Chapter
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Verse
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1 Samuel 5:11
ESV They sent therefore and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines and said, “Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it return to its own place, that it may not kill us and our people.” For there was a deathly panic throughout the whole city. The hand of God was very heavy there.
NIV So they called together all the rulers of the Philistines and said, 'Send the ark of the god of Israel away; let it go back to its own place, or it will kill us and our people.' For death had filled the city with panic; God's hand was very heavy on it.
NASB Therefore they sent word and gathered all the governors of the Philistines, and said, 'Send away the ark of the God of Israel and let it return to its own place, so that it will not kill us and our people!' For there was a deadly panic throughout the city; the hand of God was very heavy there.
CSB The Ekronites called all the Philistine rulers together. They said, "Send the ark of Israel's God away. Let it return to its place so it won't kill us and our people! " For the fear of death pervaded the city; God's hand was oppressing them.
NLT The people summoned the Philistine rulers again and begged them, 'Please send the Ark of the God of Israel back to its own country, or it will kill us all.' For the deadly plague from God had already begun, and great fear was sweeping across the town.
KJV So they sent and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines, and said, Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it go again to his own place, that it slay us not, and our people: for there was a deadly destruction throughout all the city; the hand of God was very heavy there.

What does 1 Samuel 5:11 mean?

For the second time in this chapter, a meeting is called of the five rulers of the five major cities of the nation of the Philistines. At the first meeting, they decided to move the ark of the Lord from Dagon's temple in Ashdod to the city of Gath, hoping that would put a stop to the plague of tumors that had erupted (1 Samuel 5:6–8). Instead, the tumors and the panic started up all over again in Gath (1 Samuel 5:9).

The leader of Gath sent the ark to Ekron, and the people there seem to have panicked before the outbreak of tumors even began. Now the leaders of the five cities assemble once more, and the people of Ekron plead with them to send the ark of the Lord back to the Israelites before it kills everyone.

Apparently, some people had already been killed by the deathly panic itself (1 Samuel 5:12). It's unclear what this entailed. However, history has shown numerous examples of populations reacting in fear over disease, often in self-destructive ways. The deaths caused in this case might have been accidents as people scrambled to get away from the ark. It might have included violence as people tried to avoid those they thought were infected. It's even possible the arrival of the ark led to heart attacks or strokes as men died of pure fear.

Few details are given. What's crucial to understand is that the Philistines recognized the important lesson: the Lord's judgment was against them because they were disrespecting His ark.
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