Jeremiah 47:1-7
A Message About the Philistines
1 This is the word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the Philistines before Pharaoh attacked Gaza:
2 This is what the Lord says:
“See how the waters are rising in the north;
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
3 at the sound of the hooves of galloping steeds,
at the noise of enemy chariots
and the rumble of their wheels.
Parents will not turn to help their children;
their hands will hang limp.
4 For the day has come
to destroy all the Philistines
and to remove all survivors
who could help Tyre and Sidon.
The Lord is about to destroy the Philistines,
the remnant from the coasts of Caphtor.
5 Gaza will shave her head in mourning;
Ashkelon will be silenced.
You remnant on the plain,
how long will you cut yourselves?
6 “‘Alas, sword of the Lord,
how long till you rest?
Return to your sheath;
cease and be still.’
7 But how can it rest
when the Lord has commanded it,
when he has ordered it
to attack Ashkelon and the coast?”
This is the message from the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet about the Philistines...This message came before Pharaoh attacked the city of Gaza...This is what the LORD says: “Look, the enemy is gathering in the north[a] like rising water...They will come like a river spilling over its banks...They will cover the whole country like a flood...They will cover the towns and the people living in them...Everyone in the country will cry for help...Everyone will cry out in pain...They will hear the sound of running horses, the noisy chariots, the rumbling wheels...Fathers will not be able to protect their children...They will be too weak to help, because the time has come to destroy all the Philistines...The time has come to destroy Tyre and Sidon’s remaining helpers...
The LORD will destroy the Philistines, the survivors from the Island of Crete...The people from Gaza will be sad and shave their heads...The people from Ashkelon will be silenced...Survivors from the valley, how long will you cut yourselves?...“Sword of the Lord, you have not stopped...How long will you keep fighting?...Go back into your scabbard!...Stop!...Be still!...But how can the sword of the Lord rest?...The LORD gave it a command...He commanded it to attack the city of Ashkelon and the seacoast.”...