1 Samuel 6:4

1 Samuel 6:4 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Then said they, What shall be the trespass offering which we shall return to him? They answered, Five golden emerods, and five golden mice, according to the number of the lords of the Philistines: for one plague was on you all, and on your lords.
• New International Version (NIV)The Philistines asked, “What guilt offering should we send to him?” They replied, “Five gold tumors and five gold rats, according to the number of the Philistine rulers, because the same plague has struck both you and your rulers.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And they said, "What is the guilt offering that we shall return to him?" They answered, "Five golden tumors and five golden mice, according to the number of the lords of the Philistines, for the same plague was on all of you and on your lords.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Then they said, “What is the trespass offering which we shall return to Him?” They answered, “Five golden tumors and five golden rats, according to the number of the lords of the Philistines. For the same plague was on all of you and on your lords.

Context of 1 Samuel 6:4

2Then they called their priests and their magicians to meet with them. The people asked them, ‘What must we do with the Lord's Covenant Box? Tell us how we should send it back to its home.’ 3The priests and magicians answered, ‘Send the Covenant Box of Israel's God back with a special offering. You must not send it back without anything. Send an offering so that their God will forgive you. Then you will get well again. You will understand why he has continued to punish you.’ The people asked, ‘What offering should we send to their God, so that he will forgive us?’ The priests and magicians replied, ‘You must send gold images of five tumours and five mice. You must make five images of each one because the Philistines have five rulers. They have the same disease that all of you have. 5Make images of the tumours and the mice that are destroying everything in the country. Do that to give honour to the God of Israel. Maybe then he will stop punishing you, your gods and your land. 6Do not be like the Egyptians and Pharaoh, their king. They did not agree to obey God. So God punished them a lot until they let the Israelites leave Egypt.

1 Samuel 6:4 word by word

וַיֹּאמְר֗וּ מָ֣ה הָאָשָׁם֮ אֲשֶׁ֣ר נָשִׁ֣יב לוֹ֒ וַיֹּאמְר֗וּ מִסְפַּר֙ סַרְנֵ֣י פְלִשְׁתִּ֔ים חֲמִשָּׁה֙ טְחֹרֵ֣י זָהָ֔ב וַחֲמִשָּׁ֖ה עַכְבְּרֵ֣י זָהָ֑ב כִּֽי־מַגֵּפָ֥ה אַחַ֛ת לְכֻלָּ֖ם וּלְסַרְנֵיכֶֽם׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Then saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• the trespass offeringאָשָׁם'âshâm · guilt (offering)H817
• which we shall returnשׁוּבshûb · to return: returnH7725
• Fiveחָמֵשׁchâmêsh chămishshâh · fiveH2568
• goldenזָהָבzâhâb · goldH2091
• emerodsעֹ֫פֶל‛ôphel · hillH6076
• emerodsטְחֹרţechôr · tumorH2914
• miceעַכְבָּר‛akbâr · mouseH5909
• the numberמִסְפָּרmispâr · numberH4557
• of the lordsסֶ֫רֶןseren · lordH5633
• of the Philistinesפְּלִשְׁתִּיpelishtîy · PhilistineH6430
• for oneאֶחָד'echâd · oneH259
• plagueמַגֵּפָהmaggêphâh · plagueH4046

Cross-references for 1 Samuel 6:4

• 1 Samuel 6:5Make images of the tumours and the mice that are destroying everything in the country. Do that to give honour to the God of Israel. Maybe then he will stop punishing you, your gods and your land.
• 1 Samuel 5:6The Lord punished the people who lived in Ashdod. He caused them to have a lot of pain, as well as the people in the places near Ashdod. He caused tumours to grow on their bodies.
• Exodus 12:35The Israelites obeyed Moses. They asked the Egyptians for silver and gold. They also asked them for clothes.
• Joshua 13:3Their land goes from the Shihor river on the east side of Egypt, to the border of Ekron's land. That part belongs to the Canaanites. The land of the Philistine rulers in Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath and Ekron. There is also the land of the Avvites in the south.
• Judges 3:3The nations who remained were: the Philistines, with their five kings, all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, the Hivites who lived in the Lebanon mountains, from Mount Baal Hermon to Lebo-Hamath.

Commentaries on 1 Samuel 6:4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4Five golden emerods, and five golden mice - One for each satrapy. The emerods had afflicted their bodies; the mice had marred their land. Both, they considered, as sent by God; and, making an image of each, and sending them as a trespass-offering, they acknowledged this. See at the end.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4It was a prevalent custom in pagan antiquity to make offerings to the gods expressive of the particular mercy received. Thus, those saved from shipwreck offered pictures of the shipwreck, etc., and the custom still exists among Christians in certain countries. The plague of the mice is analogous to that of the frogs in Egypt. The destructive power of field-mice was very great.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4rats: See study note on 1 Samuel 5:6.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. Five golden emerods--Votive or thank offerings were commonly made by the heathen in prayer for, or gratitude after, deliverance from lingering or dangerous disorders, in the form of metallic (generally silver) models or images of the diseased parts of the body. This is common still in Roman Catholic countries, as well as in the temples of the Hindus and other modern heathen. five golden mice--This animal is supposed by some to be the jerboa or jumping…Read the comment

Topics related to 1 Samuel 6:4

• Hemorrhoids
• Kirjath-Jearim
• Lord
• Miracles
• Mouse
• Philistines
• Plague
• Tumor

In the dictionaries

• Philistines
• Trespass offering
• Lords of the Philistines
• Along
• David
• Ekron
• Harden
• Mouse
• Return
• Samuel, Books 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