Thematic Bible




Thematic Bible



Indeed, I am about to send snakes among you,
poisonous vipers that cannot be charmed.
They will bite you.
This is the Lord’s declaration.

An infant will play beside the cobra’s pit,
and a toddler will put his hand into a snake’s den.

They hatch viper’s eggs
and weave spider’s webs.
Whoever eats their eggs will die;
crack one open, and a viper is hatched.

Don’t rejoice, all of you in Philistia,
because the rod of the one who struck you is broken.
For a viper will come from the root of a snake,
and from its egg comes a flying serpent.


When the peoples hear, they will shudder;
anguish will seize the inhabitants of Philistia.

Don’t rejoice, all of you in Philistia,
because the rod of the one who struck you is broken.
For a viper will come from the root of a snake,
and from its egg comes a flying serpent.

Wail, you gates! Cry out, city!
Tremble with fear, all Philistia!
For a cloud of dust is coming from the north,
and there is no one missing from the invader’s ranks.


Sheol below is eager to greet your coming. He stirs up the spirits of the departed for you- all the rulers of the earth. He makes all the kings of the nations rise from their thrones. They all respond to you, saying: "You too have become as weak as we are; you have become like us! Your splendor has been brought down to Sheol, [along with] the music of your harps. Maggots are spread out under you, and worms cover you." read more.
Shining morning star, how you have fallen from the heavens! You destroyer of nations, you have been cut down to the ground. You said to yourself: "I will ascend to the heavens; I will set up my throne above the stars of God. I will sit on the mount of the [gods'] assembly, in the remotest parts of the North. I will ascend above the highest clouds; I will make myself like the Most High." But you will be brought down to Sheol into the deepest regions of the Pit. Those who see you will stare at you; they will look closely at you: "Is this the man who caused the earth to tremble, who shook the kingdoms, who turned the world into a wilderness, who trampled its cities and would not release the prisoners to return home?" All the kings of the nations lie in splendor, each in his own tomb. But you are thrown out without a grave, like a worthless branch, covered by those slain with the sword and dumped into a rocky pit like a trampled corpse. You will not join them in burial, because you destroyed your land and slaughtered your own people. The offspring of evildoers will never be remembered. Prepare a place of slaughter for his sons, because of the iniquity of their fathers. They never rise up to possess a land or fill the surface of the earth with cities. "I will rise up against them"-the declaration of the Lord of Hosts-"and I will cut off from Babylon her reputation, remnant, offspring, and posterity"-the Lord's declaration. "I will make her a swampland and a region for wild animals, and I will sweep her away with a broom of destruction." [This is]*The bracketed text has been added for clarity. the declaration of the Lord of Hosts. The Lord of Hosts has sworn: As I have planned, so it will be; as I have purposed it, so it will happen. I will break Assyria in My land; I will tread him down on My mountain. Then his yoke will be taken from them, and his burden will be removed from their shoulders. This is the plan prepared for the whole earth, and this is the hand stretched out against all the nations. The Lord of Hosts Himself has planned it; therefore, who can stand in its way? It is His hand that is outstretched, so who can turn it back? In the year that King Ahaz died, this oracle came: Don't rejoice, all of you [in] Philistia, because the rod of the one who struck you is broken. For a viper will come out of the root of a snake, and from its egg comes a flying serpent. Then the firstborn of the poor will be well fed, and the impoverished will lie down in safety, but I will kill your root with hunger, and your remnant will be slain. Wail, you gates! Cry out, city! Tremble with fear, all Philistia! For a cloud of dust is coming from the north, and there is no one missing from [the invader's] ranks. What answer will be given to the messengers from that nation? The Lord has founded Zion, and His afflicted people find refuge in her.


The Lord has raised up Rezin's adversaries against him and stirred up his enemies. Aram from the east and Philistia from the west have consumed Israel with open mouths. In all this, His anger is not removed, and His hand is still raised [to strike].

Don't rejoice, all of you [in] Philistia, because the rod of the one who struck you is broken. For a viper will come out of the root of a snake, and from its egg comes a flying serpent. Then the firstborn of the poor will be well fed, and the impoverished will lie down in safety, but I will kill your root with hunger, and your remnant will be slain. Wail, you gates! Cry out, city! Tremble with fear, all Philistia! For a cloud of dust is coming from the north, and there is no one missing from [the invader's] ranks.

So I took the cup from the Lord's hand and made all the nations drink [from it], everyone the Lord sent me to. [These included:] Jerusalem and the [other] cities of Judah, its kings and its officials, to make them a desolate ruin, an object of scorn and cursing-as it is today; Pharaoh king of Egypt, his officers, his leaders, all his people, read more.
and all the mixed peoples; all the kings of the land of Uz; all the kings of the land of the Philistines-Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod;

This is what the Lord God says: "Because the Philistines acted in vengeance and took revenge with deep contempt, destroying [because of their] ancient hatred, therefore this is what the Lord God says: I am about to stretch out My hand against the Philistines, cutting off the Cherethites and wiping out what remains of the coastal peoples. I will execute great vengeance against them with furious rebukes. They will know that I am the Lord when I take My vengeance on them."

The Lord says: I will not relent from punishing Gaza for three crimes, even four, because they exiled a whole community, handing them over to Edom. Therefore, I will send fire against the walls of Gaza, and it will consume its citadels. I will cut off the ruler from Ashdod, and the one who wields the scepter from Ashkelon. I will also turn My hand against Ekron, and the remainder of the Philistines will perish. The Lord God has spoken.

For Gaza will be abandoned, and Ashkelon will become a ruin. Ashdod will be driven out at noon, and Ekron will be uprooted. Woe, inhabitants of the seacoast, nation of the Cherethites! The word of the Lord is against you, Canaan, land of the Philistines: I will destroy you until there is no one left. The seacoast will become pasturelands with caves for shepherds and folds for sheep. read more.
The coastland will belong to the remnant of the house of Judah; they will find pasture there. They will lie down in the evening among the houses of Ashkelon, for the Lord their God will return to them and restore their fortunes.

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. A mongrel people will live in Ashdod, and I will destroy the pride of the Philistines. I will remove the blood from their mouths and the detestable 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.


An oracle about the animals of the Negev:

Through a land of trouble and distress,
of lioness and lion,
of viper and flying serpent,
they carry their wealth on the backs of donkeys
and their treasures on the humps of camels,
to a people who will not help them.

Don’t rejoice, all of you in Philistia,
because the rod of the one who struck you is broken.
For a viper will come from the root of a snake,
and from its egg comes a flying serpent.

The wolf and the lamb will feed together,
and the lion will eat straw like the ox,
but the serpent’s food will be dust!
They will not do what is evil or destroy
on My entire holy mountain,”
says the Lord.


Indeed, I am about to send snakes among you,
poisonous vipers that cannot be charmed.
They will bite you.
This is the Lord’s declaration.

Don’t rejoice, all of you in Philistia,
because the rod of the one who struck you is broken.
For a viper will come from the root of a snake,
and from its egg comes a flying serpent.