And when they had left their gods there, David gave a commandment, and they were burned with fire.
Parallel translations
- WEB They left their gods there; and David gave a command, and they were burned with fire.
- BSB There the Philistines abandoned their gods, and David ordered that they be burned in the fire.
- NKJV And when they left their gods there, David gave a commandment, and they were burned with fire.
- NASB They abandoned their gods there; so David gave the order and they were burned with fire.
- NLT The Philistines had abandoned their gods there, so David gave orders to burn them.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The Philistines abandoned their idols, and David commanded them to be burned. This obedient act contrasts sharply with the Philistines' earlier capture of the ark.
Overview
The fleeing Philistines left their gods behind, and David ordered them burned, as the Law required for idols (Deuteronomy 7:5, 25). Notably, in the parallel account David's men 'carried them away' (2 Samuel 5:21), and Chronicles clarifies they were destroyed. This obedience reverses the earlier humiliation when Philistines captured Israel's ark; now their false gods are powerless and consigned to the fire, vindicating the living God.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Exod 32:20And he took the calf which they had made, and burnt it in the fire, and ground it to powder, and strawed it upon the water, and made the children of Israel drink of it.
- 2 Kgs 19:18And have cast their gods into the fire: for they were no gods, but the work of men’s hands, wood and stone: therefore they have destroyed them.
- 1 Sam 5:2–6When the Philistines took the ark of God, they brought it into the house of Dagon, and set it by Dagon.
- Deut 7:25The graven images of their gods shall ye burn with fire: thou shalt not desire the silver or gold that is on them, nor take it unto thee, lest thou be snared therein: for it is an abomination to the LORD thy God.
- Deut 7:5But thus shall ye deal with them; ye shall destroy their altars, and break down their images, and cut down their groves, and burn their graven images with fire.
- Exod 12:12For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD.
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Christ at the center
The genealogies and the everlasting covenant with David trace the single thread of promise running through the generations straight to the Christ in whom the line reaches its goal.
How 1 Chronicles 14:12 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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