16 therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am about to stretch out my hand against the Philistines,(A) and I will wipe out the Kerethites(B) and destroy those remaining along the coast.(C)

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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.

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14 We raided the Negev of the Kerethites,(A) some territory belonging to Judah and the Negev of Caleb.(B) And we burned(C) Ziklag.”

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14 We made an invasion upon the south of the Cherethites, and upon the coast which belongeth to Judah, and upon the south of Caleb; and we burned Ziklag with fire.

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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)

Moab and Ammon

“I have heard the insults(I) of Moab(J)
    and the taunts of the Ammonites,(K)
who insulted(L) my people
    and made threats against their land.(M)
Therefore, as surely as I live,”
    declares the Lord Almighty,
    the God of Israel,
“surely Moab(N) will become like Sodom,(O)
    the Ammonites(P) like Gomorrah—
a place of weeds and salt pits,
    a wasteland forever.
The remnant of my people will plunder(Q) them;
    the survivors(R) of my nation will inherit their land.(S)

10 This is what they will get in return for their pride,(T)
    for insulting(U) and mocking
    the people of the Lord Almighty.(V)
11 The Lord will be awesome(W) to them
    when he destroys all the gods(X) of the earth.(Y)
Distant nations will bow down to him,(Z)
    all of them in their own lands.

Cush

12 “You Cushites,[b](AA) too,
    will be slain by my sword.(AB)

Assyria

13 He will stretch out his hand against the north
    and destroy Assyria,(AC)
leaving Nineveh(AD) utterly desolate
    and dry as the desert.(AE)
14 Flocks and herds(AF) will lie down there,
    creatures of every kind.
The desert owl(AG) and the screech owl(AH)
    will roost on her columns.
Their hooting will echo through the windows,
    rubble will fill the doorways,
    the beams of cedar will be exposed.
15 This is the city of revelry(AI)
    that lived in safety.(AJ)
She said to herself,
    “I am the one! And there is none besides me.”(AK)
What a ruin she has become,
    a lair for wild beasts!(AL)
All who pass by her scoff(AM)
    and shake their fists.(AN)

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Footnotes

  1. Zephaniah 2:7 Or will bring back their captives
  2. Zephaniah 2:12 That is, people from the upper Nile region

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.

I have heard the reproach of Moab, and the revilings of the children of Ammon, whereby they have reproached my people, and magnified themselves against their border.

Therefore as I live, saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Surely Moab shall be as Sodom, and the children of Ammon as Gomorrah, even the breeding of nettles, and saltpits, and a perpetual desolation: the residue of my people shall spoil them, and the remnant of my people shall possess them.

10 This shall they have for their pride, because they have reproached and magnified themselves against the people of the Lord of hosts.

11 The Lord will be terrible unto them: for he will famish all the gods of the earth; and men shall worship him, every one from his place, even all the isles of the heathen.

12 Ye Ethiopians also, ye shall be slain by my sword.

13 And he will stretch out his hand against the north, and destroy Assyria; and will make Nineveh a desolation, and dry like a wilderness.

14 And flocks shall lie down in the midst of her, all the beasts of the nations: both the cormorant and the bittern shall lodge in the upper lintels of it; their voice shall sing in the windows; desolation shall be in the thresholds; for he shall uncover the cedar work.

15 This is the rejoicing city that dwelt carelessly, that said in her heart, I am, and there is none beside me: how is she become a desolation, a place for beasts to lie down in! every one that passeth by her shall hiss, and wag his hand.

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13 therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will stretch out my hand(A) against Edom and kill both man and beast.(B) I will lay it waste, and from Teman(C) to Dedan(D) they will fall by the sword.(E)

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13 Therefore thus saith the Lord God; I will also stretch out mine hand upon Edom, and will cut off man and beast from it; and I will make it desolate from Teman; and they of Dedan shall fall by the sword.

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therefore I will stretch out my hand(A) against you and give you as plunder(B) to the nations. I will wipe you out from among the nations and exterminate you from the countries. I will destroy(C) you, and you will know that I am the Lord.(D)’”

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Behold, therefore I will stretch out mine hand upon thee, and will deliver thee for a spoil to the heathen; and I will cut thee off from the people, and I will cause thee to perish out of the countries: I will destroy thee; and thou shalt know that I am the Lord.

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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)

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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.

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18 All his men marched past him, along with all the Kerethites(A) and Pelethites; and all the six hundred Gittites who had accompanied him from Gath marched before the king.

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18 And all his servants passed on beside him; and all the Cherethites, and all the Pelethites, and all the Gittites, six hundred men which came after him from Gath, passed on before the king.

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