1 Samuel 6:19

1 Samuel 6:19 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And he smote the men of Beth–shemesh, because they had looked into the ark of the Lord, even he smote of the people fifty thousand and threescore and ten men: and the people lamented, because the Lord had smitten many of the people with a great slaughter.
• New International Version (NIV)But God struck down some of the inhabitants of Beth Shemesh, putting seventy of them to death because they looked into the ark of the Lord. The people mourned because of the heavy blow the Lord had dealt them.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And he struck some of the men of Beth-shemesh, because they looked upon the ark of the Lord. He struck seventy men of them, and the people mourned because the Lord had struck the people with a great blow.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Then He struck the men of Beth Shemesh, because they had looked into the ark of the Lord. He struck fifty thousand and seventy men of the people, and the people lamented because the Lord had struck the people with a great slaughter.

Context of 1 Samuel 6:19

17The Philistines had sent the gold tumours as an offering to the Lord. They wanted him to forgive them. There was one gold tumour for each of their five towns: Ashdod, Gaza, Ashkelon, Gath and Ekron. 18The Philistines also sent five gold mice. There was one gold mouse for each of the five towns that had a ruler. Those were strong cities that had walls around them. Each town also had villages near to it. The large rock where the Levites put the Lord's Covenant Box is still there. So we remember what happened that day in Joshua's field in Beth Shemesh. But some of the men from Beth Shemesh looked inside the Lord's Covenant Box. So God killed 70 of them. The people were very sad because the Lord had punished them so much. 20The people of Beth Shemesh said, ‘The Lord is a holy God! Nobody can go near to him! We must send his Covenant Box away from us. But who can ever take care of it?’ 21So they sent people to Kiriath-Jearim with a message. They said, ‘The Philistines have sent the Lord's Covenant Box back to Israel. Please come and take it from us. Take it to your town.’

1 Samuel 6:19 word by word

וַיַּ֞ךְ בְּאַנְשֵׁ֣י בֵֽית־שֶׁ֗מֶשׁ כִּ֤י רָאוּ֙ בַּאֲר֣וֹן יְהוָ֔ה וַיַּ֤ךְ בָּעָם֙ שִׁבְעִ֣ים אִ֔ישׁ חֲמִשִּׁ֥ים אֶ֖לֶף אִ֑ישׁ וַיִּֽתְאַבְּל֣וּ הָעָ֔ם כִּֽי־הִכָּ֧ה יְהוָ֛ה בָּעָ֖ם מַכָּ֥ה גְדוֹלָֽהRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And he smoteנָכָהnâkâh · to smiteH5221
• the menאִישׁ'îysh · manH376
• of Beth–shemeshבֵּית שֶׁ֫מֶשׁbêyth shemesh · Beth-shemeshH1053
• because they had lookedרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
• into the arkאֲרוֹן'ârôn 'ârôn · arkH727
• of the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• of the peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971
• fiftyחֲמִשִּׁיםchămishshîym · fiftyH2572
• thousandאֶ֫לֶף'eleph · thousandH505
• and threescore and tenשִׁבְעִיםshib‛îym · seventyH7657
• menאֱנוֹשׁ'ĕnôsh · humanH582
• lamentedאָבַל'âbal · to mournH56
• with a greatגָּדוֹלgâdôl gâdôl · great: largeH1419
• slaughterמַכָּהmakkâh makkeh · woundH4347

Cross-references for 1 Samuel 6:19

• Exodus 19:21The Lord said to Moses, ‘Go down to the people. Warn them that they must stay away from the mountain. They must not cross the line to try to see me, the Lord. If they do that, many of them will die.
• Leviticus 10:1Nadab and Abihu were sons of Aaron. They put hot material in the pots that they used to burn incense. They threw incense over the hot material. They offered the incense to the Lord. This was a wrong thing to do. The Lord had not told them that they should do it. So it was wrong.
• Numbers 4:4These men must take care of everything that is most holy in the Tent of Meeting.
• Deuteronomy 29:29Some secret things belong to the Lord our God. He does not let us understand everything. But he has shown us many things clearly. Those things belong to us and to our descendants for all time. They are the words of his Law that we need to obey.
• 2 Samuel 6:7The Lord was very angry with Uzzah because he did not respect God's rules. He immediately knocked Uzzah down to the ground. Uzzah died there, beside the Covenant Box.
• 1 Chronicles 13:9They reached the place of Kidon's threshing floor. There the oxen that were pulling the cart almost fell. So Uzzah reached out to hold the Covenant Box to stop it falling.
• Colossians 2:18Some people may tell you that you must always serve other people like a slave. They may tell you that you must worship angels. Do not let those people speak bad things against you. They like to talk a lot about the special things that God has shown them. They think that they are very clever. But their ideas only come from human minds.
• 1 Peter 4:17The time has come when God will start to judge people. He will first judge the people who belong to him. If he will start with his own people, what will happen to other people? They have refused to obey God's good news, so it will surely be very bad for them.

Commentaries on 1 Samuel 6:19

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 19He smote of the people fifty thousand and threescore and ten men - The present Hebrew text of this most extraordinary reading stands thus: בית־שמש באנשי ויך - איש אלף חמשים איש שבעים בעם ויך vaiyach beanshey Beith -shemesh - vaiyach baam shibim ish, chamishshim eleph ish ; "And he smote among the men of Beth-shemesh, (because they looked into the ark of Jehovah), and he smote among the people Seventy men, Fifty Thousand men." From the manner in which the…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 19Fifty thousand and three score and ten - Read “three” score and “ten”, omitting “fifty thousand”, which appears to have crept into the text from the margin. It is not improbable that in their festive rejoicing priests, Levites, and people may have fallen into intemperance, and hence, into presumptuous irreverence (compare Leviticus 10:1, Leviticus 10:9). God had just vindicated His own honor against the Philistines; it must now be seen that He would be…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 19-21Verses 19-21 It is a great affront to God, for vain men to pry into, and meddle with the secret things which belong not to them, De 29:29; Col 2:18. Man was ruined by desiring forbidden knowledge. God will not suffer his ark to be profaned. Be not deceived, God is not mocked. Those that will not fear his goodness, and reverently use the tokens of his grace, shall be made to feel his justice. The number smitten is expressed in an unusual manner in the…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 19seventy men: Beth-shemesh was a small village. because they looked inside the ark: Touching the ark was not allowed (Numbers 4:15; 2 Samuel 6:6–8), as was looking inside it (Numbers 4:20). The men who died did not respect God's holiness.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1919. he smote the men of Beth-shemesh, because they had looked into the ark--In the ecstasy of delight at seeing the return of the ark, the Beth-shemesh reapers pried into it beneath the wagon cover; and instead of covering it up again, as a sacred utensil, they let it remain exposed to common inspection, wishing it to be seen, in order that all might enjoy the triumph of seeing the votive offerings presented to it, and gratify curiosity with the sight of…Read the comment

Topics related to 1 Samuel 6:19

• Curiosity
• Kirjath-Jearim
• Miracles
• Presumption
• Sacrilege

In the dictionaries

• Beth-Shemesh
• Along
• David
• Harden
• Mourn
• Return
• Samuel, Books of
• Ark of the Covenant
• God
• Judges, Period of

Commentaries on 1 Samuel 6

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings