1 Samuel 6:9

1 Samuel 6:9 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And see, if it goeth up by the way of his own coast to Beth–shemesh, then he hath done us this great evil: but if not, then we shall know that it is not his hand that smote us; it was a chance that happened to us.
• English Standard Version (ESV)and watch. If it goes up on the way to its own land, to Beth-shemesh, then it is he who has done us this great harm, but if not, then we shall know that it is not his hand that struck us; it happened to us by coincidence."
• New King James Version (NKJV)And watch: if it goes up the road to its own territory, to Beth Shemesh, then He has done us this great evil. But if not, then we shall know that it is not His hand that struck us—it happened to us by chance.”
• New Living Translation (NLT)If they cross the border of our land and go to Beth-shemesh, we will know it was the Lord who brought this great disaster upon us. If they don’t, we will know it was not his hand that caused the plague. It came simply by chance.”

Context of 1 Samuel 6:9

7“Now then, get a new cart ready, with two cows that have calved and have never been yoked. Hitch the cows to the cart, but take their calves away and pen them up. 8Take the ark of the Lord and put it on the cart, and in a chest beside it put the gold objects you are sending back to him as a guilt offering. Send it on its way, but keep watching it. If it goes up to its own territory, toward Beth Shemesh, then the Lord has brought this great disaster on us. But if it does not, then we will know that it was not his hand that struck us but that it happened to us by chance.” 10So they did this. They took two such cows and hitched them to the cart and penned up their calves. 11They placed the ark of the Lord on the cart and along with it the chest containing the gold rats and the models of the tumors.

1 Samuel 6:9 word by word

וּרְאִיתֶ֗ם אִם־דֶּ֨רֶךְ גְּבוּל֤וֹ יַֽעֲלֶה֙ בֵּ֣ית שֶׁ֔מֶשׁ ה֚וּא עָ֣שָׂה לָ֔נוּ אֶת־הָרָעָ֥ה הַגְּדוֹלָ֖ה הַזֹּ֑את וְאִם־לֹ֗א וְיָדַ֙עְנוּ֙ כִּ֣י לֹ֤א יָדוֹ֙ נָ֣גְעָה בָּ֔נוּ מִקְרֶ֥ה ה֖וּא הָ֥יָה לָֽנוּ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And seeרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
• if it goeth upעָלָה‛âlâh · to ascend: riseH5927
• by the wayדֶּ֫רֶךְderek · way: roadH1870
• of his own coastגְּבוּלgebûl gebûl · border: areaH1366
• to Beth–shemeshבֵּית שֶׁ֫מֶשׁbêyth shemesh · Beth-shemeshH1053
• he hath doneעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to make: doH6213
• us this greatגָּדוֹלgâdôl gâdôl · great: largeH1419
• evilרָעָהra‛ râ‛âh · distress: harmH7451
• but if not, then we shall knowיָדַעyâda‛ · to knowH3045
• not his handיָדyâd · hand: powerH3027
• smoteנָגַעnâga‛ · to touchH5060
• a chanceמִקְרֶהmiqreh · accidentH4745
• happened to usהָיָהhâyâh · to beH1961

Cross-references for 1 Samuel 6:9

• Joshua 15:10Then it curved westward from Baalah to Mount Seir, ran along the northern slope of Mount Jearim (that is, Kesalon), continued down to Beth Shemesh and crossed to Timnah.
• Joshua 21:16Ain, Juttah and Beth Shemesh, together with their pasturelands—nine towns from these two tribes.
• Amos 3:6When a trumpet sounds in a city, do not the people tremble? When disaster comes to a city, has not the Lord caused it?
• 1 Samuel 6:3They 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.”
• Isaiah 26:11Lord, your hand is lifted high, but they do not see it. Let them see your zeal for your people and be put to shame; let the fire reserved for your enemies consume them.
• 2 Samuel 1:6“I happened to be on Mount Gilboa,” the young man said, “and there was Saul, leaning on his spear, with the chariots and their drivers in hot pursuit.
• Ecclesiastes 9:11I have seen something else under the sun: The race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong, nor does food come to the wise or wealth to the brilliant or favor to the learned; but time and chance happen to them all.
• Luke 10:31A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side.

Commentaries on 1 Samuel 6:9

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 9A chance that happened to us - The word מקרה mikreh, from קרה karah, to meet or coalesce, signifies an event that naturally arises from such concurring causes as, in the order and nature of things, must produce it. Thus a bad state of the atmosphere, putrid exhalations, bad diet, occasioned by any general scarcity, might have produced the disease in question; and to something of this kind they would attribute it, if the other evidences did not concur…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 9Bethshemesh was the first Israelite town they would come to, being on the border of Judah. (See the marginal reference.)Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 9Beth-shemesh was the nearest Israelite town to Ekron (a Philistine city) (1 Samuel 5:10).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 9-129-12. Beth-shemesh--that is, "house of the sun," now Ain Shems [Robinson], a city of priests in Judah, in the southeast border of Dan, lying in a beautiful and extensive valley. Josephus says they were set a-going near a place where the road divided into two--the one leading back to Ekron, where were their calves, and the other to Beth-shemesh. Their frequent lowings attested their ardent longing for their young, and at the same time the supernatural…Read the comment

Topics related to 1 Samuel 6:9

• Beth-Shemesh
• Cart
• Cow
• Kirjath-Jearim
• Miracles

In the dictionaries

• Beth-Shemesh
• Along
• Chance
• David
• Harden
• Return
• Samuel, Books of
• Ark of the Covenant
• God
• Hap; Haply

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