1 Samuel 6:3

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 guilt-offering; then ye shall be healed, and it shall be known to you why His hand is not removed from you.'

JPS TaNaKH 1917

In The King James Version

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.

In Context

2And the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners, saying: 'What shall we do with the ark of the LORD? declare unto us wherewith we shall send it to its place.'

4Then said they: 'What shall be the guilt-offering which we shall return to Him?' And they said: '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.

Read all of 1 Samuel 6

Cross References

Exodus 23:15The feast of unleavened bread shalt thou keep; seven days thou shalt eat unleavened bread, as I commanded thee, at the time appointed in the month Abib — for in it thou camest out from Egypt; and none shall appear before Me empty;

Leviticus 5:6and he shall bring his forfeit unto the LORD for his sin which he hath sinned, a female from the flock, a lamb or a goat, for a sin-offering; and the priest shall make atonement for him as concerning his sin.

Leviticus 5:16And he shall make restitution for that which he hath done amiss in the holy thing, and shall add the fifth part thereto, and give it unto the priest; and the priest shall make atonement for him with the ram of the guilt-offering, and he shall be forgiven.

Leviticus 7:1And this is the law of the guilt-offering: it is most holy.

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.'

1 Samuel 5:11They sent therefore and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines, and they said: 'Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it go back to its own place, that it slay us not, and our people'; for there was a deadly discomfiture throughout all the city; the hand of God was very heavy there.

Matthew Henry on 1 Samuel 6:2-10

The Ark Among the Philistines. ( b. c. 1120.) 1 And the ark of the Lord was in the country of the Philistines seven months. 2 And the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners, saying, What shall we do to the ark of the Lord ? tell us wherewith we shall send it to his place. 3 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. 4 Then said… Read the whole commentary →

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Study 1 Samuel 6:3