God’s Word Translation
1 Samuel 5:7
7When the people of Ashdod realized what was happening, they said, “The ark of the God of Israel must not stay with us, because their God is dealing harshly with us and our god Dagon.”
1 Samuel 5:7 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And when the men of Ashdod saw that it was so, they said, The ark of the God of Israel shall not abide with us: for his hand is sore upon us, and upon Dagon our god.
- New International Version (NIV)When the people of Ashdod saw what was happening, they said, “The ark of the god of Israel must not stay here with us, because his hand is heavy on us and on Dagon our god.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)And when the men of Ashdod saw how things were, they said, "The ark of the God of Israel must not remain with us, for his hand is hard against us and against Dagon our god."
- New King James Version (NKJV)And when the men of Ashdod saw how it was, they said, “The ark of the God of Israel must not remain with us, for His hand is harsh toward us and Dagon our god.”
Context of 1 Samuel 5:7
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. 6The Lord dealt harshly with the people of Ashdod. He destroyed them by striking the people in the vicinity of Ashdod with tumors. When the people of Ashdod realized what was happening, they said, “The ark of the God of Israel must not stay with us, because their God is dealing harshly with us and our god Dagon.” 8The people of Ashdod called together all the Philistine rulers. “What should we do with the ark of the God of Israel?” they asked. “The ark of the God of Israel must be taken to Gath,” the rulers said. So the people took the ark of the God of Israel there. 9But after they had moved it, the Lord threw the city into a great panic: He struck all the important and unimportant people in the city, and they were covered with tumors.
Read all of 1 Samuel 51 Samuel 5:7 word by word
וַיִּרְא֥וּ אַנְשֵֽׁי־אַשְׁדּ֖וֹד כִּֽי־כֵ֑ן וְאָמְר֗וּ לֹֽא־יֵשֵׁ֞ב אֲר֨וֹן אֱלֹהֵ֤י יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ עִמָּ֔נוּ כִּֽי־קָשְׁתָ֤ה יָדוֹ֙ עָלֵ֔ינוּ וְעַ֖ל דָּג֥וֹן אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And when the menאֱנוֹשׁ'ĕnôsh · humanH582
- of Ashdodאַשְׁדּוֹד'ashdôd · AshdodH795
- sawרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
- so, they saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- The arkאֲרוֹן'ârôn 'ârôn · arkH727
- of the Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
- of Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
- shall not abideיָשַׁבyâshab · to dwellH3427
- with us: for his handיָדyâd · hand: powerH3027
- is soreקָשָׁהqâshâh · to hardenH7185
- upon us, and upon Dagonדָּגוֹןdâgôn · DagonH1712
Cross-references for 1 Samuel 5:7
- 1 Samuel 4:8We’re in trouble now! Who can save us from the power of these mighty gods? These are the gods who struck the Egyptians with every kind of plague in the desert.
- Exodus 8:8Pharaoh sent for Moses and Aaron and said, “Pray that the Lord will take the frogs away from me and my people. Then I will let your people go to offer sacrifices to the Lord.”
- Exodus 9:28Pray to the Lord. We’ve had enough of God’s thunder and hail. I’ll let you go; you don’t have to stay here any longer.”
- Exodus 10:7Then Pharaoh’s officials asked him, “How long will this man hold us in his grip? Let the Israelite men go to worship the Lord their God. When will you realize that Egypt is ruined?”
- Exodus 12:33The Egyptians begged the people to leave the country quickly. They said, “Soon we’ll all be dead!”
- 1 Samuel 6:20The people of Beth Shemesh asked, “Who can stand before the Lord, this holy God? And to which people will he go when he leaves us?”
- 2 Samuel 6:9David was afraid of the Lord that day. “How can the ark of the Lord come to my ⌞city⌟?” he asked.
- 1 Chronicles 13:11David was angry because the Lord had struck Uzzah so violently. (That place is still called Perez Uzzah [The Striking of Uzzah] today.)
- 1 Chronicles 15:13Because you weren’t there the first time, the Lord our God struck us. We hadn’t dedicated our lives to serving him in the way ⌞he⌟ designated.”
- 1 Samuel 5:3Early 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.
- Jeremiah 46:25The Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says, “I’m going to punish Amon, who is the god of Thebes. I will also punish Pharaoh, Egypt, its gods, its kings, and whoever trusts Pharaoh.
- Jeremiah 48:7Since you trust the things you do and your treasures, you will be captured. Chemosh will go into captivity with all its priests and officials.
Commentaries on 1 Samuel 5:7
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 7His hand is sore upon us, and upon Dagon our god - Here the end was completely answered: they now saw that they had not prevailed against Israel, on account of their god being more powerful than Jehovah; and they now feel how easily this God can confound and destroy their whole nation.Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 6-12Verses 6-12 The hand of the Lord was heavy upon the Philistines; he not only convinced them of their folly, but severely chastised their insolence. Yet they would not renounce Dagon; and instead of seeking God's mercy, they desired to get clear of his ark. Carnal hearts, when they smart under the judgments of God, would rather, if it were possible, put him far from them, than enter into covenant or communion with him, and seek him for their friend. But…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 77. the ark of God shall not abide with us--It was removed successively to several of the large towns of the country, but the same pestilence broke out in every place and raged so fiercely and fatally that the authorities were forced to send the ark back into the land of Israel [1Sa 5:8-10].Read the comment
In the dictionaries
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
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
Commentaries