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JEREMIAH • CHAPTER 47
Jeremiah 47
Jerusalem's final decades, prophetic opposition, Babylon, covenant failure, lament, judgment, and the promise of restoration.
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Jeremiah 47
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1
Yahweh’s word that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the Philistines, before Pharaoh struck Gaza.
2
Yahweh says:
“Behold, waters rise up out of the north,
and will become an overflowing stream,
and will overflow the land and all that is therein,
the city and those who dwell therein.
The men will cry,
and all the inhabitants of the land will wail.
“Behold, waters rise up out of the north,
and will become an overflowing stream,
and will overflow the land and all that is therein,
the city and those who dwell therein.
The men will cry,
and all the inhabitants of the land will wail.
3
At the noise of the stamping of the hoofs of his strong ones,
at the rushing of his chariots,
at the rumbling of his wheels,
the fathers don’t look back to their children
for feebleness of hands;
at the rushing of his chariots,
at the rumbling of his wheels,
the fathers don’t look back to their children
for feebleness of hands;
4
because of the day that comes to destroy all the Philistines,
to cut off from Tyre and Sidon every helper who remains;
for Yahweh will destroy the Philistines,
the remnant of the isle of Caphtor.
to cut off from Tyre and Sidon every helper who remains;
for Yahweh will destroy the Philistines,
the remnant of the isle of Caphtor.
5
Baldness has come on Gaza;
Ashkelon is brought to nothing,
the remnant of their valley:
how long will you cut yourself?
Ashkelon is brought to nothing,
the remnant of their valley:
how long will you cut yourself?
6
“ ‘You sword of Yahweh, how long will it be before you are quiet?
Put yourself back into your scabbard;
rest, and be still.’
Put yourself back into your scabbard;
rest, and be still.’
7
“How can you be quiet,
since Yahweh has given you a command?
Against Ashkelon, and against the seashore,
there has he appointed it.”
since Yahweh has given you a command?
Against Ashkelon, and against the seashore,
there has he appointed it.”
PROPHETIC
Where this chapter fits
Jeremiah uses prophetic or apocalyptic language shaped by political crisis, judgment, hope, symbolic imagery, and expectations about God's action in history.
Chapter numbers were added long after the biblical books were written.
Read this chapter together with what comes immediately before and after it.
ANCIENT TEXT, MODERN QUESTIONS
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Scientific claims should be compared with science.
Moral claims should be examined morally.
Theological claims require theological and philosophical argument.
QUESTIONS WORTH ASKING
Don't skip the hard parts.
What kind of literature is this?
Narrative, poetry, prophecy, law, letters, wisdom, and apocalypse communicate differently.
What historical evidence matters?
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What are the strongest competing interpretations?
Compare serious Jewish, Christian, academic, and skeptical readings rather than caricatures.
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