1 Samuel 5:5-12

5 Therefore * neither the priests of Dagon nor all who enter Dagon's house ¹tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod to this day.

6 Now ²the hand of the LORD was heavy on the Ashdodites, and ³He ravaged them and smote them with ⁴tumors, both Ashdod and its territories.

7 When the men of Ashdod saw that it was so, they said, "The ark of the God of Israel must not remain with us, for His hand is severe on us and on Dagon our god."

8 So they sent and ⁵gathered all the lords of the Philistines to them and said, "What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel?" And they said, "Let the ark of the God of Israel be brought around to Gath." And they brought the ark of the God of Israel around.

9 After they had brought it around, ⁶the hand of the LORD was against the city with very great confusion; and He smote the men of the city, both young and old, so that ⁷tumors broke out on them.

10 So they sent the ark of God to Ekron. And as the ark of God came to Ekron the Ekronites cried out, saying, "They have brought the ark of the God of Israel around to us, to kill us and our people."

11 They ⁸sent therefore and gathered all the lords of the Philistines and said, "Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it return to its own place, so that it will not kill us and our people." For there was a deadly confusion throughout the city; ⁹the hand of God was very heavy there.

12 And the men who did not die were smitten with tumors and ¹⁰the cry of the city went up to heaven.

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1 Samuel 5:5-12 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO FIRST SAMUEL 5

This chapter relates how that the ark being brought by the Philistines to Ashdod, and placed in the temple of their idol, that fell down before it, 1Sa 5:1-5, that the hand of the Lord was upon the men of Ashdod, and smote them with emerods, 1Sa 5:6,7 and being carried to Gath, the men of Gath were smitten likewise with the same, 1Sa 5:8,9, and after that the men of Ekron, whither it also was carried, 1Sa 5:10-12.

Taken from John Gill's Exposition of the Bible

Cross References 10

1. Zephaniah 1:9
2. Exodus 9:3; 1 Samuel 5:7, 11; Psalms 32:4; Psalms 145:20; Psalms 147:6; Acts 13:11
3. 1 Samuel 6:5
4. Deuteronomy 28:27; Psalms 78:66
5. 1 Samuel 5:11; 1 Samuel 29:6-11
6. Deuteronomy 2:15; 1 Samuel 5:11; 1 Samuel 7:13; 1 Samuel 12:15
7. 1 Samuel 5:6
8. 1 Samuel 5:8
9. 1 Samuel 5:6, 9
10. Exodus 12:30; Isaiah 15:3

Footnotes 5

[a]. Lit "me"
[b]. Lit "me"
[c]. Lit "my"
[d]. Lit "me"
[e]. Lit "my"