1SA 5:4 Parallel Verse View

Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed for doing comparisons of different translations. Click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible. Please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.

Text critical issues=small word differences Clarity of original=clear Importance=normal (All still tentative.)

OET (OET-RV) But then the next morning, more shock: Dagon had fallen to the ground on its face in front of Yahweh’s box but now its hands and head were cut off, and were lying on the threshhold. Only its body remained intact.

Key: khaki:verbs, green:YHWH.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the OET-RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).

BrLXX Καὶ ἐγένετο ὅτε ὤρθρισαν τοπρωῒ, καὶ ἰδοὺ Δαγὼν, πεπτωκὼς ἐπὶ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ ἐνώπιον κιβωτοῦ διαθήκης Κυρίου· καὶ κεφαλὴ Δαγὼν καὶ ἀμφότερα τὰ ἴχνη χειρῶν αὐτοῦ ἀφῃρημένα ἐπὶ τὰ ἐμπρόσθια ἁμαφὲθ ἕκαστοι, καὶ ἀμφότεροι οἱ καρποὶ τῶν χειρῶν αὐτοῦ πεπτωκότες ἐπὶ τὸ πρόθυρον, πλὴν ἡ ῥάχις Δαγὼν ὑπελείφθη.
(Kai egeneto hote ōrthrisan toprōi, kai idou Dagōn, peptōkōs epi prosōpon autou enōpion kibōtou diathaʸkaʸs Kuriou; kai kefalaʸ Dagōn kai amfotera ta iⱪnaʸ ⱪeirōn autou afaʸraʸmena epi ta emprosthia hamafeth hekastoi, kai amfoteroi hoi karpoi tōn ⱪeirōn autou peptōkotes epi to prothuron, plaʸn haʸ ɽaⱪis Dagōn hupeleifthaʸ. )

BrTr And it came to pass when they rose early in the morning, behold, Dagon had fallen on his face before the ark of the covenant of the Lord; and the head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands were cut off each before the threshold, and both the wrists of his hands had fallen on the floor of the porch; only the stump of Dagon was left.

ULT And they rose early in the morning on the next day, and behold, Dagon had fallen to his face to the ground before the face of the Box of Yahweh! And the head of Dagon and the two of the palms of his hands were cut off, on the threshhold. Only Dagon was left on him.

UST But the following morning, they saw that it had fallen down in front of the sacred chest again. But this time, it was as if someone had cut the statue’s head and hands off; they were lying in the doorway. Only its body remained in one piece.

BSB § But when they got up early the next morning, there was Dagon, fallen on his face before the ark of the LORD, with his head and his hands broken off and lying on the threshold. Only the torso remained.

OEB But when they arose early on the following morning, behold there was Dagon fallen upon his face to the ground before the ark of the Lord. The head of Dagon and both his hands were cut off upon the threshold, and only the body of Dagon was left.

WEBBE When they arose early on the following morning, behold, Dagon had fallen on his face to the ground before the LORD’s ark; and the head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands were cut off on the threshold. Only Dagon’s torso was intact.

WMBB (Same as above)

NET But when they got up early the following day, Dagon was again lying on the ground before the ark of the Lord. The head of Dagon and his two hands were sheared off and were lying at the threshold. Only Dagon’s body was left intact.

LSV And they rise early in the morning on the next day, and behold, Dagon is fallen on its face to the earth, before the Ark of YHWH, and the head of Dagon, and the two palms of its hands are cut off at the threshold, only Dagon’s [body] has been left of him;

FBV When they got up early the next morning, they saw Dagon had fallen on his face in front of the Ark of the Lord, with his head and hands broken off lying on the doorstep. Only his body remained intact.

T4T But the following morning, they saw that it had fallen down in front of the sacred chest again. But this time, the statue’s head and hands had broken off, and were lying in the doorway. Only its body remained intact/unbroken.

LEB When they got up early in the morning the next day, there was[fn] Dagon fallen again with his face to the ground before the ark of Yahweh! The head of Dagon and the palms of his two hands were cut off, lying at[fn] the threshold; only the body[fn] of Dagon was left.

5:4 Literally “look”

5:4 Hebrew “to”

5:4 The phrase may suggest that only the “fish” part of Dagon was left

BBE And when they got up early on the morning after, Dagon had come down to the earth on his face before the ark of the Lord; and his head and his hands were broken off on the doorstep; only the base was in its place.

Moff No Moff 1SA book available

JPS And when they arose early on the morrow morning, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the ground before the ark of the LORD; and the head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands lay cut off upon the threshold; only the trunk of Dagon was left to him.

ASV And when they arose early on the morrow morning, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the ground before the ark of Jehovah; and the head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands lay cut off upon the threshold; only the stump of Dagon was left to him.

DRA And the next day again, when they rose in the morning, they found Dagon lying upon his face on the earth before the ark of the Lord: and the head of Dagon, and both the palms of his hands were cut off upon the threshold:

YLT And they rise early in the morning on the morrow, and lo, Dagon is fallen on its face to the earth, before the ark of Jehovah, and the head of Dagon, and the two palms of its hands are cut off at the threshold, only the fishy part hath been left to him;

Drby And when they arose early the next morning, behold, Dagon had fallen on his face to the ground before the ark of Jehovah; and the head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands were cut off upon the threshold; only the fish-stump was left to him.

RV And when they arose early on the morrow morning, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the ground before the ark of the LORD; and the head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands lay cut off upon the threshold; only the stump of Dagon was left to him.

Wbstr And when they arose early on the morrow morning, behold, Dagon had fallen upon his face to the ground before the ark of the LORD: and the head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands were cut off upon the threshhold; only the stump of Dagon was left to him.

KJB-1769 And when they arose early on the morrow morning, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the ground before the ark of the LORD; and the head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands were cut off upon the threshold; only the stump of Dagon was left to him.[fn]

5.4 the stump…: or, the fishy part

KJB-1611 [fn]And when they arose earely on the morrow morning, behold, Dagon was fallen vpon his face to the ground, before the Arke of the LORD: and the head of Dagon, and both the palmes of his hands were cut off vpon the threshold, only the stumpe of Dagon was left to him.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from marking of added words (and possibly capitalisation and punctuation and footnotes))

5:4 Or, the filthy part.

Bshps And when they were come earlie in the next morning, beholde, Dagon was fallen vpon his face on the grounde before the arke of the Lorde, and his head and his two handes cut of vpon the thresholde, that onely the stumpe of Dagon was left to him.
(And when they were come early in the next morning, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face on the ground before the ark of the Lord, and his head and his two hands cut of upon the threshold, that only the stump of Dagon was left to him.)

Gnva Also they rose vp earely in the morning the next day, and beholde, Dagon was fallen vpon his face on the ground before the Arke of the Lord, and the head of Dagon and the two palmes of his hands were cut off vpon the thresholde: onely the stumpe of Dagon was left to him.
(Also they rose up early in the morning the next day, and behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face on the ground before the Ark of the Lord, and the head of Dagon and the two palms of his hands were cut off upon the threshold: only the stump of Dagon was left to him. )

Cvdl Neuertheles whan they rose vp early on the nexte morowe, they founde Dagon lyenge on his face agayne vpon the earth before the Arke of the LORDE: but his heade and both his hades hewen of vpon the thresholde, so that the block laie there onely.
(Nevertheless when they rose up early on the next morrow, they found Dagon lyenge on his face again upon the earth before the Ark of the LORD: but his head and both his hades hewen of upon the threshold, so that the block laie there only.)

Wycl And eft thei risiden eerli in the tothir day, and founden Dagon liggynge on his face on the erthe bifor the arke of the Lord. Forsothe the heed of Dagon, and twei pawmes of his hondis weren kit of on the threisfold;
(And after they risiden early in the other day, and found Dagon situated on his face on the earth before the ark of the Lord. Forsothe the head of Dagon, and two palms of his hands were kit of on the threshold;)

Luth Da sie aber des andern Morgens frühe aufstunden, fanden sie Dagon abermal auf seinem Antlitz liegen auf der Erde vor der Lade des HErr’s, aber sein Haupt und seine beiden Hände abgehauen auf der Schwelle, daß der Rumpf allein drauf lag.
(So they/she/them but the change morning early aufstunden, found they/she/them Dagon abermal on his Antlitz lie/lay on the/of_the earth before/in_front_of the/of_the box/chest the LORD’s, but his head and his both hands abgehauen on the/of_the Schwelle, that the/of_the Rumpf alone on_it lay.)

ClVg Rursumque mane die altera consurgentes, invenerunt Dagon jacentem super faciem suam in terra coram arca Domini: caput autem Dagon, et duæ palmæ manuum ejus abscissæ erant super limen:[fn]
(Rursumque mane day altera consurgentes, invenerunt Dagon yacentem over face his_own in earth/land before box Domini: caput however Dagon, and duæ palmæ manuum his abscissæ they_were over limen: )

5.4 Caput. Superbia diaboli, qui est initium omnis peccati Eccle. 10.. Super. RAB. Finem præfinitum significat, in quo cessaret idololatria. Limen enim finis est itineris.

5.4 Caput. Superbia diaboli, who it_is the_beginning everyone peccati Eccle. 10.. Super. RAB. Finem præfinitum significat, in quo cessaret idololatria. Limen because finis it_is itineris.

TTN Tyndale Theme Notes:

Canaanite Religion

The Canaanites explained nature by reference to their gods. Each god represented some force of nature. The moon, sun, important stars, and visible planets each were considered a god or goddess. Canaanite deities had two striking features: an extraordinary fluidity of personality, and names whose meanings were related to their function. A few of these gods were particularly influential in the interaction of the Israelites with the Canaanite peoples:

El: “the powerful one,” the head of the Canaanite pantheon. El was distant, living far away from Canaan “at the source of the two rivers” (a lingering memory of Eden, perhaps). He presided over a divine council of gods who were his children. In the Old Testament, El (pl. Elohim) is used to speak of God, though the Lord is not identical with the Canaanite deity.
Baal: “lord,” the great storm god and king of the gods. Baal acted as El’s prime minister and was functionally far more important than El. He was the giver of all fertility. When he died, all vegetation and procreation temporarily ceased. He was the god of justice, the terror of evildoers.
Dagon: “fish” or “grain,” sometimes referred to as the father of Baal. Dagon was the chief god of the Philistine city of Ashdod (1 Sam 5:1-7).
Ashtoreth, Anath, Asherah: the three main goddesses of the Canaanite pantheon, concerned mainly with sex and war. Their primary function was to have sexual relations with Baal on a continual yearly cycle, maintaining Baal’s virility and thus the fertility of the earth.

The Canaanites’ personification of the forces of nature accounted for the succession of the seasons. The dry period from April to the end of October represented the duration of Baal’s death after an unsuccessful battle each spring. Commencement of the autumn rains signaled Baal’s revival as the rain and vegetation god, continuing until the following April. The Canaanites believed that the land regained its fertility because of the annual mating of Baal and his female consort, and their own religious activities included imitation of their gods’ behavior.

The Canaanites thus worshiped things they felt would benefit them materially. If the gods and goddesses were pleased by the worship, the result would be a plentiful harvest. If a god became angry, animal or human sacrifice might appease the god (see 2 Kgs 3:26-27). Canaanite worship was therefore fundamentally based on fear and manipulation.

Contact among the many religions of the ancient Near East produced not only social tension but also religious borrowing. The Arameans and Philistines who settled in Canaan adopted the practices of the Canaanites; the Amorites similarly incorporated Sumerian religion when they moved into Mesopotamia.

Israel’s God, Yahweh, by contrast, demanded exclusive allegiance, and he insisted on worship based on faith rather than manipulative fear. Unfortunately, the Israelites failed to maintain their exclusive monotheism. They adopted pagan thinking and practices, worshiping the Canaanite gods in the Canaanite way, leading to the corruption of their culture and rousing God’s anger. As a result, God brought judgment upon his people, sending them into exile (see 2 Kgs 17:5-23; 24:18–25:21).

Passages for Further Study

1 Sam 5:1-12

Parallel 1SA 5:4