Chapter
Verse
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1 Samuel 6:6

ESV 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?
NIV Why do you harden your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh did? When Israel’s god dealt harshly with them, did they not send the Israelites out so they could go on their way?
NASB Why then do you harden your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? When He had severely dealt with them, did they not let the people go, and they left?
CSB Why harden your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened theirs? When he afflicted them, didn’t they send Israel away, and Israel left?
NLT Don’t be stubborn and rebellious as Pharaoh and the Egyptians were. By the time God was finished with them, they were eager to let Israel go.
KJV Wherefore then do ye harden your hearts, as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? when he had wrought wonderfully among them, did they not let the people go, and they departed?
NKJV Why then do you harden your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? When He did mighty things among them, did they not let the people go, that they might depart?

What does 1 Samuel 6:6 mean?

The priests are advising the leaders of the Philistines about how best to send the ark of the Lord (Exodus 25:10–16) back to the Israelites. They hope that doing so will cause the Israelites' God to stop the plagues which have been afflicting them (1 Samuel 5:6–12; 6:2–3). The priests have said plainly the Philistines should send a guilt offering to the Lord and give Him glory (1 Samuel 6:3–5).

Now they tell the leaders not to make the same mistake that the Pharaoh and the Egyptians did when the Lord sent plagues on them. The Pharaoh resisted the Lord and kept hardening his heart, refusing to let the people go (Exodus 7:13, 22; 8:15, 19, 32; 9:7, 12, 34; 10:1–2, 20, 27; 11:10; 14:8). The point the priests of the Philistines are making is that, in the end, the result was the same: The Egyptians let the people go. Why suffer any more than they already have?

It's unclear if the Philistines ever read Moses' version of Exodus, but they clearly knew a version of the story (1 Samuel 4:5–9). More than that, the Philistines learned to fear the God of Israel from the story and intentionally applied what they learned to their own circumstances. The same could not be said of Israel in every season, or even of some modern believers in Jesus. It serves us well to remember that "the fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge" (Proverbs 1:7). When we rightly understand who God is—both in His saving grace and in His majestic holiness—we are poised to honor God with our lives (Hebrews 4:11–13; Romans 12:1–2) and to experience true life in Him more richly (John 15:1–11).
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