1The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet against the Philistines, before that Pharaoh smote Gaza.
2Thus 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.
3At 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;
4Because 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.
5Baldness is come upon Gaza; Ashkelon is cut off with the remnant of their valley: how long wilt thou cut thyself?
6O thou sword of the LORD, how long will it be ere thou be quiet? put up thyself into thy scabbard, rest, and be still.
7How can it be quiet, seeing the LORD hath given it a charge against Ashkelon, and against the sea shore? there hath he appointed it.
Commentary
Jeremiah 47, explained
What Jeremiah 47 is saying
An oracle against the Philistines describes a flood rising from the north that will overwhelm their cities. Fathers will not even turn to help their children. The sword of the LORD consumes Ashkelon and the coastland, and the chapter ends with the haunting question: how long until the sword rests?
The background behind it
The Philistine city-states (Gaza, Ashkelon, Ashdod, Ekron, Gath) occupied the southern coastal plain. The reference to Pharaoh striking Gaza may indicate an Egyptian campaign before Babylonian supremacy was established.
Themes running underneath
The flood-from-the-north imagery unifies the Philistine oracle with the judgment pattern established for Judah—the same agent of judgment serves divine purposes against multiple nations. The closing unanswered question about the sword's rest creates haunting theological ambiguity.
Why it still matters
The unanswered cry for the sword to rest gives voice to the universal longing for an end to violence—a longing that remains theologically legitimate even within the context of divine judgment.
Scripture text: King James Version — public domain.