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.
• New International Version (NIV)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.”
• 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.”

Context of 1 Samuel 6:9

7“Now build a new cart, and find two cows that have just given birth to calves. Make sure the cows have never been yoked to a cart. Hitch the cows to the cart, but shut their calves away from them in a pen. 8Put the Ark of the Lord on the cart, and beside it place a chest containing the gold rats and gold tumors you are sending as a guilt offering. Then let the cows go wherever they want. 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.” 10So these instructions were carried out. Two cows were hitched to the cart, and their newborn calves were shut up in a pen. 11Then the Ark of the Lord and the chest containing the gold rats and gold tumors were placed on the cart.

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 15:10The boundary circled west of Baalah to Mount Seir, passed along to the town of Kesalon on the northern slope of Mount Jearim, and went down to Beth-shemesh and on to Timnah.
• Joshua 21:16Ain, Juttah, and Beth-shemesh—nine towns from these two tribes.
• Amos 3:6When the ram’s horn blows a warning, shouldn’t the people be alarmed? Does disaster come to a city unless the Lord has planned it?
• 1 Samuel 6:3“Send the Ark of the God of Israel back with a gift,” they were told. “Send a guilt offering so the plague will stop. Then, if you are healed, you will know it was his hand that caused the plague.”
• Isaiah 26:11O Lord, they pay no attention to your upraised fist. Show them your eagerness to defend your people. Then they will be ashamed. Let your fire consume your enemies.
• 2 Samuel 1:6The man answered, “I happened to be on Mount Gilboa, and there was Saul leaning on his spear with the enemy chariots and charioteers closing in on him.
• Ecclesiastes 9:11I have observed something else under the sun. The fastest runner doesn’t always win the race, and the strongest warrior doesn’t always win the battle. The wise sometimes go hungry, and the skillful are not necessarily wealthy. And those who are educated don’t always lead successful lives. It is all decided by chance, by being in the right place at the right time.
• Luke 10:31“By chance a priest came along. But when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the other side of the road and passed him by.

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