Jeremiah 47:7

7 But how can it rest when the LORD has commanded it, when he has ordered it to attack Ashkelon and the coast?”

Jeremiah 47:7 in Other Translations

7 How can it be quiet, seeing the LORD hath given it a charge against Ashkelon, and against the sea shore? there hath he appointed it.

7 How can it be quiet when the LORD has given it a charge? Against Ashkelon and against the seashore he has appointed it."

7 “But how can it be still when the LORD has sent it on a mission? For the city of Ashkelon and the people living along the sea must be destroyed.”

7 "But how can it quit when I, God, command the action? I've ordered it to cut down Ashkelon and the seacoast."

7 How can it rest when the Lord has given it a command? He has assigned it against Ashkelon and the shore of the sea.

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 Gaza will shave her head in mourning; Ashkelon will be silenced. You remnant on the plain, how long will you cut yourselves?

6 “ ‘Alas, sword of the LORD, how long till you rest? Return to your sheath; cease and be still.’

7 But how can it rest when the LORD has commanded it, when he has ordered it to attack Ashkelon and the coast?”

Cross References

• 1. Ezekiel 25:15-17