1 Samuel 5:8

And sending, they gathered together all the princes of the Philistines to them, and they said, “What shall we do about the ark of the God of Israel?” And the Gathites responded, “Let the ark of the God of Israel be led around.” And they led the ark of the God of Israel around.

Catholic Public Domain Version

In The King James Version

They sent therefore and gathered all the lords of the Philistines unto them, and said, What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel? And they answered, Let the ark of the God of Israel be carried about unto Gath. And they carried the ark of the God of Israel about thither.

In Context

7Then the men of Ashdod, seeing this kind of plague, said: “The ark of the God of Israel shall not remain with us. For his hand is harsh, over us and over Dagon, our god.”

9And as they were carrying it around, the hand of the Lord fell upon every single city with an exceedingly great slaughter. And he struck down the men of each and every city, from the small even to the great. And cysts were festering at their buttocks. And the Gathites took counsel, and they made for themselves seat covers from pelts.

Read all of 1 Samuel 5

Cross References

Joshua 13:3from the muddy river, which irrigates Egypt, as far as the border of Ekron toward the north, the land of Canaan, which is divided among the rulers of Philistia: the Gazites, and the Ashdodites, the Ashkelonites, the Gathites, and the Ekronites;

1 Samuel 5:11And so they sent and gathered together all the princes of the Philistines, and they said: “Release the ark of the God of Israel, and return it to its own place. And let it not kill us, with our people.”

1 Samuel 17:4And there went out from the camp of the Philistines, a man of illegitimate birth, named Goliath of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a palm.

1 Chronicles 7:21and his son was Shuthelah, and his son was Ezer, and also Elead. But the men indigenous to Gath killed them, because they had descended to invade their possessions.

Zechariah 12:3And this shall be: In that day, I will set Jerusalem as a burdensome stone to every people. All who will lift it up will be torn to pieces. And all the kingdoms of the earth will be gathered together against her.

Matthew Henry on 1 Samuel 5:7-12

The Distress of the Philistines. ( b. c. 1120.) 6 But the hand of the Lord was heavy upon them of Ashdod, and he destroyed them, and smote them with emerods, even Ashdod and the coasts thereof. 7 And 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. 8 They sent therefore and gathered all the lords of the Philistines unto them, and said, What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel? And they… Read the whole commentary →

This Verse In Other Editions

Study 1 Samuel 5:8