The Lord talks about the land of the Philistines
1The Lord talked to the prophet Jeremiah about the Philistine people. This was before Pharaoh defeated the town of Gaza. 2The Lord said:
‘The enemies are coming from the north.
They are coming like a lot of water
flowing in a big river.
They overflow the land
and everything in the land.
They flow over the towns and
everyone who lives in the cities.
The people shout and
ask someone to help them.
All the people who live in the land are crying
3because they hear the sound
of the feet of the enemies' horses,
and they hear the noise of the wheels
of their war-chariots.
Fathers are running away,
and they don't turn_around
to take their children with them.
They are afraid. Their hands are hanging down,
and they are too weak to help.
4The day has come for the Lord
to destroy all the Philistines.
He will kill anyone who could have helped
the people of Tyre and Sidon.
Yes, the Lord will kill all the Philistines,
all the people of the Caphtor Island
who are still_alive.
5The people of Gaza will be sad,
and they will shave their heads.
The people of Ashkelon will not say anything.
They will be silent. The people
who are left over in the valley
will mourn and cut themselves.
6You will cry and say: “Sword of the Lord,
how long will you keep on killing people?
Go back into your holder.
Stop, rest and be still.”
7But how can my sword rest
when the Lord has told it to go to Ashkelon?
I have told it to go and fight
against the land next to the sea.’
