1 Samuel 6:20
in 1 Samuel 6The men of Beth-shemesh asked, “Who can stand in the presence of the LORD, this holy God? To whom should the ark go up from here?”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the men of Beth-shemesh said, Who is able to stand before Jehovah, this holy God? and to whom shall he go up from us?
KJV
And the men of Beth–shemesh said, Who is able to stand before this holy Lord God? and to whom shall he go up from us?
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This verse in 1 Samuel 6
Commentary
11 notes on this verseWho is able to stand - Why this exclamation? They knew that God had forbidden any to touch his ark but the priests and Levites; but they endeavored to throw that blame on God, as a Being hard to be pleased, which belonged solely to themselves.
This site's exposition
Who can stand in the presence of the LORD
on 1 Samuel 6:20-21
The men of Beth-shemesh ask “Who can stand in the presence of the LORD, this holy God”, and then send the ark away without examining their own trespass. They summon the people of Kiriath-jearim, where the ark rests for years on the road from Shiloh's fall to David. Clarke reads their question as blame laid on the ark's severity, the same instinct that first sent it away from Ashdod.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church4 voices
A commentator
Gregory the DialogistCommentary on 1 Kings, Book 3, Chapter 4 · Written before 604.
proposed
And because the true faithful were saddened by their striking down, there follows: "And the men of Beth-shemesh said: Who is able to stand in the sight of the Lord, this holy God?" For it is as though the true faithful, yet simple ones, were saying: If such wise men and philosophers are deceived in the knowledge of the highest truth, when can the unlearned and simple come to the knowledge of Him? But even if they lack confidence in their own measure, nevertheless they do not lack confidence that the gift of divine knowledge is present to the Church. Wherefore it is also added: "And to whom shall He go up from us?" 31. For the Lord ascends from us when that which is hidden from us concerning the knowledge of Him is preached through the voice of the chosen faithful. For His ascending from us is, as it were, to reveal to lofty hearts through humility what He has hidden from the simpler or weaker ones concerning eternal contemplation. What then does it mean to say, "To whom shall He ascend from us," except to seek a worthy teacher who so preaches divine things that he does not stray from the way of truth? In these words also, if we seek the historical sense, we clearly recognize that those who died because they looked upon the ark of the Lord were indeed not worthy of that vision. Rightly therefore, those who behold the stricken say: "Who shall be able to stand in the presence of this holy Lord God?" For if those who are unworthy die by seeing, how shall those who handle sacred things live? The Bethshemites in the holy Church are dead priests and reprobate ministers of the sacred altar, because they are of the house of the Sun of justice by the dignity of their ministry, not by the virtue and grace of holiness. […]
And the men of Beth-shemesh said: Who can stand, etc. The men of the house of the sun, that is, the citizens of the heavenly homeland, wandering on earth; and if they taste even a little, and that by snatching, of the eternal light which …
And to whom will it ascend from us? etc. Cariathiarim, indeed, which is called the city of forests, signifies the great perfection of life, but certainly less than Bethsames, that is, the house of the sun. For this, namely, signifies the sublimity of contemplation, because …
A commentator
Gregory the DialogistCommentary on 1 Kings, Book 3, Chapter 5 · Written before 604.
proposed
2. Because we said above that the cart is Sacred Scripture, the ark is its spiritual knowledge, and the chosen cows are elect souls, the fear of the Bethshemites, which we showed to be present in the elect at the offering of the sacrament, can also be referred to the burden of prelacy. For no lesser holiness is fit for instructing souls than for offering the sacred mysteries. And therefore the Bethshemites are said to have been struck down: because many who live well as subjects die as prelates.
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
This they infer from that tremendous judgment, "Who is able to stand before the God of the ark?" To stand before God to worship him (blessed be his name) is not impossible; we are through Christ invited, encouraged, and enabled to do it, but to stand before God to contend with him we are not able.
4 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
But thus, when the word of God works with terror on sinners' consciences, they, instead of taking the blame and shame to themselves, quarrel with the word, and put it from them, Jer. vi.
Who is able, &c. - That is, to minister before the ark where the Lord is present. Since God is so severe to mark what is amiss in his servants, who is sufficient to serve him?
And the men of Bethshemesh said, who is able to stand before this holy Lord God?....
In the field of the Philistines (so it is in the original), from which some gather that, having tried it in all their cities, and found it a plague to the inhabitants of each, at length they sent it into the open fields, upon which mice sprang up out of the ground in great multitudes, and destroyed the corn which was now nearly ripe and marred the land.
The words behind it
16 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּֽאמְרוּ֙ | vaiyomeru | and they said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אַנְשֵׁ֣י | ʾanshei | [the] people of | H582 → | 566 times |
| בֵֽית־ | veit- | Beth | H1053 → | 42 times |
| שֶׁ֔מֶשׁ | shemesh | Shemesh | H1053 → | 42 times |
| מִ֚י | mi | who? | H4310 → | 423 times |
| יוּכַ֣ל | yukhal | is he able | H3201 → | 194 times |
| לַעֲמֹ֔ד | laamod | to stand | H5975 → | 521 times |
| לִפְנֵ֨י | lifnei | <to> before | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| יְהוָ֧ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| הָאֱלֹהִ֛ים | haelohim | the God | H430 → | 2601 times |
| הַקָּד֖וֹשׁ | hakadoosh | <the> holy | H6918 → | |
| הַזֶּ֑ה | hazeh | <the> this | H2088 → | 1180 times |
| וְאֶל־ | veel- | and to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| מִ֖י | mi | whom? | H4310 → | 423 times |
| יַעֲלֶ֥ה | yaaleh | will it go up | H5927 → | 890 times |
| מֵעָלֵֽינוּ׃ ס | mealeinu | from with <the> us | H5921 → | 5755 times |
וַיֹּֽאמְרוּ֙and they said
vaiyomeruH559 →5305 times
אַנְשֵׁ֣י[the] people of
ʾansheiH582 →566 times
בֵֽית־Beth
veit-H1053 →42 times
שֶׁ֔מֶשׁShemesh
shemeshH1053 →42 times
מִ֚יwho?
miH4310 →423 times
יוּכַ֣לis he able
yukhalH3201 →194 times
לַעֲמֹ֔דto stand
laamodH5975 →521 times
לִפְנֵ֨י<to> before
lifneiH6440 →2123 times
יְהוָ֧הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
הָאֱלֹהִ֛יםthe God
haelohimH430 →2601 times
הַקָּד֖וֹשׁ<the> holy
hakadooshH6918 →
הַזֶּ֑ה<the> this
hazehH2088 →1180 times
וְאֶל־and to
veel-H413 →5510 times
מִ֖יwhom?
miH4310 →423 times
יַעֲלֶ֥הwill it go up
yaalehH5927 →890 times
מֵעָלֵֽינוּ׃ סfrom with <the> us
mealeinuH5921 →5755 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Malachi 3:2But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He will be like a refiner’s fire, like a launderer’s soap.
it leads to
- Zechariah 13:9
This third I will bring through the fire; I will refine them like silver and test them like gold. They will call on My name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘They…
- Isaiah 4:4
when the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion and cleansed the bloodstains from the heart of Jerusalem by a spirit of judgment and a spirit of fire.
- 1 Corinthians 3:13–15
his workmanship will be evident, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will prove the quality of each man’s work.
- Revelation 6:17
For the great day of Their wrath has come, and who is able to withstand it?”
- 1 Peter 2:7–8
To you who believe, then, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,”
- Zechariah 13:9
Through
Revelation 6:17For the great day of Their wrath has come, and who is able to withstand it?”
it leads to
- Psalms 76:7
You alone are to be feared. When You are angry, who can stand before You?
- Malachi 3:2
But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He will be like a refiner’s fire, like a launderer’s soap.
- Joel 2:11
The LORD raises His voice in the presence of His army. Indeed, His camp is very large, for mighty are those who obey His command. For the Day of the LORD is great and…
- Psalms 76:7
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About 1 Samuel
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Bede, Commentary on Samuel; Gregory the Dialogist, Commentary on 1 Kings, Book 3, Chapter 4; Gregory the Dialogist, Commentary on 1 Kings, Book 3, Chapter 5; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.