I will cut off the ruler from Ashdod, and the one who wields the sceptre from Ashkelon. I will also turn my hand against Ekron, and the remainder of the Philistines will perish. The Lord God has spoken.
In the same way, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. All of you clothe yourselves with humility towards one another, because God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. ,
Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise, exalt, and glorify the King of the heavens, because all his works are true and his ways are just. He is able to humble those who walk in pride.
Woe to the majestic crown of Ephraim’s drunkards, and to the fading flower of its beautiful splendour, which is on the summit above the rich valley. Woe to those overcome with wine.
God gives a person riches, wealth, and honour so that he lacks nothing of all he desires for himself, but God does not allow him to enjoy them. Instead, a stranger will enjoy them. This is futile and a sickening tragedy.
Ashkelon will see it and be afraid; Gaza too, and will writhe in great pain, as will Ekron, for her hope will fail. There will cease to be a king in Gaza, and Ashkelon will become uninhabited.
I will remove the blood from their mouths and the abhorrent things from between their teeth. Then they too will become a remnant for our God; they will become like a clan in Judah and Ekron like the Jebusites.