1 Samuel 5:3

1 Samuel 5:3 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And when they of Ashdod arose early on the morrow, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the earth before the ark of the Lord. And they took Dagon, and set him in his place again.
• New International Version (NIV)When the people of Ashdod rose early the next day, there was Dagon, fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of the Lord! They took Dagon and put him back in his place.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And when the people of Ashdod rose early the next day, behold, Dagon had fallen face downward on the ground before the ark of the Lord. So they took Dagon and put him back in his place.
• New King James Version (NKJV)And when the people of Ashdod arose early in the morning, there was Dagon, fallen on its face to the earth before the ark of the Lord. So they took Dagon and set it in its place again.

Context of 1 Samuel 5:3

1After the Philistines had captured the ark of God, they brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. 2They brought it into the temple of Dagon and placed it beside Dagon. Early the next day the people of Ashdod saw that Dagon had fallen forward on the ground in front of the Lord’s ark. So they took Dagon and put him back in his place. 4But the next morning they saw that Dagon had ⌞again⌟ fallen forward on the ground in front of the Lord’s ark. Dagon’s head and his two hands were cut off ⌞and were lying⌟ on the temple’s threshold. The rest of Dagon’s body was intact. 5This is why the priests of Dagon and everyone else who comes into Dagon’s temple in Ashdod still don’t step on the temple’s threshold.

1 Samuel 5:3 word by word

וַיַּשְׁכִּ֤מוּ אַשְׁדּוֹדִים֙ מִֽמָּחֳרָ֔ת וְהִנֵּ֣ה דָג֗וֹן נֹפֵ֤ל לְפָנָיו֙ אַ֔רְצָה לִפְנֵ֖י אֲר֣וֹן יְהוָ֑ה וַיִּקְחוּ֙ אֶת־דָּג֔וֹן וַיָּשִׁ֥בוּ אֹת֖וֹ לִמְקוֹמֽוֹ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And when they of Ashdodאַשְׁדּוֹדִי'ashdôdîy · AshdodH796
• arose earlyשָׁכַםshâkam · to riseH7925
• on the morrowמׇחֳרָתmochŏrâth mochŏrâthâm · morrowH4283
• behold, Dagonדָּגוֹןdâgôn · DagonH1712
• fallenנָפַלnâphal · to fall: fallH5307
• upon his faceפָּנֶהpânîym · faceH6440
• to the earthאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: soilH776
• beforeפָּנֶהpânîym · face: beforeH6440
• the arkאֲרוֹן'ârôn 'ârôn · arkH727
• of the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• And they tookלָקַחlâqach · to take: takeH3947
• and setשׁוּבshûb · to return: returnH7725
• him in his placeמָקוֹםmâqôm mâqôm meqômâh meqômâh · placeH4725

Cross-references for 1 Samuel 5:3

• Exodus 12:12“On that same night I will go throughout Egypt and kill every firstborn male, both human and animal. I will severely punish all the gods of Egypt, ⌞because⌟ I am the Lord.
• Psalms 97:7Everyone who worships idols and brags about false gods will be put to shame. All the gods will bow to him.
• Isaiah 19:1This is the divine revelation about Egypt. The Lord is riding on a fast-moving cloud and is coming to Egypt. Egypt’s idols will tremble in his presence. Egypt’s courage will fail.
• Isaiah 46:1The god Bel bows down; the god Nebo stoops low. Their statues are seated on animals and cattle. The gods that you carry are burdens, a load for weary people.
• Zephaniah 2:11The Lord will terrify them, because he will make all the gods of the earth waste away. So every person from every coast and nation will bow to him.
• Mark 3:11Whenever people with evil spirits saw him, they would fall down in front of him and shout, “You are the Son of God!”
• Luke 10:18Jesus said to them, “I watched Satan fall from heaven like lightning.
• 2 Corinthians 6:14Stop forming inappropriate relationships with unbelievers. Can right and wrong be partners? Can light have anything in common with darkness?
• Isaiah 40:20The poorest people choose wood that will not rot and search out skillful craftsmen to set up idols that will not fall over.
• Isaiah 41:7Craftsmen encourage goldsmiths. Metalsmiths encourage blacksmiths who work at their anvils. They say that their soldering is good. And they fasten things with nails so they won’t move.
• Isaiah 44:17But the rest of the wood they make into gods, carved statues. They bow to them and worship them. They pray to them, saying, “Rescue us, because you are our gods.”
• Jeremiah 10:8They are complete idiots. They learn nonsense from wooden idols.

Commentaries on 1 Samuel 5:3

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 3They of Ashdod arose early on the morrow - Probably to perform some act of their superstition in the temple of their idol. Dagon was fallen upon his face - This was one proof, which they little expected, of the superiority of the God of Israel. Set him in his place again - Supposing his fall might have been merely accidental.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 3-43-4. they of Ashdod arose early--They were filled with consternation when they found the object of their stupid veneration prostrate before the symbol of the divine presence. Though set up, it fell again, and lay in a state of complete mutilation; its head and arms, severed from the trunk, were lying in distant and separate places, as if violently cast off, and only the fishy part remained. The degradation of their idol, though concealed by the priests on…Read the comment

Topics related to 1 Samuel 5:3

• Idolatry
• Miracles

In the dictionaries

• Ashdod
• Ashdod, or Azotus
• Ashdod, Azotus
• Dagon
• Destruction
• Ground
• Samuel, Books of
• Ark of the Covenant
• Elijah
• God

Commentaries on 1 Samuel 5

• 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
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings