Revised Literal Translation
1 Samuel 6:3
3And 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.
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
1And the ark of Yhwh was in the country of the Philistines seven months. 2And the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners, saying, What shall we do to the ark of Yhwh? tell us wherewith we shall send it to his place. 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. 4Then said they, What shall be the trespass offering which we shall return to him? They answered, Five golden emerods, and five golden mice, according to the number of the lords of the Philistines: for one plague was on you all, and on your lords. 5Wherefore ye shall make images of your emerods, and images of your mice that mar the land; and ye shall give glory unto the God of Israel: peradventure he will lighten his hand from off you, and from off your gods, and from off your land.
Read all of 1 Samuel 61 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
- If ye send awayשָׁלַחshâlach · to send: departH7971
- the arkאֲרוֹן'ârôn 'ârôn · arkH727
- of the Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
- of Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
- it not emptyרֵיקָםrêyqâm · emptilyH7387
- but in any wiseשׁוּבshûb · to return: returnH7725
- him a trespass offeringאָשָׁם'âshâm · guilt (offering)H817
- then ye shall be healedרָפָאrâphâ' râphâh · to healH7495
- and it shall be knownיָדַעyâda‛ · to knowH3045
- to you why his handיָדyâd · hand: powerH3027
- is not removedסוּרsûr ώûr · to turn aside: turn asideH5493
Cross-references for 1 Samuel 6:3
- Exodus 23:15Thou shalt keep the feast of unleavened bread: (thou shalt eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded thee, in the time appointed of the month Abib; for in it thou camest out from Egypt: and none shall appear before me empty:)
- Exodus 34:20But the firstling of a donkey thou shalt redeem with a lamb: and if thou redeem him not, then shalt thou break his neck. All the firstborn of thy sons thou shalt redeem. And none shall appear before me empty.
- Deuteronomy 16:16Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before Yhwh thy God in the place which he shall choose; in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles: and they shall not appear before Yhwh empty:
- Leviticus 5:6And he shall bring his trespass offering unto Yhwh for his sin which he hath sinned, a female from the flock, a lamb or a kid of the goats, for a sin offering; and the priest shall make an atonement for him concerning his sin.
- Leviticus 6:6And he shall bring his trespass offering unto Yhwh, a ram without blemish out of the flock, with thy estimation, for a trespass offering, unto the priest:
- Leviticus 7:1Likewise this is the law of the trespass offering: it is most holy.
- 1 Samuel 6:9And 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.
- 1 Samuel 5:7And 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.
- Job 10:2I will say unto God, Do not condemn me; shew me wherefore thou contendest with me.
- Job 34:31Surely it is meet to be said unto God, I have borne chastisement, I will not offend any more:
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
In the dictionaries
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
Revised Literal Translation — © 2018 Michael W. Jones, Sr. — GPL
Commentaries