Jeremiah 47:7

7 But how can it rest, when I have given it work to do? I have commanded it to attack Ashkelon and the people who live on the coast."

Jeremiah 47:7 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 47:7

How can it be quiet
There is no reason to believe it will, nor can it be expected that it should; to stop it is impossible, and to request that it might be stopped is in vain: seeing the Lord hath given it a charge against Ashkelon, and against
the seashore?
for it had a commission from the Lord to destroy the inhabitants of Ashkelon, and other places, which lay still more towards the sea, as Joppa and Jamne; and indeed all Palestine lay on the coast of the Mediterranean sea: there hath he appointed it;
by an irreversible decree of his, in righteousness to punish the inhabitants of these places for their sins.

Jeremiah 47:7 In-Context

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 Ashkelon and the people who live on the coast."
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.