And there they left their images, and David and his men burned them.
Parallel translations
- WEB They left their images there; and David and his men took them away.
- BSB There the Philistines abandoned their idols, and David and his men carried them away.
- NKJV And they left their images there, and David and his men carried them away.
- NASB And the Philistines abandoned their idols there, so David and his men carried them away.
- NLT The Philistines had abandoned their idols there, so David and his men confiscated 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 abandon their idols, which David and his men carry off. The defeated gods are shown powerless before the Lord.
Overview
In their flight the Philistines leave behind their idols, which David's men remove (and, per 1 Chronicles 14:12, burn). The captured images demonstrate the impotence of false gods against the living Lord of hosts. The scene reverses the earlier capture of the ark and vindicates the supremacy of Israel's God over the nations' idols.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- 1 Chr 14:11–12So they came up to Baalperazim; and David smote them there. Then David said, God hath broken in upon mine enemies by mine hand like the breaking forth of waters: therefore they called the name of that place Baalperazim.
- 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.
- Isa 46:1–2Bel boweth down, Nebo stoopeth, their idols were upon the beasts, and upon the cattle: your carriages were heavy loaden; they are a burden to the weary beast.
- 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.
- Jer 43:12And I will kindle a fire in the houses of the gods of Egypt; and he shall burn them, and carry them away captives: and he shall array himself with the land of Egypt, as a shepherd putteth on his garment; and he shall go forth from thence in peace.
- 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.
- Isa 37:19And 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.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
God's covenant with David — a son whose throne and kingdom would last forever (7:12–16) — finds its yes in Jesus, the Son of David who reigns without end.
How 2 Samuel 5:21 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
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.