1-Samuel - 3:17



17 He said, "What is the thing that (Yahweh) has spoken to you? Please don't hide it from me. God do so to you, and more also, if you hide anything from me of all the things that he spoke to you."

Verse In-Depth

Explanation and meaning of 1-Samuel 3:17.

Differing Translations

Compare verses for better understanding.
And he said, What is the thing that the LORD hath said unto thee? I pray thee hide it not from me: God do so to thee, and more also, if thou hide any thing from me of all the things that he said unto thee.
And he asked him: What is the word that the Lord hath spoken to thee? I beseech thee hide it not from me. May God do so and so to thee, and add so and so, if thou hide from me one word of all that were said to thee.
And he said, What is the word that he has spoken to thee? I pray thee, keep it not back from me: God do so to thee, and more also, if thou keep back anything from me of all the word that he spoke to thee.
And he saith, 'What is the word which He hath spoken unto thee? I pray thee, hide it not from me; so doth God do to thee, and so doth He add, if thou hidest from me a word of all the words that He hath spoken unto thee.'
And he said, What did the Lord say to you? Do not keep it from me: may God's punishment be on you if you keep from me anything he said to you.
He said, 'What is the thing that he has spoken to you? Please do not hide it from me. God do so to you, and more also, if you hide anything from me of all the things that he spoke to you in your ears.'
And he questioned him: "What is the word that the Lord has spoken to you? I beg you that you may not conceal it from me. May God do these things to you, and may he add these other things, if you hide from me one word out of all the things that were told to you."

*Minor differences ignored. Grouped by changes, with first version listed as example.


Historical Commentaries

Scholarly Analysis and Interpretation.

God do so to thee, and more also - This was a very solemn adjuration: he suspected that God had threatened severe judgments, for he knew that his house was very criminal; and he wished to know what God had spoken. The words imply thus much: If thou do not tell me fully what God has threatened, may the same and greater curses fall on thyself.

And he said, What [is] the thing that [the LORD] hath said unto thee? I pray thee hide [it] not from me: God (k) do so to thee, and more also, if thou hide [any] thing from me of all the things that he said unto thee.
(k) God punish you after this and that sort, unless you tell me the truth, (Ruth 1:17).

And he said, what is the thing that the Lord hath said unto thee?.... The word "Lord" is not in the text, but it is "that it hath said"; the voice that had so often called him in the night, and which yet Eli knew was the voice of the Lord; and as it was, he was sensible there was something of importance said, and he had great reason to believe it respected him and his family; and the rather he might conclude this, by what the man of God had lately said to him, whose words perhaps he had too much slighted, questioning his authority; and therefore the Lord took this way and method to assure him that what was said came from him; for hereby Eli was fully convinced that this voice Samuel heard was of the Lord, and so what was said must be from him, and this he was impatient to know:
I pray thee, hide it not from me; and he not only beseeched and entreated him, but adjured him, as in the next clause:
God do so to thee, and more also, if thou hide anything from me of all the things that said unto thee; it is the form of an oath or curse, wishing that God would do some great evil to him, and more than he chose to express, if he concealed anything from him that had been told him. So Kimchi and Abarbinel take it to be an oath; and Josephus, (u) and Procopius Gazaeus on the place say, that Eli obliged Samuel by oaths and curses to declare what had been said to him.
(u) Antiqu. l. 5. c. 10. sect. 4.

God do so, &c. - God inflict the same evils upon thee, which I suspect he hath pronounced against me, and greater evils too.

*More commentary available at chapter level.


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