1 Before the king of Egypt attacked Gaza, the Lord spoke to me about Philistia.
2 He said:“Look! Waters are rising in the northand will rush like a river in flood.They will cover the land and everything on it,cities and the people who live there.People will call out for help;everyone on earth will cry bitterly.
3 They will hear the hoof beats of horses,the clatter of chariots,the rumble of wheels.Parents will not turn back for their children;their hands will hang limp at their sides.
4 The time has come to destroy Philistia,to cut off from Tyre and Sidonall the help that remains.I, the Lord, will destroy the Philistines,all who came from the shores of Crete.
5 Great sorrow has come to the people of Gaza,and Ashkelon's people are silent.How long will the rest of Philistia mourn?
6 You cry out, ‘Sword of the Lord!How long will you go on slashing?Go back to your scabbard,stay there and rest!’
7 But how can it rest,when I have given it work to do?I have commanded it to attack Ashkelonand the people who live on the coast.”