1 Samuel 6:4

4 —¿Qué clase de ofrenda por la culpa debemos enviar? —preguntaron.
Entonces les respondieron:
—Ya que la plaga los hirió a ustedes y a sus cinco gobernantes, elaboren cinco tumores de oro y cinco ratas de oro como los que asolaron la tierra.

1 Samuel 6:4 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 6:4

Then said they, what shall be the trespass offering which we
shall return to him?
&c.] They paid a great deference to their priests and diviners, and were willing to be directed in all things by them; being ignorant of what was most proper in this case, and might be acceptable to the God of Israel:

they answered, five golden emerods, and five golden mice;
images of these made of gold, as appears from the next verse; the reason of the former is easy, from the above account of the disease they were afflicted with; but of the latter no hint is given before: indeed in the Vulgate Latin and Septuagint versions of ( 1 Samuel 5:6 ) is inserted a clause, that

``mice sprung up in the midst of their country;''

which is not in the Hebrew text, nor in the Chaldee paraphrase; yet appears to be a fact from the following verse, that at the same time their bodies were smitten with emerods, their fields were overrun with mice, which destroyed the increase of them; wherefore five golden mice were also ordered as a part of the trespass offering, and five of each were pitched upon:

according to the number of the lords of the Philistines;
who were five, and so the principalities under them; see ( Joshua 13:3 )

for one plague was on you all, and on your lords;
the lords and common people were equally smitten with the emerods, and the several principalities were alike distressed and destroyed with the mice; and therefore the trespass offering, which was a vicarious one for them, was to be according to the number of their princes and their principalities; five emerods for the five princes and their people smitten with emerods, and five mice on account of the five cities and fields adjacent being marred by mice.

1 Samuel 6:4 In-Context

2 Entonces los filisteos mandaron llamar a sus sacerdotes y adivinos, y les preguntaron:
—¿Qué debemos hacer con el arca del Señor
? Dígannos cómo devolverla a su propio país.

3 —Devuelvan el arca del Dios de Israel junto con un regalo —les dijeron—. Envíen una ofrenda por la culpa, para que la plaga se detenga. Entonces, si se sanan, sabrán que fue la mano de Dios la que causó esta plaga.

4 —¿Qué clase de ofrenda por la culpa debemos enviar? —preguntaron.
Entonces les respondieron:
—Ya que la plaga los hirió a ustedes y a sus cinco gobernantes, elaboren cinco tumores de oro y cinco ratas de oro como los que asolaron la tierra.

5 Hagan estas cosas para demostrar su respeto al Dios de Israel. Tal vez entonces él deje de afligirlos a ustedes, a sus dioses y a su tierra.

6 No sean tercos y rebeldes como lo fueron faraón y los egipcios. Cuando Dios terminó con ellos, estaban deseosos de dejar ir a Israel.