Yehezkiel 25:15-17

A Prophecy Against Philistia

25:15 “This is what the sovereign Lord says: ‘The Philistines ¹  have exacted merciless revenge, ²  showing intense scorn ³  in their effort to destroy Judah ⁴  with unrelenting hostility. ⁵  25:16 So this is what the sovereign Lord says: Take note, I am about to stretch out my hand against the Philistines. I will kill ⁶  the Cherethites ⁷  and destroy those who remain on the seacoast. 25:17 I will exact great vengeance upon them with angry rebukes. ⁸  Then they will know that I am the Lord, when I exact my vengeance upon them.’”

Zefanya 2:5

2:5 Those who live by the sea, the people who came from Crete, ⁹  are as good as dead. ¹⁰ 

The Lord has decreed your downfall, ¹¹  Canaan, land of the Philistines:

“I will destroy everyone who lives there!” ¹² 

[25:15]  ¹ sn The Philistines inhabited the coastal plain by the Mediterranean Sea, west of Judah.

[25:15]  ² tn Heb “have acted with vengeance and taken vengeance with vengeance.” The repetition emphasizes the degree of vengeance which they exhibited, presumably toward Judah.

[25:15]  ³ tn Heb “with scorn in (the) soul.”

[25:15]  ⁴ tn The object is not specified in the Hebrew text, but has been clarified as “Judah” in the translation.

[25:15]  ⁵ tn Heb “to destroy (with) perpetual hostility.” Joel 3:4-8 also speaks of the Philistines taking advantage of the fall of Judah.

[25:16]  ⁶ tn In Hebrew the verb “and I will cut off” sounds like its object, “the Cherethites,” and draws attention to the statement.

[25:16]  ⁷ sn This is a name for the Philistines, many of whom migrated to Palestine from Crete.

[25:17]  ⁸ tn Heb “with acts of punishment of anger.”

[2:5]  ⁹ tn Heb “Kerethites,” a people settled alongside the Philistines in the coastal areas of southern Palestine (cf. 1 Sam 30:14; Ezek 25:16). They originally came from the island of Crete.

[2:5]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “Woe, inhabitants of the coast of the sea, nation of Kerethites.” The Hebrew term הוֹי (hoy, “ah, woe”), is used to mourn the dead and express outwardly one’s sorrow (see 1 Kgs 13:30; Jer 22:18; 34:5). By using it here the prophet mourns in advance the downfall of the Philistines, thereby emphasizing the certainty of their demise (“as good as dead”). Some argue the word does not have its earlier connotation here and is simply an attention-getting interjection, equivalent to “Hey!”

[2:5]  ¹¹ tn Heb “the word of the Lord is against you.”

[2:5]  ¹² tn Heb “I will destroy you so there is no inhabitant [remaining].”