Jeremiah 47

What the Lord Says about the Philistines

1 *Is 14.29-31;Ez 25.15-17;Jl 3.4-8;Am 1.6-8;Zep 2.4-7;Zec 9.5-7. Before the king of Egypt attacked the town of Gaza,*47.1 attacked the town of Gaza: One of the major Philistine towns; nothing is known about this attack. the Lord told me to say to the Philistines:

2 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.

3 When you hear the thunder

of horses and chariots,

your courage will vanish,

and parents will even abandon

their own children.

4 You refugees from Crete,*47.4 Crete: Hebrew "Caphtor," another name for Crete, the original homeland of the ancestors of the Philistines.

your time has now come,

and I will destroy you.

None of you will be left

to help the cities

of Tyre and Sidon.

5 The Anakim who survive*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).

in Gaza and Ashkelon

will mourn for you

by shaving their heads

and sitting in silence.

6 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.

7 But how can my sword rest,

when I have commanded it

to attack Ashkelon

and the seacoast?