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What the Lord Says about the Philistines

47 (A) Before the king of Egypt attacked the town of Gaza,[a] the Lord told me to say to the Philistines:

I, the Lord, tell you
that your land will be flooded
    with an army from the north.
It will destroy your towns
and sweep you away,
    moaning and screaming.
When you hear the thunder
of horses and chariots,
    your courage will vanish,
and parents will even abandon
    their own children.

You refugees from Crete,[b]
your time has now come,
    and I will destroy you.
None of you will be left
to help the cities
    of Tyre and Sidon.
The Anakim who survive[c]
    in Gaza and Ashkelon
will mourn for you
by shaving their heads
    and sitting in silence.
You ask how long will I continue
    to attack you with my sword,
then you tell me to put it away
    and leave you alone.
But how can my sword rest,
when I have commanded it
    to attack Ashkelon
    and the seacoast?

Footnotes

  1. 47.1 attacked the town of Gaza: One of the major Philistine towns; nothing is known about this attack.
  2. 47.4 Crete: Hebrew “Caphtor,” another name for Crete, the original homeland of the ancestors of the Philistines.
  3. 47.5 Anakim who survive: One ancient translation; Hebrew “people in the valley who survive.” The Anakim may have been a group of very large people that lived in Palestine before the Israelites (see Numbers 13.33; Deuteronomy 2.10,11, 20,21; and Joshua 11.21,22).

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