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29 Rejoice not, O Philistia, all of you, because the rod [of Judah] that smote you is broken; for out of the serpent’s root shall come forth an adder [King Hezekiah of Judah], and its [the serpent’s] offspring will be a fiery, flying serpent.(A)

30 And the firstborn of the poor and the poorest of the poor [of Judah] shall feed on My meadows, and the needy will lie down in safety; but I will kill your root with famine, and your remnant shall be slain.

31 Howl, O gate! Cry, O city! Melt away, O Philistia, all of you! For there is coming a smoke out of the north, and there is no straggler in his ranks and none stands aloof [in Hezekiah’s battalions].

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29 Do not rejoice, all you Philistines,(A)
    that the rod that struck you is broken;
from the root of that snake will spring up a viper,(B)
    its fruit will be a darting, venomous serpent.(C)
30 The poorest of the poor will find pasture,
    and the needy(D) will lie down in safety.(E)
But your root I will destroy by famine;(F)
    it will slay(G) your survivors.(H)

31 Wail,(I) you gate!(J) Howl, you city!
    Melt away, all you Philistines!(K)
A cloud of smoke comes from the north,(L)
    and there is not a straggler in its ranks.(M)

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47 The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the Philistines before Pharaoh smote [the Philistine city] Gaza.(A)

Thus says the Lord: Behold, waters are rising out of the north and shall become an overflowing stream and shall overflow the land and all that is in it, the city and those who dwell in it. Then the men shall cry, and all the inhabitants of the land [of Philistia] shall wail.

At the noise of the stamping of the hoofs of [the Chaldean king’s] war-horses, at the rattling of his chariots, and at the rumbling of his wheels, the fathers do not look back to their children, so feeble are their hands [with terror]

Because of the day that is coming to destroy all the Philistines and to cut off from Tyre and Sidon every helper who remains. For the Lord is destroying the Philistines, the remnant [still surviving] of the isle or coastland of Caphtor [where the Philistines originated].(B)

Baldness [as a token of mourning] will come upon Gaza; Ashkelon will be cut off and be dumb. O remnant of their valley and of the giants, how long will you gash yourselves [as a token of mourning]?

O you sword of the Lord, how long will it be before you are quiet? Put yourself into your scabbard; rest and be still.

How can it [the sword of the Lord] be quiet when the Lord has given it an assignment to discharge? Against Ashkelon and against the [whole Philistine] seashore He has appointed it.

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

Thus says the Lord: For three transgressions of Gaza [a city in Philistia] and for four [for multiplied delinquencies], I will not reverse the punishment of it or revoke My word concerning it, because [as slave traders] they carried away captive the whole [Jewish] population [of defenseless Judean border villages, of which none was spared, none left behind] and delivered them up to Edom [for the slave trade].(A)

So I will send a fire on the wall of Gaza which shall devour its strongholds.

And I will cut off the inhabitants from Ashdod and him who holds the scepter from Ashkelon, and I will turn My hand against Ekron; and the rest of the Philistines [in Gath and the towns dependent on these four Philistine cities] shall perish, says the Lord God.(B)

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This is what the Lord says:

“For three sins of Gaza,(A)
    even for four, I will not relent.(B)
Because she took captive whole communities
    and sold them to Edom,(C)
I will send fire on the walls of Gaza
    that will consume her fortresses.
I will destroy the king[a] of Ashdod(D)
    and the one who holds the scepter in Ashkelon.
I will turn my hand(E) against Ekron,
    till the last of the Philistines(F) are dead,”(G)
says the Sovereign Lord.(H)

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Footnotes

  1. Amos 1:8 Or inhabitants

For [hear the fate of the Philistines:] Gaza shall be forsaken and Ashkelon shall become a desolation; the people of Ashdod shall be driven out at noonday and Ekron shall be uprooted.

Woe to the inhabitants of the seacoast, the nation of the Cherethites [in Philistia]! The word of the Lord is against you, O Canaan, land of the Philistines; I will destroy you until no inhabitant is left.

And the seacoast shall be pastures, with [deserted] dwelling places and caves for shepherds and folds for flocks.

The [a]seacoast shall belong to the remnant of the house of Judah; they shall pasture their flocks upon it; in the houses of [deserted Philistine] Ashkelon shall they of Judah lie down in the evening. For the Lord their [Judah’s] God shall visit them [for their relief] and restore them from their captivity.(A)

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Footnotes

  1. Zephaniah 2:7 This is one of the more than twenty-five details of Bible prophecy concerning the land of Palestine that has been literally fulfilled. Probability computers estimate that if a prophecy concerning a person, place, or event has twenty-five details, there is one chance in more than thirty-three million of its accidental fulfillment. And such prophecy must be (1) above the possibility of human collusion; (2) beyond the ability of human calculation; (3) proof against human coincidence; (4) above all possibility of human comprehension. What inconceivable omniscience was behind the writing of the Bible! Twenty-five details also concerning the betrayal, trial, death, and burial of our Lord were fulfilled, fulfilled within twenty-four hours! And the fulfillment of the most remarkable prophecies of all time is predicted in the Bible for the rapidly approaching future! See footnote on Ezek. 26:14 for information about a similar fulfillment of details of Bible prophecy with regard to Tyre.

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)

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Footnotes

  1. Zephaniah 2:7 Or will bring back their captives

[The strong cities of Philistia] shall see it and fear; [a]Ashkelon, Gaza also, and be sorely pained, and Ekron, for her confidence and expectation shall be put to shame, and a king [monarchial government] shall perish from Gaza, and Ashkelon shall not be inhabited.

And a mongrel people shall dwell in Ashdod, and I will put an end to the pride of the Philistines.

And I will take out of [the Philistines’] mouths and from between their teeth the abominable idolatrous sacrifices eaten with the blood. And they too shall remain and be a remnant for our God, and they shall be like chieftains (the head over a thousand) in Judah, and Ekron shall be like one of the Jebusites [who at last were merged and had lost their identity in Israel].

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Footnotes

  1. Zechariah 9:5 Ashkelon was one of the five strong, leading Philistine cities (Josh. 13:3)—Gath and Ashdod being the ones not named here in this verse. Ashkelon was the birthplace of Herod the Great, and the residence of his sister Salome. It was not until a.d. 1270 that Zechariah’s prophecy of its total destruction was fulfilled, when the Sultan Bibars reduced it to ruins and filled the harbor with stones. Nearly 700 years later the city is still uninhabited, and the seacoast has been and continues to be the site of “dwellings and cottages for shepherds and folds for flocks” (Zeph. 2:6 kjv).

Ashkelon(A) will see it and fear;
    Gaza will writhe in agony,
    and Ekron too, for her hope will wither.
Gaza will lose her king
    and Ashkelon will be deserted.
A mongrel people will occupy Ashdod,
    and I will put an end(B) to the pride of the Philistines.
I will take the blood from their mouths,
    the forbidden food from between their teeth.
Those who are left will belong to our God(C)
    and become a clan in Judah,
    and Ekron will be like the Jebusites.(D)

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