Now the hand of the LORD was heavy on the people of Ashdod and its vicinity, ravaging them and afflicting them with tumors.
Parallel translations
- WEB But Yahweh’s hand was heavy on the people of Ashdod, and he destroyed them, and struck them with tumors, even Ashdod and its borders.
- KJV 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.
- NKJV But the hand of the Lord was heavy on the people of Ashdod, and He ravaged them and struck them with tumors, both Ashdod and its territory.
- NASB Now the hand of the Lord was heavy on the Ashdodites, and He made them feel devastated and struck them with tumors, both Ashdod and its territories.
- NLT Then the Lord’s heavy hand struck the people of Ashdod and the nearby villages with a plague of tumors.
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 LORD's hand falls heavily on the people of Ashdod, striking them with tumors. God afflicts the Philistines to vindicate His honor.
Overview
Beyond toppling Dagon, Yahweh now strikes the Ashdodites themselves with a painful plague. This shows that the living God actively judges those who oppose Him. The plague demonstrates that capturing the ark brought no blessing but rather the heavy hand of divine judgment.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- 1 Sam 5:11Then the Ekronites assembled all the rulers of the Philistines and said, “Send away the ark of the God of Israel. It must return to its place, so that it will not kill us and our people!” For a deadly confusion had pervaded the city; the hand of God was heavy upon it.
- Deut 28:27The LORD will afflict you with the boils of Egypt, with tumors and scabs and itch from which you cannot be cured.
- Ps 32:4For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was drained as in the summer heat. Selah
- Acts 13:11Now look, the hand of the Lord is against you, and for a time you will be blind and unable to see the light of the sun.” Immediately mist and darkness came over him, and he groped about, seeking someone to lead him by the hand.
- Exod 9:3then the hand of the LORD will bring a severe plague on your livestock in the field—on your horses, donkeys, camels, herds, and flocks.
- Ps 78:66He beat back His foes; He put them to everlasting shame.
- 1 Sam 5:7And when the men of Ashdod saw what was happening, they said, “The ark of the God of Israel must not stay here with us, because His hand is heavy upon us and upon our god Dagon.”
- Job 31:3Does not disaster come to the unjust and calamity to the workers of iniquity?
- 1 Sam 5:9But after they had moved the ark to Gath, the LORD’s hand was also against that city, throwing it into great confusion and afflicting the men of the city, both young and old, with an outbreak of tumors.
- 1 Sam 6:4–5“What guilt offering should we send back to Him?” asked the Philistines. “Five gold tumors and five gold rats,” they said, “according to the number of rulers of the Philistines, since the same plague has struck both you and your rulers.
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Christ at the center
The rise of the anointed king after Israel's failed first choice points to the true Anointed One (Messiah means 'anointed'), the shepherd-king after God's own heart from Bethlehem.
How 1 Samuel 5:6 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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