撒母耳记上 5:8

Chinese NCV (Simplified)

他們就派人去召集非利士人各城的首領前來，問他們：“我們要怎樣處理以色列　神的約櫃呢？”他們回答：“把以色列　神的約櫃運到迦特去吧。”他們就把它運到迦特去了。

Parallel Translations

Chinese Union (Simplified)
就 打 发 人 去 请 非 利 士 的 众 首 领 来 聚 集 ， 问 他 们 说 ： 我 们 向 以 色 列 　 神 的 约 柜 应 当 怎 样 行 呢 ？ 他 们 回 答 说 ： 可 以 将 以 色 列 　 神 的 约 柜 运 到 迦 特 去 。 於 是 将 以 色 列 　 神 的 约 柜 运 到 那 里 去 。

Contextual Overview

⁶ The Lord was hard on the people of Ashdod and their neighbors. He caused them to suffer and gave them growths on their skin. ⁷ When the people of Ashdod saw what was happening, they said, "The Ark of the God of Israel can't stay with us. God is punishing us and Dagon our god." ⁸ The people of Ashdod called all five Philistine kings together and asked them, "What should we do with the Ark of the God of Israel?" The rulers answered, "Move the Ark of the God of Israel to Gath." So the Philistines moved it to Gath. ⁹ But after they moved it to Gath, there was a great panic. The Lord was hard on that city also, and he gave both old and young people in Gath growths on their skin. ¹⁰ Then the Philistines sent the Ark of God to Ekron. But when it came into Ekron, the people of Ekron yelled, "Why are you bringing the Ark of the God of Israel to our city? Do you want to kill us and our people?" ¹¹ So they called all the kings of the Philistines together and said, "Send the Ark of the God of Israel back to its place before it kills us and our people!" All the people in the city were struck with terror because God was so hard on them there. ¹² The people who did not die were troubled with growths on their skin. So the people of Ekron cried loudly to heaven.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

What shall: Zechariah 12:3

Gath: 1 Samuel 17:4, Amos 6:2

Reciprocal: 1 Samuel 6:17 - Gath 1 Samuel 6:20 - General 1 Samuel 29:2 - the lords 1 Chronicles 18:1 - Gath

Gill's Notes on the Bible

They sent therefore and gathered all the lords of the Philistines unto them,.... The other four lords, for there were five with this; see Joshua 13:3,

and said, what shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel? they no doubt told them what they and their idol had suffered on account of it, and the resolution they were come to that it should be no longer with them; and therefore desire to know what must be done with it, whether they should return it to the people of Israel, or dispose of it somewhere else; it is probable some might be for the former, but the greater part were not, and were for keeping it in their possession somewhere or another:

and they answered, let the ark of the God of Israel be carried about unto Gath; which was another of the five principalities of the Philistines, and not far from Ashdod; according to Jerom x, it is included in the remnant of Ashdod, Jeremiah 25:20 and according to Bunting y but four miles from it. The Septuagint and Vulgate Latin versions make this to be the answer of the men of Gath, the one reading it,

"and they of Gath said, let the ark of God come to us;''

and the other,

"they of Gath answered, let the ark of the God of Israel be carried about;''

for they suspected, as Procopius Gazaeus observes, that the destruction did not come from God, but was a disease arising from some pestilential cause. They perhaps imagined it was in the air in and about Ashdod, or that though the situation of the ark was not liked, in another place it might be otherwise, and more agreeable:

and they carried the ark of the God of Israel about thither; they seem not to carry it directly to the place, but carried it in a round about way, as if they had a mind to give it an airing, before they fixed it any where.

x Comment. in Hierem. c. 25. fol. 151. B. y Travels of the Patriarchs, &c. p. 123.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The “lords” (see Judges 3:3) were very unwilling to give up their triumph, and, with the common pagan superstition, imagined that some local bad luck was against them at Ashdod. The result was to bring the whole Philistine community under the same calamity.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 1 Samuel 5:8. The lords of the Philistines — The word סרני sarney, which we translate lords, is rendered by the Chaldee טורני tureney, tyrants. The Syriac is the same. By the Vulgate and Septuagint, satrapae, satraps. Palestine was divided into five satrapies: Ashdod, Ekron, Askelon, Gath, and Gaza. See Joshua 13:8. But these were all federates and acted under one general government, for which they assembled in council.

Let the ark - be carried about — They probably thought that their affliction rose from some natural cause; and therefore they wished the ark to be carried about from place to place, to see what the effects might be. If they found the same evil produced wherever it came, then they must conclude that it was a judgment from the God of Israel.