1 Samuel 2:6

6 The Lord brings death and gives life;^[a] He sends [some] to Sheol, and He raises [others] up.

1 Samuel 2:6 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 2:6

The Lord killeth, and maketh alive
Which is true of different persons; some he takes away by death, and others he preserves and continues in life; and of the same persons, whom God removes by death, and restores them to life again, of which there are instances both in the Old and New Testament; and be they which they will, both are of God, he is the great Disposer of life and death. Death is of him; it is by his appointment; it is sent by his order; and when it has a commission from him, there is no resisting it; and let it be brought about by what means it will, still it is of God: and life is of him; it is first given by him, and it is preserved by him; and though taken away, it shall be restored at the resurrection of the dead; of which some interpret this clause, as Kimchi and Ben Gersom observe: and what is here said is true, in a spiritual sense; the Lord kills by the law, or shows men that they are dead in sin, and in a legal sense; and he makes alive by his Spirit, through the Gospel, quickening such who were dead in trespasses and sins; which is his own work, and the effect of divine power and grace; (See Gill on Deuteronomy 32:39).

he bringeth down to the grave, and bringeth up;
he bringeth some very near to the grave, to the very brink of it; so that in their own apprehensions, and in the opinion of their friends, they are just dropping into it, and no hope of recovery left; when he says to them "Return", and brings them back from the pit, and delivers them from going into it, ( Job 33:22 Job 33:28 Job 33:30 ) ( Psalms 90:3 ) and even when they are laid in it, he brings up out of it again, as in the case of Lazarus, and which will be the case in the resurrection, ( John 5:28 John 5:29 ) .

1 Samuel 2:6 In-Context

4 The bows of the warriors are broken, but the feeble are clothed with strength.

5 Those who are full hire themselves out for food, but those who are starving [hunger] no more. The barren woman gives birth to seven, but the woman with many sons pines away.

6 The Lord brings death and gives life; He sends [some] to Sheol, and He raises [others] up.

7 The Lord brings poverty and gives wealth; He humbles and He exalts.

8 He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the garbage pile. He seats them with noblemen and gives them a throne of honor. For the foundations of the earth are the Lord's; He has set the world on them.

Footnotes

• [a] Dt 32:39