Ashkelon shall see it and fear;
Gaza also shall be very sorrowful;
And (A)Ekron, for He dried up her expectation.
The king shall perish from Gaza,
And Ashkelon shall not be inhabited.

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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.

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Christ Is Preached to an Ethiopian(A)

26 Now an angel of the Lord spoke to (B)Philip, saying, “Arise and go toward the south along the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is [a]desert.

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Footnotes

  1. Acts 8:26 Or a deserted place

Philip and the Ethiopian

26 Now an angel(A) of the Lord said to Philip,(B) “Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.”

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The World Mourns Babylon’s Fall

(A)“The kings of the earth who committed fornication and lived luxuriously with her (B)will weep and lament for her, (C)when they see the smoke of her burning, 10 standing at a distance for fear of her torment, saying, (D)‘Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! (E)For in one hour your judgment has come.’

11 “And (F)the merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her, for no one buys their merchandise anymore: 12 (G)merchandise of gold and silver, precious stones and pearls, fine linen and purple, silk and scarlet, every kind of citron wood, every kind of object of ivory, every kind of object of most precious wood, bronze, iron, and marble; 13 and cinnamon and incense, fragrant oil and frankincense, wine and oil, fine flour and wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and chariots, and bodies and (H)souls of men. 14 The fruit that your soul longed for has gone from you, and all the things which are rich and splendid have [a]gone from you, and you shall find them no more at all. 15 The merchants of these things, who became rich by her, will stand at a distance for fear of her torment, weeping and wailing, 16 and saying, ‘Alas, alas, (I)that great city (J)that was clothed in fine linen, purple, and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls! 17 (K)For in one hour such great riches [b]came to nothing.’ (L)Every shipmaster, all who travel by ship, sailors, and as many as trade on the sea, stood at a distance

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Footnotes

  1. Revelation 18:14 NU, M been lost to you
  2. Revelation 18:17 have been laid waste

Threefold Woe Over Babylon’s Fall

“When the kings of the earth who committed adultery with her(A) and shared her luxury(B) see the smoke of her burning,(C) they will weep and mourn over her.(D) 10 Terrified at her torment, they will stand far off(E) and cry:

“‘Woe! Woe to you, great city,(F)
    you mighty city of Babylon!
In one hour(G) your doom has come!’

11 “The merchants(H) of the earth will weep and mourn(I) over her because no one buys their cargoes anymore(J) 12 cargoes of gold, silver, precious stones and pearls; fine linen, purple, silk and scarlet cloth; every sort of citron wood, and articles of every kind made of ivory, costly wood, bronze, iron and marble;(K) 13 cargoes of cinnamon and spice, of incense, myrrh and frankincense, of wine and olive oil, of fine flour and wheat; cattle and sheep; horses and carriages; and human beings sold as slaves.(L)

14 “They will say, ‘The fruit you longed for is gone from you. All your luxury and splendor have vanished, never to be recovered.’ 15 The merchants who sold these things and gained their wealth from her(M) will stand far off,(N) terrified at her torment. They will weep and mourn(O) 16 and cry out:

“‘Woe! Woe to you, great city,(P)
    dressed in fine linen, purple and scarlet,
    and glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls!(Q)
17 In one hour(R) such great wealth has been brought to ruin!’(S)

“Every sea captain, and all who travel by ship, the sailors, and all who earn their living from the sea,(T) will stand far off.(U)

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Judgment on Nations

For (A)Gaza shall be forsaken,
And Ashkelon desolate;
They shall drive out Ashdod (B)at noonday,
And Ekron shall be uprooted.
Woe to the inhabitants of (C)the seacoast,
The nation of the Cherethites!
The word of the Lord is against you,
O (D)Canaan, land of the Philistines:
“I will destroy you;
So there shall be no inhabitant.”

The seacoast shall be pastures,
With [a]shelters for shepherds (E)and folds for flocks.
The coast shall be for (F)the remnant of the house of Judah;
They shall feed their flocks there;
In the houses of Ashkelon they shall lie down at evening.
For the Lord their God will (G)intervene[b] for them,
And (H)return their captives.

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Footnotes

  1. Zephaniah 2:6 Underground huts or cisterns, lit. excavations
  2. Zephaniah 2:7 Lit. visit them

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

Judgment on Philistia

47 The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet (A)against the Philistines, (B)before Pharaoh attacked Gaza.

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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)

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20 according to my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but (A)with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life (B)or by death.

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20 I eagerly expect(A) and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage(B) so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body,(C) whether by life or by death.(D)

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15 “Thus says the Lord God to Tyre: ‘Will the coastlands not (A)shake at the sound of your fall, when the wounded cry, when slaughter is made in the midst of you? 16 Then all the (B)princes of the sea will (C)come down from their thrones, lay aside their robes, and take off their embroidered garments; they will clothe themselves with trembling; (D)they will sit on the ground, (E)tremble every moment, and (F)be astonished at you. 17 And they will take up a (G)lamentation for you, and say to you:

“How you have perished,
O one inhabited by seafaring men,
O renowned city,
Who was (H)strong at sea,
She and her inhabitants,
Who caused their terror to be on all her inhabitants!
18 Now (I)the coastlands tremble on the day of your fall;
Yes, the coastlands by the sea are troubled at your departure.” ’

19 “For thus says the Lord God: ‘When I make you a desolate city, like cities that are not inhabited, when I bring the deep upon you, and great waters cover you, 20 then I will bring you down (J)with those who descend into the Pit, to the people of old, and I will make you dwell in the lowest part of the earth, in places desolate from antiquity, with those who go down to the Pit, so that you may never be inhabited; and I shall establish glory (K)in the land of the living. 21 (L)I will make you a terror, and you shall be no more; (M)though you are sought for, you will never be found again,’ says the Lord God.”

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15 “This is what the Sovereign Lord says to Tyre: Will not the coastlands(A) tremble(B) at the sound of your fall, when the wounded groan(C) and the slaughter takes place in you? 16 Then all the princes of the coast will step down from their thrones and lay aside their robes and take off their embroidered(D) garments. Clothed(E) with terror, they will sit on the ground,(F) trembling(G) every moment, appalled(H) at you. 17 Then they will take up a lament(I) concerning you and say to you:

“‘How you are destroyed, city of renown,
    peopled by men of the sea!
You were a power on the seas,
    you and your citizens;
you put your terror
    on all who lived there.(J)
18 Now the coastlands tremble(K)
    on the day of your fall;
the islands in the sea
    are terrified at your collapse.’(L)

19 “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: When I make you a desolate city, like cities no longer inhabited, and when I bring the ocean depths(M) over you and its vast waters cover you,(N) 20 then I will bring you down with those who go down to the pit,(O) to the people of long ago. I will make you dwell in the earth below, as in ancient ruins, with those who go down to the pit, and you will not return or take your place[a] in the land of the living.(P) 21 I will bring you to a horrible end and you will be no more.(Q) You will be sought, but you will never again be found, declares the Sovereign Lord.”(R)

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Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 26:20 Septuagint; Hebrew return, and I will give glory

Proclamation Against Philistia

15 ‘Thus says the Lord God: (A)“Because (B)the Philistines dealt vengefully and took vengeance with [a]a spiteful heart, to destroy because of the [b]old hatred,” 16 therefore thus says the Lord God: (C)“I will stretch out My hand against the Philistines, and I will cut off the (D)Cherethites (E)and destroy the remnant of the seacoast. 17 I will (F)execute great vengeance on them with furious rebukes; (G)and they shall know that I am the Lord, when I lay My vengeance upon them.” ’ ”

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Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 25:15 Lit. spite in soul
  2. Ezekiel 25:15 Or perpetual

A Prophecy Against Philistia

15 “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: ‘Because the Philistines(A) acted in vengeance and took revenge with malice(B) in their hearts, and with ancient hostility sought to destroy Judah, 16 therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am about to stretch out my hand against the Philistines,(C) and I will wipe out the Kerethites(D) and destroy those remaining along the coast.(E) 17 I will carry out great vengeance(F) on them and punish(G) them in my wrath. Then they will know that I am the Lord,(H) when I take vengeance on them.(I)’”

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Because of the day that comes to plunder all the (A)Philistines,
To cut off from (B)Tyre and Sidon every helper who remains;
For the Lord shall plunder the Philistines,
(C)The remnant of the country of (D)Caphtor.[a]
(E)Baldness has come upon Gaza,
(F)Ashkelon is cut off
With the remnant of their valley.
How long will you cut yourself?

“O you (G)sword of the Lord,
How long until you are quiet?
Put yourself up into your scabbard,
Rest and be still!
How can [b]it be quiet,
Seeing the Lord has (H)given it a charge
Against Ashkelon and against the seashore?
There He has (I)appointed it.”

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Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 47:4 Crete
  2. Jeremiah 47:7 Lit. you

For the day has come
    to destroy all the Philistines
and to remove all survivors
    who could help Tyre(A) and Sidon.(B)
The Lord is about to destroy the Philistines,(C)
    the remnant from the coasts of Caphtor.[a](D)
Gaza will shave(E) her head in mourning;
    Ashkelon(F) will be silenced.
You remnant on the plain,
    how long will you cut(G) yourselves?

“‘Alas, sword(H) of the Lord,
    how long till you rest?
Return to your sheath;
    cease and be still.’(I)
But how can it rest
    when the Lord has commanded it,
when he has ordered it
    to attack Ashkelon and the coast?”(J)

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Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 47:4 That is, Crete

(A)Then they shall be afraid and ashamed of Ethiopia their expectation and Egypt their glory. And the inhabitant of this territory will say in that day, ‘Surely such is our expectation, wherever we flee for (B)help to be delivered from the king of Assyria; and how shall we escape?’ ”

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Those who trusted(A) in Cush(B) and boasted in Egypt(C) will be dismayed and put to shame.(D) In that day(E) the people who live on this coast will say, ‘See what has happened(F) to those we relied on,(G) those we fled to for help(H) and deliverance from the king of Assyria! How then can we escape?(I)’”

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29 “Do not rejoice, all you of Philistia,
(A)Because the rod that struck you is broken;
For out of the serpent’s roots will come forth a viper,
(B)And its offspring will be a fiery flying serpent.
30 The firstborn of the poor will feed,
And the needy will lie down in safety;
I will kill your roots with famine,
And it will slay your remnant.
31 Wail, O gate! Cry, O city!
All you of Philistia are dissolved;
For smoke will come from the north,
And no one will be alone in his [a]appointed times.”

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 14:31 Or ranks

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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(A)Now hope does not disappoint, (B)because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

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And hope(A) does not put us to shame, because God’s love(B) has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit,(C) who has been given to us.

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Babylon has suddenly (A)fallen and been destroyed.
(B)Wail for her!
(C)Take balm for her pain;
Perhaps she may be healed.

We would have healed Babylon,
But she is not healed.
Forsake her, and (D)let us go everyone to his own country;
(E)For her judgment reaches to heaven and is lifted up to the skies.

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Babylon will suddenly fall(A) and be broken.
    Wail over her!
Get balm(B) for her pain;
    perhaps she can be healed.

“‘We would have healed Babylon,
    but she cannot be healed;
let us leave(C) her and each go to our own land,
    for her judgment(D) reaches to the skies,
    it rises as high as the heavens.’

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