1 Samuel 6:20

1 Samuel 6:20 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And the men of Beth–shemesh said, Who is able to stand before this holy Lord God? and to whom shall he go up from us?
• New International Version (NIV)And the people of Beth Shemesh asked, “Who can stand in the presence of the Lord, this holy God? To whom will the ark go up from here?”
• English Standard Version (ESV)Then the men of Beth-shemesh said, "Who is able to stand before the Lord, this holy God? And to whom shall he go up away from us?"
• New King James Version (NKJV)And the men of Beth Shemesh said, “Who is able to stand before this holy Lord God? And to whom shall it go up from us?”

Context of 1 Samuel 6:20

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. 19But 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. The 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 6:20 word by word

וַיֹּֽאמְרוּ֙ אַנְשֵׁ֣י בֵֽית־שֶׁ֔מֶשׁ מִ֚י יוּכַ֣ל לַעֲמֹ֔ד לִפְנֵ֨י יְהוָ֧ה הָאֱלֹהִ֛ים הַקָּד֖וֹשׁ הַזֶּ֑ה וְאֶל־מִ֖י יַעֲלֶ֥ה מֵעָלֵֽינוּ׃ סRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And the menאֱנוֹשׁ'ĕnôsh · humanH582
• of Beth–shemeshבֵּית שֶׁ֫מֶשׁbêyth shemesh · Beth-shemeshH1053
• saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• Who is ableיָכֹלyâkôl yâkôl · be ableH3201
• to standעָמַד‛âmad · to stand: standH5975
• beforeפָּנֶהpânîym · face: beforeH6440
• this holyקָדוֹשׁqâdôsh qâdôsh · holyH6918
• Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
• and to whom shall he go upעָלָה‛âlâh · to ascend: riseH5927

Cross-references for 1 Samuel 6:20

• 1 Samuel 5:8So the Philistine rulers met together. Ashdod's people asked them, ‘What should we do with the Covenant Box of Israel's God?’ The rulers answered, ‘Take it away to Gath.’ So the men took it to that city.
• Numbers 17:12The Israelites said to Moses, ‘We will all die!
• 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 13:11David was angry because the Lord had punished Uzzah. So he called that place ‘Perez Uzzah’. That is still its name today.
• Psalms 76:7Yes, everyone is afraid of you, our God! When you are angry, nobody can stand against you.
• Malachi 3:2‘But when he comes, he will be like a hot fire that makes metal pure. He will be like strong soap that makes clothes completely clean. Nobody will be able to stand in front of him when he appears. On that day, nobody will remain the same.
• Luke 5:8When Simon saw all the fish, he went down on his knees in front of Jesus. ‘Sir,’ he said, ‘I am a bad man. So please go away from me.’
• Luke 8:37Then all the Gerasene people who lived in that place said to Jesus, ‘Please go away and leave us.’ They said this because they were very afraid. So Jesus got back into the boat to leave that place.

Commentaries on 1 Samuel 6:20

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 20Who is able to stand - Why this exclamation? They knew that God had forbidden any to touch his ark but the priests and Levites; but they endeavored to throw that blame on God, as a Being hard to be pleased, which belonged solely to themselves.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. 20Who can stand: Even God's people faced his wrath when they disrespected his holiness. The wrath of God is God's strong disapproval of human beings and their sinful actions. To whom should the ark go up from here?: When confronted with God's holiness, the Israelites felt the same distress as the pagan Philistines (1 Samuel 6:2).Read the comment

Topics related to 1 Samuel 6:20

• God Continued...
• Kirjath-Jearim
• Miracles

In the dictionaries

• God
• Beth-Shemesh
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• Along
• David
• Harden
• Return
• Samuel, Books of
• Abinadab
• Ark of the Covenant

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