Jeremiah Chapter 47
Showing all 7 verses for Jeremiah Chapter 47.
The People's Bible is written by people, for the people. Each verse below shows:
"The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet against the Philistines, before that Pharaoh smote Gaza. "
"This is the word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the Philistines, before Pharaoh attacked Gaza."
I speak into real, specific moments in your life and your world, not just abstract or distant ideas. Trust that my word meets you exactly where and when you actually are.
"Thus saith the LORD; Behold, waters rise up out of the north, and shall be an overflowing flood, and shall overflow the land, and all that is therein; the city, and them that dwell therein: then the men shall cry, and all the inhabitants of the land shall howl. "
"This is what the LORD says: Look, waters are rising from the north, becoming a flood that will overflow the whole land and everything in it - the cities and everyone living there. People will cry out, and everyone in the land will wail."
When trouble comes in overwhelming waves, it can feel impossible to hold back on your own - and sometimes it is. I want to be the solid ground you stand on even when the floodwaters of circumstance are genuinely beyond your control.
"At the noise of the stamping of the hoofs of his strong horses, at the rushing of his chariots, and at the rumbling of his wheels, the fathers shall not look back to their children for feebleness of hands; "
"At the thunder of galloping warhorses' hooves, the rush of chariots, and the rumble of their wheels, fathers will be too weak with fear to even turn back for their own children."
Behind every headline about conflict are real families and real fear - I never want you numb to that human cost, even when it's happening to people far from you. Genuine compassion notices the fathers and the children, not just the armies.
"Because of the day that cometh to spoil all the Philistines, and to cut off from Tyrus and Zidon every helper that remaineth: for the LORD will spoil the Philistines, the remnant of the country of Caphtor. "
"This is because of the day that is coming to destroy all the Philistines, cutting off every remaining ally from Tyre and Sidon. For the LORD is going to destroy the Philistines, the remnant of the people from Caphtor."
Relying on a network of alliances or support systems can't substitute for being rightly grounded yourself - when the foundation gives way, connections built on convenience often can't hold the weight either. I want your security to come from something deeper than your network.
"Baldness is come upon Gaza; Ashkelon is cut off with the remnant of their valley: how long wilt thou cut thyself? "
"Gaza will shave its head in mourning; Ashkelon will be silenced along with the remnant of its valley. How much longer will you keep cutting yourselves in grief?"
Grief is real and deserves to be honoured, but there's a difference between grieving honestly and harming yourself in the process. I want to meet you in real sorrow without you needing to punish your own body to prove how deeply you feel it.
"O thou sword of the LORD, how long will it be ere thou be quiet? put up thyself into thy scabbard, rest, and be still. "
"Sword of the LORD, how much longer until you're finally still? Go back into your sheath - rest, be quiet!"
It's honest, even faithful, to long for suffering and conflict to end, to ask "how long?" out loud rather than pretending you're unaffected by ongoing pain in the world. I don't need you to be silent about wanting peace - that longing is part of what draws you towards me.
"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. "
"But how can it possibly rest, when the LORD himself has given it orders against Ashkelon and against the coastline - that's exactly where he has assigned it to strike?"
Hard seasons that feel like they won't end usually do have a purpose and a limit, even when you can't see the edge of it yet from where you're standing. I ask you to trust that what's happening has real direction, even in its hardest moments, and that it will not run on forever.