Jeremiah 47:4-6
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
4 Because of the day that is coming
to destroy all the Philistines
And cut off from Tyre and Sidon[a]
the last of their allies.
Yes, the Lord is destroying the Philistines,
the remnant from the coasts of Caphtor.(A)
5 Baldness is visited upon Gaza,(B)
Ashkelon is reduced to silence;
Ashdod, remnant of their strength,
how long will you gash yourself?[b]
6 Ah! Sword of the Lord!
When will you find rest?
Return to your scabbard;
stop, be still!
Footnotes
- 47:4 Tyre and Sidon: Phoenician seaports allied commercially with the Philistines and often rebelling against Nebuchadnezzar; cf. 27:1–4. After the capture of Jerusalem, Nebuchadnezzar carried out a partially successful thirteen-year siege of Tyre. Caphtor: Crete and other Aegean islands, points of origin for the Philistines and other sea peoples; cf. Am 9:7.
- 47:5 Baldness…gash yourself: close-cropped hair, silence, and ritual slashing of the body express mourning and grief and here represent the mourner’s awareness that chaos has overcome order (cf. 41:5).
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