Jeremiah 47
Good News Translation
The Lord's Message about Philistia
47 (A)Before the king of Egypt attacked Gaza, the Lord spoke to me about Philistia. 2 He said:
“Look! Waters are rising in the north
and will rush like a river in flood.
They will cover the land and everything on it,
cities and the people who live there.
People will call out for help;
everyone on earth will cry bitterly.
3 They will hear the hoofbeats of horses,
the clatter of chariots,
the rumble of wheels.
Parents will not turn back for their children;
their hands will hang limp at their sides.
4 The time has come to destroy Philistia,
to cut off from Tyre and Sidon
all the help that remains.
I, the Lord, will destroy the Philistines,
all who came from the shores of Crete.
5 Great sorrow has come to the people of Gaza,
and Ashkelon's people are silent.
How long will the rest of Philistia mourn?
6 You cry out, ‘Sword of the Lord!
How long will you go on slashing?
Go back to your scabbard,
stay there and rest!’
7 But how can it rest,
when I have given it work to do?
I have commanded it to attack Ashkelon
and the people who live on the coast.”
Jeremiah 47
Complete Jewish Bible
47 This word of Adonai came to Yirmeyahu the prophet concerning the P’lishtim before Pharaoh attacked ‘Azah: 2 “Here is what Adonai says:
‘Water is rising out of the north;
it will become a flooding stream,
flooding the land and all that is in it,
the city and its inhabitants.
The people are crying out in alarm,
everyone in the land is weeping
3 at the thunderous pound of his stallions’ hoofs,
at his rattling chariots’ rumbling wheels.
Fathers fail to turn back for their children;
instead, their hands hang limp,
4 because the day has come
for destroying all the P’lishtim,
for cutting off from Tzor and Tzidon
the last of their allies;
for Adonai is destroying the P’lishtim,
the remnant from the island of Kaftor.
5 ‘Azah is shaved bald,
Ashkelon reduced to silence.
Those of you who remain in their valley,
how long will you go on gashing yourselves?’”
6 Oh, sword of Adonai,
how long till you can be quiet?
Put yourself back in your scabbard!
Stop! Be still!
7 But how can you be still?
For Adonai has given it orders
against Ashkelon, against the seacoast;
he has assigned it its task there.
Jeremiah 47
The Message
It’s Doomsday for Philistines
47 1-5 God’s Message to the prophet Jeremiah regarding the Philistines just before Pharaoh attacked Gaza. This is what God says:
“Look out! Water will rise in the north country,
swelling like a river in flood.
The torrent will flood the land,
washing away city and citizen.
Men and women will scream in terror,
wails from every door and window,
As the thunder from the hooves of the horses will be heard,
the clatter of chariots, the banging of wheels.
Fathers, paralyzed by fear,
won’t even grab up their babies
Because it will be doomsday for Philistines, one and all,
no hope of help for Tyre and Sidon.
God will finish off the Philistines,
what’s left of those from the island of Crete.
Gaza will be shaved bald as an egg,
Ashkelon struck dumb as a post.
You’re on your last legs.
How long will you keep flailing?
6 “Oh, Sword of God,
how long will you keep this up?
Return to your scabbard.
Haven’t you had enough? Can’t you call it quits?
7 “But how can it quit
when I, God, command the action?
I’ve ordered it to cut down
Ashkelon and the seacoast.”
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.
Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson