Jeremiah 47 - Contemporary English Version (CEV)

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:

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,[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.
5 The Anakim who survive[c]
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?

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).

Cross references

  1. 47.1-7 : Is 14.29-31; Ez 25.15-17; Jl 3.4-8; Am 1.6-8; Zep 2.4-7; Zec 9.5-7.