1 Samuel 6:3

1 Samuel 6:3 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And they said, If ye send away the ark of the God of Israel, send it not empty; but in any wise return him a trespass offering: then ye shall be healed, and it shall be known to you why his hand is not removed from you.
• New International Version (NIV)They answered, “If you return the ark of the god of Israel, do not send it back to him without a gift; by all means send a guilt offering to him. Then you will be healed, and you will know why his hand has not been lifted from you.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)They said, "If you send away the ark of the God of Israel, do not send it empty, but by all means return him a guilt offering. Then you will be healed, and it will be known to you why his hand does not turn away from you."
• New King James Version (NKJV)So they said, “If you send away the ark of the God of Israel, do not send it empty; but by all means return it to Him with a trespass offering. Then you will be healed, and it will be known to you why His hand is not removed from you.”

Context of 1 Samuel 6:3

1Now the ark of the Lord had been in the territory of the Philistines for seven months. 2And the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners, saying, “What are we to do with the ark of the Lord? Tell us how we may send it to its place.” And they said, “If you are going to send the ark of the God of Israel away, do not send it empty; but you shall certainly return to Him a guilt offering. Then you will be healed, and it will be revealed to you why His hand does not leave you.” 4Then they said, “What is to be the guilt offering that we shall return to Him?” And they said, “Five gold tumors and five gold mice corresponding to the number of the governors of the Philistines, since one plague was on all of you and on your governors. 5So you shall make likenesses of your tumors and likenesses of your mice that are ruining the land, and you shall give glory to the God of Israel; perhaps He will lighten His hand from you, your gods, and your land.

1 Samuel 6:3 word by word

וַיֹּאמְר֗וּ אִֽם־מְשַׁלְּחִ֞ים אֶת־אֲר֨וֹן אֱלֹהֵ֤י יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ אַל־תְּשַׁלְּח֤וּ אֹתוֹ֙ רֵיקָ֔ם כִּֽי־הָשֵׁ֥ב תָּשִׁ֛יבוּ ל֖וֹ אָשָׁ֑ם אָ֤ז תֵּרָֽפְאוּ֙ וְנוֹדַ֣ע לָכֶ֔ם לָ֛מָּה לֹא־תָס֥וּר יָד֖וֹ מִכֶּֽם׃Read the interlinear

• And they saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• Ifאִם'im · ifH518
• you are going to sendשָׁלַחshâlach · to send: departH7971
• the arkאֲרוֹן'ârôn 'ârôn · arkH727
• of the Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
• of Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
• do not sendשָׁלַחshâlach · to send: departH7971
• it emptyרֵיקָםrêyqâm · emptilyH7387
• but you shall certainlyשׁוּבshûb · to return: returnH7725
• to Him a guiltאָשָׁם'âshâm · guilt (offering)H817
• Thenאָז'âz · thenH227
• you will be healedרָפָאrâphâ' râphâh · to healH7495
• and it will be revealedיָדַעyâda‛ · to knowH3045
• to you whyמָהmâh mah mâ ma meh · what?H4100
• His handיָדyâd · hand: powerH3027
• does not leaveסוּרsûr ώûr · to turn aside: turn asideH5493

Cross-references for 1 Samuel 6:3

• Exodus 23:15You shall keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread; for seven days you are to eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, at the appointed time in the month of Abib, for in that month you came out of Egypt. And no one is to appear before Me empty-handed.
• Exodus 34:20You shall redeem with a lamb the firstborn from a donkey; and if you do not redeem it, then you shall break its neck. You shall redeem all the firstborn of your sons. None are to appear before Me empty-handed.
• Deuteronomy 16:16“Three times a year all your males shall appear before the Lord your God at the place which He chooses: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, at the Feast of Weeks, and at the Feast of Booths; and they are not to appear before the Lord empty-handed.
• Leviticus 5:6He shall also bring his guilt offering to the Lord for his sin which he has committed, a female from the flock, a lamb or a goat as a sin offering. So the priest shall make atonement on his behalf for his sin.
• Leviticus 6:6Then he shall bring to the priest his guilt offering to the Lord, a ram without defect from the flock, according to your assessment, as a guilt offering,
• Leviticus 7:1‘Now this is the law of the guilt offering; it is most holy.
• 1 Samuel 6:9But watch: if it goes up by the way of its own territory to Beth-shemesh, then He has done this great evil to us. But if not, then we will know that it was not His hand that struck us; it happened to us by chance.”
• 1 Samuel 5:7When the men of Ashdod saw that it was so, they said, “The ark of the God of Israel must not remain with us, because His hand is severe on us and on Dagon our god.”
• Job 10:2I will say to God, ‘Do not condemn me; Let me know why You contend with me.
• Job 34:31“For has anyone said to God, ‘I have endured punishment; I will not offend anymore;

Commentaries on 1 Samuel 6:3

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 3Send it not empty - As it appears ye have trespassed against him, send him an offering for this trespass. Why his hand is not removed - The sense is, If you send him a trespass-offering, and ye be cured, then ye shall know why his judgments have not been taken away from you previously to this offering. It is a common opinion, says Calmet, among all people, that although the Supreme Being needs nothing of his creatures, yet he requires that they should…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 3Send it not empty - See the marginal references. The pagan idea of appeasing the gods with gifts, and the scriptural idea of expressing penitence, allegiance, or love to God, by gifts and offerings to His glory and to the comfort of our fellow worshippers, coincide in the practical result.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3The Philistines probably did not know about Israelite worship rules. A Philistine guilt offering was likely a payment to their god. It was to avoid his anger. This differs from the idea of atonement in Leviticus 16.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2-32-3. the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners--The designed restoration of the ark was not, it seems, universally approved of, and many doubts were expressed whether the prevailing pestilence was really a judgment of Heaven. The priests and diviners united all parties by recommending a course which would enable them easily to discriminate the true character of the calamities, and at the same time to propitiate the incensed Deity for any…Read the comment

Topics related to 1 Samuel 6:3

• Ark
• Kirjath-Jearim
• Miracles
• Offerings

In the dictionaries

• God
• Israel
• Israel, Israelites
• Jacob, Israel
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• Trespass offering
• Along
• David
• Ekron
• Harden

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