The phrase restore their fortunes
(ESV, NIV) suggests a general restoration of fortunes (see also Job 42:10). Alternately, the phrase may be read as return their captives
(NKJV), in which case it could even refer to the physical return of exiles. It is possible that the ambiguity is deliberate. What seems in view is God’s restoring Judah’s fortunes by giving them the land of the Philistines. The concept of restoration is rooted in God’s covenant law. Deuteronomy 30:1–3 says that after all the blessings and the curses of the covenant have come upon the people, if the nation would return to the Lord, he would restore their fortunes and have mercy on them. Judah will one day see their own devastation. But they would also see the devastation of their neighbour to the west, without hope. But for God’s people, there was hope: restoration would come after devastation.1 That would include the return of captives from exile.
7 The seacoast shall become the possession of the remnant of the house of Judah, on which they shall graze, and in the houses of Ashkelon they shall lie down at evening. For the LORD their God will be mindful of them and restore their fortunes.