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.

JEREMIAH 47:7KJV
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Jeremiah 47:7 (KJV)

What does Jeremiah 47:7 mean?

Jeremiah 47:7 describes how the sword of the LORD cannot rest or be quiet because God has given it a command to act against Ashkelon and the seacoast. The verse explains that the violence and judgment happening are not random, but are directed by God’s own decision and purpose.

In this verse, the prophet Jeremiah is speaking about the coming destruction on the Philistine city of Ashkelon and the surrounding coastal region. The “sword of the LORD” is a poetic way of describing God’s judgment, pictured as a weapon that cannot stop until it has finished the task God assigned. The people may wish for peace, but Jeremiah points out that God Himself has appointed this time of judgment.

The Hebrew behind Jeremiah 47:7

  • quiet (שָׁקַט, shaqat): This word often means to be still or at rest. Here, it highlights that the sword cannot be at peace because it is under orders.
  • charge (צָוָה, tsavah): This word means to command or give an order. The verse stresses that the destruction is not accidental; it is happening because God has specifically commanded it.
  • appointed (יָעַד, ya'ad): This word means to assign or designate. It shows that the judgment against Ashkelon and the seashore was not random, but something God had planned and set in place.

Why Jeremiah 47:7 matters

  • Jeremiah 47:7 makes it clear that the disasters facing Ashkelon and the coast are not just the result of human conflict, but are presented as acts under God’s direction.
  • The verse helps readers understand that sometimes, even when people long for peace, there are moments when God’s purposes involve judgment that cannot be avoided or delayed.
  • This verse connects to the wider passage by showing that the coming destruction of the Philistines is part of a larger pattern of God’s judgments on the nations surrounding Israel, emphasizing God’s sovereignty over all peoples.

Where else these words appear

“shore” Hebrew H2348 · used in 6 verses

  • Genesis 49:13 Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the sea; and he shall be for an haven of ships; and his border shall be unto Zidon.
  • Deuteronomy 1:7 Turn you, and take your journey, and go to the mount of the Amorites, and unto all the places nigh thereunto, in the plain, in the hills, and in the vale, and in the south, and by the sea side, to the land of the Canaanites, and unto Lebanon, unto the great river, the river Euphrates.
  • Judges 5:17 Gilead abode beyond Jordan: and why did Dan remain in ships? Asher continued on the sea shore, and abode in his breaches.

“Ashkelon” Hebrew H831 · used in 11 verses

  • Judges 1:18 Also Judah took Gaza with the coast thereof, and Askelon with the coast thereof, and Ekron with the coast thereof.
  • 2 Samuel 1:20 Tell it not in Gath, publish it not in the streets of Askelon; lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph.
  • Amos 1:8 And I will cut off the inhabitant from Ashdod, and him that holdeth the sceptre from Ashkelon, and I will turn mine hand against Ekron: and the remnant of the Philistines shall perish, saith the Lord GOD.

“appointed” Hebrew H3259 · used in 29 verses

  • Exodus 21:8 If she please not her master, who hath betrothed her to himself, then shall he let her be redeemed: to sell her unto a strange nation he shall have no power, seeing he hath dealt deceitfully with her.
  • Numbers 14:35 I the LORD have said, I will surely do it unto all this evil congregation, that are gathered together against me: in this wilderness they shall be consumed, and there they shall die.
  • Nehemiah 6:10 Afterward I came unto the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah the son of Mehetabeel, who was shut up; and he said, Let us meet together in the house of God, within the temple, and let us shut the doors of the temple: for they will come to slay thee; yea, in the night will they come to slay thee.

“quiet” Hebrew H8252 · used in 41 verses

  • Joshua 11:23 So Joshua took the whole land, according to all that the LORD said unto Moses; and Joshua gave it for an inheritance unto Israel according to their divisions by their tribes. And the land rested from war.
  • 2 Chronicles 14:6 And he built fenced cities in Judah: for the land had rest, and he had no war in those years; because the LORD had given him rest.
  • Isaiah 18:4 For so the LORD said unto me, I will take my rest, and I will consider in my dwelling place like a clear heat upon herbs, and like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest.