What the LORD says about the Philistines

1Before the king of Egypt attacked the town of Gaza,47.1 attacked the town of Gaza: One of the major Philistine towns; nothing is known about this attack. the LORD told me to say to the Philistines: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.

2I, 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.

3When you hear the thunder

of horses and chariots,

your courage will vanish,

and parents will abandon

their own children.

4You refugees from Crete,47.4 Crete: Hebrew “Caphtor”, another name for Crete, the original homeland of the ancestor of the Philistines.

your time has now come,

and I will destroy you.

None of you will be left

to help the cities

of Tyre and Sidon.

5-6The Anakim who survive47.5,6 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).

in Gaza and Ashkelon

will mourn for you

by shaving their heads

and sitting in silence.

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.

7But how can my sword rest,

when I have commanded it

to attack Ashkelon

and the coast?