Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will stretch out mine hand upon the Philistines, and I will cut off the Cherethims, and destroy the remnant of the sea coast. {sea coast: or, haven of the sea}

Rejoice not thou, whole Palestina, because the rod of him that smote thee is broken: for out of the serpent's root shall come forth a cockatrice, and his fruit {shall be} a fiery flying serpent. {cockatrice: or, adder}

For Gaza shall be forsaken, and Ashkelon a desolation: they shall drive out Ashdod at the noon day, and Ekron shall be rooted up.

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. {the country: Heb. the isle}

In the year that Tartan came unto Ashdod, (when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him,) and fought against Ashdod, and took it;

I should soon have subdued their enemies, and turned my hand against their adversaries.

And he went forth and warred against the Philistines, and brake down the wall of Gath, and the wall of Jabneh, and the wall of Ashdod, and built cities about Ashdod, and among the Philistines. {about...: or, in the country of Ashdod}

And a bastard shall dwell in Ashdod, and I will cut off the pride of the Philistines.

And I will turn my hand upon thee, and purely purge away thy dross, and take away all thy tin: {purely: Heb. according to pureness}

Publish in the palaces at Ashdod, and in the palaces in the land of Egypt, and say, Assemble yourselves upon the mountains of Samaria, and behold the great tumults in the midst thereof, and the oppressed in the midst thereof. {oppressed: or, oppressions}

Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man {that is} my fellow, saith the LORD of hosts: smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered: and I will turn mine hand upon the little ones.

I should soon have subdued their enemies, and turned my hand against their adversaries.

Publish in the palaces at Ashdod, and in the palaces in the land of Egypt, and say, Assemble yourselves upon the mountains of Samaria, and behold the great tumults in the midst thereof, and the oppressed in the midst thereof. {oppressed: or, oppressions}

And a bastard shall dwell in Ashdod, and I will cut off the pride of the Philistines.

Therefore they sent the ark of God to Ekron. And it came to pass, as the ark of God came to Ekron, that the Ekronites cried out, saying, They have brought about the ark of the God of Israel to us, to slay us and our people. {us, to...: Heb. me to slay me and my}

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. {the country: Heb. the isle}

To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places {that are now} inhabited, and upon the people {that are} gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land. {To take...: Heb. To spoil the spoil, and to prey the prey} {midst: Heb. navel}

And {they of} the south shall possess the mount of Esau; and {they of} the plain the Philistines: and they shall possess the fields of Ephraim, and the fields of Samaria: and Benjamin {shall possess} Gilead.

In the year that Tartan came unto Ashdod, (when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him,) and fought against Ashdod, and took it;

From Ekron even unto the sea, all that {lay} near Ashdod, with their villages: {near: Heb. by the place of}

And Elon, and Thimnathah, and Ekron,

But it came to pass, {that} when Sanballat, and Tobiah, and the Arabians, and the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites, heard that the walls of Jerusalem were made up, {and} that the breaches began to be stopped, then they were very wroth, {were made up: Heb. ascended}

Ekron, with her towns and her villages: