Woe to us! Who shall deliver us out of the hand of these mighty gods? These are the gods that struck the Egyptians with all kinds of plagues in the wilderness.
Parallel Translations
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Woe to us! Who shall deliver us out of the hand of these mighty gods? These are the gods that struck the Egyptians with all kinds of plagues in the wilderness.
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Woe unto us! who shall deliver us out of the hand of these mighty Gods? these are the Gods that smote the Egyptians with all the plagues in the wilderness.
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Woe unto us! who shall deliver us out of the hand of these mighty gods? these are the gods that smote the Egyptians with all manner of plagues and in the wilderness.
Cross-references (3)
Passages linked to 1 Samuel 4:8 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Exodus 7:5 The Egyptians shall know that I am Yahweh when I stretch out my hand on Egypt, and bring the children of Israel out from among them.”
- Exodus 9:14 For this time I will send all my plagues against your heart, against your officials, and against your people; that you may know that there is no one like me in all the earth.
- Psalms 78:43-51 how he set his signs in Egypt, his wonders in the field of Zoan, he turned their rivers into blood, and their streams, so that they could not drink. He sent among them swarms of flies, which devoured them; and frogs, which destroyed them. He gave also their increase to the caterpillar, and their labor to the locust. He destroyed their vines with hail, their sycamore fig trees with frost. He gave over their livestock also to the hail, and their flocks to hot thunderbolts. He threw on them the fierceness of his anger, wrath, indignation, and trouble, and a band of angels of evil. He made a path for his anger. He didn’t spare their soul from death, but gave their life over to the pestilence, and struck all the firstborn in Egypt, the chief of their strength in the tents of Ham.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (14 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain For in the red sea in the wilderness the…
For in the red sea in the wilderness the Egyptians were destroyed, which was the last of all his plagues.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 1Sa 4:8 Woe unto us! who shall deliver us…
1Sa 4:8 Woe unto us! who shall deliver us out of the hand of these mighty Gods? these [are] the Gods that smote the Egyptians with all the plagues in the wilderness.
Ver. 8. Woe unto us!] So at the siege of Mountabon, in France, when the Popish soldiers heard the people of God within the town singing a psalm, after which they ever expected a sally, they would so quake and tremble, crying, They come, they come! as if the wrath of God had been breaking out upon them. These faithless Philistines, followed by the furies of their own consciences, were woe begone, as we say, at the sight of God’s ark, as being the people of God’s wrath and of his curse.
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With all the plagues in the wilderness.] Or, Near the wilderness. That last sweeping plague - the drowning of them in the Red Sea - was near the wilderness of Etham, on the shore whereof their dead carcasses were cast up. {Exo 14:30} Or it may be these frightened Philistines spoke at random, and according to their skill, as Bishop Bonner did when he said the martyrs were like to certain arrant heretics of whom Pliny maketh mention, that they daily sing antelucanos hymnos - psalms before daybreak.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain These mighty Gods; they secretly confess the Lord to…
These mighty Gods; they secretly confess the Lord to be higher and greater than their gods, and yet against their knowledge presume to oppose him. They mention the wilderness, not as if all the plagues of the Egyptians came upon them in the wilderness, but because the last and sorest of all, which is therefore put for all, to wit, the destruction of Pharaoh and all his host, happened in the wilderness, namely, in the Red Sea, which having the wilderness on both sides of it, Exo 13:18,20; 15:3,11; 15:22, &c., may well be said to be in the wilderness. Although it is not strange if these heathens did mistake and misreport some circumstance in a relation of the Israelitish affairs, especially some hundreds of years after they were done, such mistakes being frequent in divers heathen authors treating of those matters, as Justin, and Tacitus, and others.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Woe unto us, who shall deliver us out of…
Woe unto us, who shall deliver us out of the hand of these mighty gods?.... Of whom they spoke in an ironical and sneering manner; or if seriously and through fear, they use their own Heathenish language, as if the Israelites had many gods, as they had, though mightier than theirs; though the Syriac and Arabic versions read in the singular, out of the hand of God, or the most strong God; and so the Targum, out of the hand of the Word of the Lord:
these are the gods that smote the Egyptians with all the plagues in the wilderness: the ten plagues were inflicted on the Egyptians in the land of Egypt, and not in the wilderness; wherefore the Philistines may be supposed to be mistaken in this circumstance; which is not to be wondered at, since many historians who have written of the affairs of the Jews have been mistaken in them, as Justin, Tacitus, and others; nay, even Josephus himself in some things: but perhaps respect is had to the drowning of Pharaoh and his host in the Red sea, which had the wilderness of Etham on both sides of it; and this stroke was the finishing one of the plagues on the Egyptians. R. Joseph Kimchi supposes the word for wilderness has the signification of speech, as in Sol 4:3 and that the sense of the Philistines is, that God smote the Egyptians with all the plagues he did by his word, his orders, and commands; but now he was come in person, and would smite them by himself; this sense Abarbinel calls a beautiful one.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Wo, &c. - They secretly confess the Lord to…
Wo, &c. - They secretly confess the Lord to be greater than their gods, and yet presume to oppose him. Wilderness - They mention the wilderness, not as if all the plagues of the Egyptians came upon them in the wilderness, but because the last and sorest of all, which is therefore put for all, the destruction of Pharaoh and all his host, happened in the wilderness, namely, in the Red- sea, which having the wilderness on both sides of it, may well be said to be in the wilderness. Altho' it is not strange if these Heathens did mistake some circumstance in relation of the Israelitish affairs, especially some hundreds of years after they were done.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 8. These mighty Gods] מיד האלהים האדרים miyad…
Verse 8. These mighty Gods] מיד האלהים האדרים miyad haelohim haaddirim, from the hand of these illustrious Gods. Probably this should be translated in the singular, and not in the plural: Who shall deliver us from the hand of this illustrious God?
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain 1Sa 4:8. Who shall deliver us, &c. — They…
1Sa 4:8. Who shall deliver us, &c. — They had fought with men before; but now they thought they should have to fight with God, before whom none could stand. Here we see their unreasonableness and folly. They secretly confess the Lord to be greater than their gods, and yet presume to oppose him! That smote the Egyptians in the wilderness — They seem to have had but a very imperfect and incorrect knowledge of the Israelitish affairs, and to have supposed that all those plagues which are recorded in their history had fallen on the Egyptians while the Israelites were in the wilderness, where they were when the last of these plagues befell them, and they were drowned in the Red sea. But it is not strange that these heathen should mistake some circumstances relating to the affairs of another people, with whom they had no friendly intercourse, but were in a state of almost continual hostility, especially as some hundreds of years had now elapsed since these events had taken place.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain This is a remarkable testimony on the part of…
This is a remarkable testimony on the part of the Philistines to the truth of the events which are recorded in the Pentateuch. The Philistines would of course hear of them, just as Balak and the people of Jericho did Num 22:5; Jos 2:10.
With all the plagues ... - Rather, “with every kind of plague” equivalent to “with utter destruction.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Joy. A few days ago the Hebrews were dismayed,…
Joy. A few days ago the Hebrews were dismayed, now they shout for joy, as they did at the taking of Jericho. Hebrew and Septuagint, "it was not so heretofore." (Haydock) --- Gods. Hebrew may be rendered in the singular, with the Chaldean and Arabic. But the Septuagint and most commentators, explain it in the sense of the Vulgate. The title of high, (adirim) or magnificent, was given by the Philistines to Dagon, whom they styled Atergatis. (Calmet) --- Septuagint Greek: stereon, means, "stable, perfect," &c. (Haydock) --- Plagues, till they were overwhelmed in the Red Sea, which is surrounded with deserts. Some supply, "and (his people) in the desert." (Septuagint, Syriac, &c.) (Calmet)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 8. These mighty Gods — These Philistines speak the…
8. These mighty Gods — These Philistines speak the language of polytheists, not knowing that the God of Israel is ONE LORD.
Smote the Egyptians with all the plagues — The word rendered plagues means literally smiting, slaughter, and special reference is made to the destruction of Pharaoh and his army in the Red Sea, which was on the border of the desert. In Exo_13:20; Exo_14:3; Exo_14:11-12, the Egyptian shore of the Red Sea is called the wilderness. The other plagues of Egypt may also be included, and the phrase the wilderness need not be pressed, as though these Philistines in such an allusion must needs make precise statements.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 8. these mighty Gods] The heathen polytheists naturally suppose…
8. these mighty Gods] The heathen polytheists naturally suppose that Israel like themselves had ‘gods many.’
with all the plagues] Better, with an utter overthrow, lit. ‘with every kind of smiting.’ The word used is the same as that rendered slaughter in 1Sa_4:10, and the allusion is to the overthrow of Pharaoh in the Red Sea, the shores of which are called wilderness in Exo_13:20, not to the ten plagues, for which a different word is used in Exodus. The effect of the news of the destruction of Pharaoh upon the Philistines is alluded to in the Song of Moses, “Sorrow shall take hold upon the inhabitants of Palestina” (Exo_15:14): and Rahab speaks of it as inspiring the Canaanites with terror (Jos_2:9-11).
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (8) These are the Gods that smote the Egyptians.—No…
(8) These are the Gods that smote the Egyptians.—No doubt the compiler of these “Memoirs of Samuel” has given us the very words of the Philistines, preserved in their national traditions of this sad time. They are the expression of idolaters who knew of “Gods” and dreaded their malevolent influence, but who had no conception of the One Most High God. The plural form Elohim, so often found in the sacred record for God, is used here; but whereas the inspired compilers would have written their qualifying adjective in the singular, the Philistine idolaters write theirs in the plural—Elohim addirim: Mighty Gods.
It is noticeable that the Philistine exclamation of awe and terror is based outwardly upon the Egyptian traditions of the acts of the Lord. They studiedly ignore what they were all in that camp painfully conscious of—His acts in their own land of Canaan. The Septuagint and Syriac Versions, and some commentators, add “and” before the words “in the wilderness,” to make the Philistine exclamation more in harmony with history, seeing that the plagues were inflicted before the Israelites entered the wilderness; but the very vagueness of the exclamation of fear speaks for its truth. They were little concerned with exact historical accuracy, and were simply conscious of some terrible judgment having fallen on the foes of this Israel, a judgment they not unnaturally connected with the Ark of the Covenant just arrived in the enemy’s camp: that Ark their ancestors remembered so often at the head of the armies of this Israel in their days of triumph.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain These mighty Gods. In Hebrew "Elohim, though plural, is…
These mighty Gods. In Hebrew "Elohim, though plural, is used of the one true God, but in this sense has always the verb or adjective belonging to it in the singular. In ver. 7 the Philistines conform to this rule, and say, Elohim is come; but here the verb, pronoun, and adjective are all plural, i.e. they speak as heathen, to whom polytheism was natural (comp. 1Ki_12:28) With all the plagues. Rather, "with every plague," i.e. with every kind of plague. In the wilderness. God did not really smite the Egyptians in the wilderness. The plagues, including the destruction of Pharaoh and his host in the Red Sea, had all happened before the Israelites had entered it. But probably the Philistines confused together the plagues of Egypt and the miracles in the wilderness, and even the conquest of Canaan, in one grand but vague whole, and so were ready to give way to despair, as they called to mind the traditions they had heard of these mighty interpositions of God for his people.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 4:8 the same gods who destroyed the Egyptians: The…
4:8 the same gods who destroyed the Egyptians: The Philistines, who worshiped many gods, knew of the Lord’s power. Yet they knew nothing of his nature as the one true God. • destroyed . . . with plagues: The Lord later showed his power against the Philistines similarly (see 5:6–6:6).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.