1 Samuel 6:4

English Standard Version

And they said, "What is the guilt offering that we shall return to him?" They answered, "Five golden tumors and five golden mice, according to the number of the lords of the Philistines, for the same plague was on all of you and on your lords.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
They asked, “What guilt offering should we send back to him?”

Hebrew Names Version
Then they said, "What shall be the trespass-offering which we shall return to him?" They said, "Five golden tumors, and five golden mice, [according to] the number of the lords of the Pelishtim; for one plague was on you all, and on your lords.

King James Version
Then said they, What shall be the trespass offering which we shall return to him? They answered, 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.

Lexham English Bible
And they said, "What is the guilt offering that we should return to him?" They said, "The number of the rulers of the Philistines is five. Therefore send five gold tumors and five gold mice, because one plague was on all of you and all your rulers.

New Century Version
The Philistines asked, "What kind of penalty offering should we send to Israel's God?" They answered, "Make five gold models of the growths on your skin and five gold models of rats. The number of models must match the number of Philistine kings, because the same sickness has come on you and your kings.

New English Translation
They inquired, "What is the guilt offering that we should send to him?" They replied, "The Philistine leaders number five. So send five gold sores and five gold mice, for it is the same plague that has afflicted both you and your leaders.

Amplified Bible
Then they said, "What shall the guilt offering be which we shall return to Him?" They answered, "Five golden tumors and five golden mice, according to the number of the lords (governors) of the Philistines, for one plague was on all of you and on your lords.

New American Standard Bible
Then they said, "What is to be the guilt offering that we shall return to Him?" And they said, "Five gold tumors and five gold mice corresponding to the number of the governors of the Philistines, since one plague was on all of you and on your governors.

Geneva Bible (1587)
Then sayd they, What shalbe the sinne offring, which we shall giue vnto it? And they answered, Fiue golden emerods and fiue golden mise, according to the number of the princes of the Philistims: for one plague was on you all, and on your princes.

Legacy Standard Bible
Then they said, "What shall be the guilt offering which we shall return to Him?" And they said, "Five golden tumors and five golden mice according to the number of the lords of the Philistines, for one plague was on all of you and on your lords.

Contemporary English Version
"What should we send?" the Philistines asked. The priests and fortunetellers answered: There are five Philistine rulers, and they all have the same disease that you have.

Complete Jewish Bible
They asked, "What kind of guilt offering should we send him?" and they replied, "Five gold models of tumors and five gold rats, because that's how many leaders the P'lishtim have, and you and your leaders all had the same illness.

Darby Translation
Then they said, What is the trespass-offering which we shall return to him? And they said, Five golden hemorrhoids, and five golden mice, the number of the lords of the Philistines; for one plague is upon them all, and upon your lords.

Easy-to-Read Version
The Philistines asked, "What kind of gifts should we send for Israel's God to forgive us?" The priests and magicians answered, "There are five Philistine leaders, one leader for each city. All of you and your leaders had the same problems. So you must make five gold models to look like five tumors. And you must make five gold models to look like five mice.

George Lamsa Translation
And they said, What sort of offerings shall we bring to it? They answered, Five golden boils and five golden mice, according to the number of the lords of the Philistines; for one plague was upon you all and upon your lords.

Good News Translation
"What gift shall we send him?" the people asked. They answered, "Five gold models of tumors and five gold mice, one of each for each Philistine king. The same plague was sent on all of you and on the five kings.

Literal Translation
And they said, What shall be the guilt offering which we shall send back to Him? And they said, The number of the rulers of the Philistines, five golden hemorrhoids, and five golden mice. For one plague has been on all of you, and on your rulers.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
They sayde: What is the trespace offeringe that we shall geue him? They answered: Fyue hynder partes of golde, and fyue golden myce, acordinge to the nombre of the fyue prynces of ye Philistynes. For there hath bene one maner of plage vpon you all, and vpon youre prynces.

American Standard Version
Then said they, What shall be the trespass-offering which we shall return to him? And they said, Five golden tumors, 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.

Bible in Basic English
Then they said, What sin-offering are we to send to him? And they said, Five gold images of the growths caused by your disease and five gold mice, one for every lord of the Philistines: for the same disease came on you and on your lords.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Then sayd they: And what shalbe the sinne offering, which we shall rewarde him with? They aunswered: Fiue golden emerodes, and fiue golden myce, accordyng to the number of the princes of ye Philistines: For one plague was on you all, and on your princes.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
Then 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.

King James Version (1611)
Then said they, What shall be the trespasse offering, which wee shall returne to him? They answered, Fiue golden Emerods, and fiue golden mice, according to the number of the lordes of the Philistines: for one plague was on you all, and on your lords.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And they say, What is the offering for the plague which we shall return to it? and they said,

English Revised Version
Then said they, What shall be the guilt offering which we shall return to him? And they said, Five golden tumours, 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.

Berean Standard Bible
"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.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And thei seiden, What is it, that we owen to yelde to hym for trespas?

Young's Literal Translation
And they say, `What [is] the guilt-offering which we send back to Him?' and they say, `The number of the princes of the Philistines -- five golden emerods, and five golden mice -- for one plague [is] to you all, and to your princes,

Update Bible Version
Then they said, What shall be the trespass-offering which we shall return to him? And they said, Five golden tumors, 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.

Webster's Bible Translation
Then said they, What [shall be] the trespass-offering which we shall return to him? They answered, 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.

World English Bible
Then they said, "What shall be the trespass-offering which we shall return to him?" They said, "Five golden tumors, 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.

New King James Version
Then they said, "What is the trespass offering which we shall return to Him?" They answered, "Five golden tumors and five golden rats, according to the number of the lords of the Philistines. For the same plague was on all of you and on your lords.

New Living Translation
"What sort of guilt offering should we send?" they asked. And they were told, "Since the plague has struck both you and your five rulers, make five gold tumors and five gold rats, just like those that have ravaged your land.

New Life Bible
Then they said, "What should we return to Him for a sin gift?" And they said, "Five sores made of gold and five gold mice, as many as there are Philistine leaders. For the same trouble was upon all of you and on your leaders.

New Revised Standard
And they said, "What is the guilt offering that we shall return to him?" They answered, "Five gold tumors and five gold mice, according to the number of the lords of the Philistines; for the same plague was upon all of you and upon your lords.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And they said - What shall be the guilt-offering, that we shall return to him? And they said - By the number of the lords of the Philistines, five tumours of gold, and five mice of gold, - for, one plague, was on you all, and on your lords.

Douay-Rheims Bible
They answered: What is it we ought to render unto him for sin? and they answered:

Revised Standard Version
And they said, "What is the guilt offering that we shall return to him?" They answered, "Five golden tumors and five golden mice, according to the number of the lords of the Philistines; for the same plague was upon all of you and upon your lords.

THE MESSAGE
"And what exactly would make for adequate compensation?" "Five gold tumors and five gold rats," they said, "to match the number of Philistine leaders. Since all of you—leaders and people—suffered the same plague, make replicas of the tumors and rats that are devastating the country and present them as an offering to the glory of the God of Israel. Then maybe he'll ease up and not be so hard on you and your gods, and on your country. Why be stubborn like the Egyptians and Pharaoh? God didn't quit pounding on them until they let the people go. Only then did he let up.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
Then they said, "What shall be the guilt offering which we shall return to Him?" And they said, "Five golden tumors and five golden mice according to the number of the lords of the Philistines, for one plague was on all of you and on your lords.

Contextual Overview

¹ 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 and said, "What shall we do with the ark of the Lord ? Tell us with what we shall send it to its place." ³ They said, "If you send away the ark of the God of Israel, do not send it empty, but by all means return him a guilt offering. Then you will be healed, and it will be known to you why his hand does not turn away from you." ⁴ And they said, "What is the guilt offering that we shall return to him?" They answered, "Five golden tumors and five golden mice, according to the number of the lords of the Philistines, for the same plague was on all of you and on your lords. ⁵ So you must make images of your tumors and images of your mice that ravage the land, and give glory to the God of Israel. Perhaps he will lighten his hand from off you and your gods and your land. ⁶ Why should you harden your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? After he had dealt severely with them, did they not send the people away, and they departed? ⁷ Now then, take and prepare a new cart and two milk cows on which there has never come a yoke, and yoke the cows to the cart, but take their calves home, away from them. ⁸ And take the ark of the Lord and place it on the cart and put in a box at its side the figures of gold, which you are returning to him as a guilt offering. Then send it off and let it go its way ⁹ and watch. If it goes up on the way to its own land, to Beth-shemesh, then it is he who has done us this great harm, but if not, then we shall know that it is not his hand that struck us; it happened to us by coincidence."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Five golden: 1 Samuel 6:5, 1 Samuel 6:17, 1 Samuel 6:18, 1 Samuel 5:6, 1 Samuel 5:9, Exodus 12:35, Joshua 13:3, Judges 3:3

you all: Heb. them

Reciprocal: Exodus 11:1 - Yet will 1 Samuel 6:8 - jewels 1 Samuel 6:16 - the five 1 Samuel 29:2 - the lords Psalms 78:66 - And he Psalms 107:40 - contempt Isaiah 44:11 - all his

Cross-References

Genesis 6:15
This is how you are to make it: the length of the ark 300 cubits, its breadth 50 cubits, and its height 30 cubits.

Genesis 6:20
Of the birds according to their kinds, and of the animals according to their kinds, of every creeping thing of the ground, according to its kind, two of every sort shall come in to you to keep them alive.

Genesis 6:21
Also take with you every sort of food that is eaten, and store it up. It shall serve as food for you and for them."

Genesis 6:22
Noah did this; he did all that God commanded him.

Genesis 11:4
Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth."

Numbers 13:33
And there we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak, who come from the Nephilim), and we seemed to ourselves like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them."

Numbers 16:2
And they rose up before Moses, with a number of the people of Israel, 250 chiefs of the congregation, chosen from the assembly, well-known men.

Deuteronomy 3:11
(For only Og the king of Bashan was left of the remnant of the Rephaim. Behold, his bed was a bed of iron. Is it not in Rabbah of the Ammonites? Nine cubits was its length, and four cubits its breadth, according to the common cubit.)

1 Samuel 17:4
And there came out from the camp of the Philistines a champion named Goliath of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Then said they, what shall be the trespass offering which we shall return to him?.... They paid a great deference to their priests and diviners, and were willing to be directed in all things by them; being ignorant of what was most proper in this case, and might be acceptable to the God of Israel:

they answered, five golden emerods, and five golden mice; images of these made of gold, as appears from the next verse; the reason of the former is easy, from the above account of the disease they were afflicted with; but of the latter no hint is given before: indeed in the Vulgate Latin and Septuagint versions of 1 Samuel 5:6 is inserted a clause, that

"mice sprung up in the midst of their country;''

which is not in the Hebrew text, nor in the Chaldee paraphrase; yet appears to be a fact from the following verse, that at the same time their bodies were smitten with emerods, their fields were overrun with mice, which destroyed the increase of them; wherefore five golden mice were also ordered as a part of the trespass offering, and five of each were pitched upon:

according to the number of the lords of the Philistines; who were five, and so the principalities under them; see Joshua 13:3

for one plague was on you all, and on your lords; the lords and common people were equally smitten with the emerods, and the several principalities were alike distressed and destroyed with the mice; and therefore the trespass offering, which was a vicarious one for them, was to be according to the number of their princes and their principalities; five emerods for the five princes and their people smitten with emerods, and five mice on account of the five cities and fields adjacent being marred by mice.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

It was a prevalent custom in pagan antiquity to make offerings to the gods expressive of the particular mercy received. Thus, those saved from shipwreck offered pictures of the shipwreck, etc., and the custom still exists among Christians in certain countries.

The plague of the mice is analogous to that of the frogs in Egypt. The destructive power of field-mice was very great.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 1 Samuel 6:4. Five golden emerods, and five golden mice — One for each satrapy. The emerods had afflicted their bodies; the mice had marred their land. Both, they considered, as sent by God; and, making an image of each, and sending them as a trespass-offering, they acknowledged this. See at the end.