your temples.[a](D) You sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks,(E) that you might send them far from their homeland.

“See, I am going to rouse them out of the places to which you sold them,(F) and I will return(G) on your own heads what you have done. I will sell your sons(H) and daughters to the people of Judah,(I) and they will sell them to the Sabeans,(J) a nation far away.” The Lord has spoken.(K)

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Footnotes

  1. Joel 3:5 Or palaces

Yea, and what have ye to do with me, O Tyre, and Zidon, and all the coasts of Palestine? will ye render me a recompence? and if ye recompense me, swiftly and speedily will I return your recompence upon your own head;

Because ye have taken my silver and my gold, and have carried into your temples my goodly pleasant things:

The children also of Judah and the children of Jerusalem have ye sold unto the Grecians, that ye might remove them far from their border.

Behold, I will raise them out of the place whither ye have sold them, and will return your recompence upon your own head:

And I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hand of the children of Judah, and they shall sell them to the Sabeans, to a people far off: for the Lord hath spoken it.

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Philistia

(A)The Lord says, “The people of Gaza have sinned again and again, and for this I will certainly punish them. They carried off a whole nation and sold them as slaves to the people of Edom. So I will send fire upon the city walls of Gaza and burn down its fortresses. I will remove the rulers of the cities of Ashdod and Ashkelon. I will punish the city of Ekron, and all the Philistines who are left will die.”

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This is what the Lord says:

“For three sins of Gaza,(A)
    even for four, I will not relent.(B)
Because she took captive whole communities
    and sold them to Edom,(C)
I will send fire on the walls of Gaza
    that will consume her fortresses.
I will destroy the king[a] of Ashdod(D)
    and the one who holds the scepter in Ashkelon.
I will turn my hand(E) against Ekron,
    till the last of the Philistines(F) are dead,”(G)
says the Sovereign Lord.(H)

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Footnotes

  1. Amos 1:8 Or inhabitants

Thus saith the Lord; For three transgressions of Gaza, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they carried away captive the whole captivity, to deliver them up to Edom:

But I will send a fire on the wall of Gaza, which shall devour the palaces thereof:

And I will cut off the inhabitant from Ashdod, and him that holdeth the sceptre from Ashkelon, and I will turn mine hand against Ekron: and the remnant of the Philistines shall perish, saith the Lord God.

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The Doom of the Nations around Israel

(A)No one will be left in the city of Gaza. Ashkelon will be deserted. The people of Ashdod will be driven out in half a day,[a] and the people of Ekron will be driven from their city. You Philistines are doomed, you people who live along the coast. The Lord has passed sentence on you. He will destroy you, and not one of you will be left. Your land by the sea will become open fields with shepherd's huts and sheep pens. The people of Judah who survive will occupy your land. They will pasture their flocks there and sleep in the houses of Ashkelon. The Lord their God will be with them and make them prosper again.

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Footnotes

  1. Zephaniah 2:4 in half a day; or by a surprise attack at noontime.

Philistia

Gaza(A) will be abandoned
    and Ashkelon(B) left in ruins.
At midday Ashdod will be emptied
    and Ekron uprooted.
Woe to you who live by the sea,
    you Kerethite(C) people;
the word of the Lord is against you,(D)
    Canaan, land of the Philistines.
He says, “I will destroy you,
    and none will be left.”(E)
The land by the sea will become pastures
    having wells for shepherds
    and pens for flocks.(F)
That land will belong
    to the remnant(G) of the people of Judah;
    there they will find pasture.
In the evening they will lie down
    in the houses of Ashkelon.
The Lord their God will care for them;
    he will restore their fortunes.[a](H)

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Footnotes

  1. Zephaniah 2:7 Or will bring back their captives

For Gaza shall be forsaken, and Ashkelon a desolation: they shall drive out Ashdod at the noon day, and Ekron shall be rooted up.

Woe unto the inhabitants of the sea coast, the nation of the Cherethites! the word of the Lord is against you; O Canaan, the land of the Philistines, I will even destroy thee, that there shall be no inhabitant.

And the sea coast shall be dwellings and cottages for shepherds, and folds for flocks.

And the coast shall be for the remnant of the house of Judah; they shall feed thereupon: in the houses of Ashkelon shall they lie down in the evening: for the Lord their God shall visit them, and turn away their captivity.

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(A)The city of Ashkelon will see this and be afraid. The city of Gaza will see it and suffer great pain. So will Ekron, and her hopes will be shattered. Gaza will lose her king, and Ashkelon will be left deserted. People of mixed race will live in Ashdod. The Lord says, “I will humble all these proud Philistines. They will no longer eat meat with blood in it, or other forbidden food. All the survivors will become part of my people and be like a clan in the tribe of Judah. Ekron will become part of my people, as the Jebusites[a] did.

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Footnotes

  1. Zechariah 9:7 The original inhabitants of Jerusalem, who became David's subjects after he captured the city.

Ashkelon(A) will see it and fear;
    Gaza will writhe in agony,
    and Ekron too, for her hope will wither.
Gaza will lose her king
    and Ashkelon will be deserted.
A mongrel people will occupy Ashdod,
    and I will put an end(B) to the pride of the Philistines.
I will take the blood from their mouths,
    the forbidden food from between their teeth.
Those who are left will belong to our God(C)
    and become a clan in Judah,
    and Ekron will be like the Jebusites.(D)

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Ashkelon shall see it, and fear; Gaza also shall see it, and be very sorrowful, and Ekron; for her expectation shall be ashamed; and the king shall perish from Gaza, and Ashkelon shall not be inhabited.

And a bastard shall dwell in Ashdod, and I will cut off the pride of the Philistines.

And I will take away his blood out of his mouth, and his abominations from between his teeth: but he that remaineth, even he, shall be for our God, and he shall be as a governor in Judah, and Ekron as a Jebusite.

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