1 Samuel 7 · Verse 6

1 Samuel 7:6

And they gathered together to Mizpeh, and drew water, and poured it out before the Lord, and fasted on that day, and said there, We have sinned against the Lord. And Samuel judged the children of Israel in Mizpeh.

1 Samuel 7:6, King James Version

1 Samuel 7:6 in other translations

BSB	When they had gathered at Mizpah, they drew water and poured it out before the LORD. On that day they fasted, and there they confessed, “We have sinned against the LORD.” And Samuel judged the Israelites at Mizpah.
WEB	They gathered together to Mizpah, and drew water, and poured it out before the LORD, and fasted on that day, and said there, “We have sinned against the LORD.” Samuel judged the children of Israel in Mizpah.
ASV	And they gathered together to Mizpah, and drew water, and poured it out before Jehovah, and fasted on that day, and said there, We have sinned against Jehovah. And Samuel judged the children of Israel in Mizpah.
YLT	And they are gathered to Mizpeh, and draw water, and pour out before Jehovah, and fast on that day, and say there, ‘We have sinned against Jehovah;' and Samuel judgeth the sons of Israel in Mizpeh.
DARBY	And they gathered together to Mizpah, and drew water, and poured it out before Jehovah, and fasted on that day, and said there, We have sinned against Jehovah. And Samuel judged the children of Israel in Mizpah.
BBE	So they came together to Mizpah, and got water, draining it out before the Lord, and they took no food that day, and they said, We have done evil against the Lord. And Samuel was judge of the children of Israel in Mizpah.
Webster	And they assembled at Mizpeh, and drew water, and poured it out before the LORD, and fasted on that day, and there said, We have sinned against the LORD. And Samuel judged the children of Israel in Mizpeh.

What does 1 Samuel 7:6 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Samuel 7:3-6

3-6. Samuel spake unto all the house of Israel--A great national reformation was effected through the influence of Samuel. Disgusted with their foreign servitude, and panting for the restoration of liberty and independence, they were open to salutary impressions; and convinced of their errors, they renounced idolatry. The re-establishment of the faith of their fathers was inaugurated at a great public meeting, held…

Read the full comment on 1 Samuel 7:3-6 →

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Verse 6 Drew water, and poured it out - It is not easy to know what is meant by this; it is true that pouring out water, in the way of libation, was a religious ordinance among the Hebrews, (Isa 12:3), and among most other nations, particularly the Greeks and Romans, who used, not only water, but wine, milk, honey, and blood, as we find by Homer, Virgil, Euripides, Sophocles, Porphyry, and Lucian. Our Lord seems to allude to this ceremony, Joh 7:37-38 (note), where see the note. The Chaldee Paraphrast understands the place differently, for he translates: "And they poured out their hearts in penitence, as Waters, before the Lord." That deep penitential sorrow was represented under the notion of pouring out water, we have a direct proof in the case of David, who says, Psa 22:14, I am Poured Out like Water, my heart is like wax; it is Melted in the midst of my bowels. And to repentance, under this very similitude, the prophet exhorts fallen Jerusalem: Arise, cry out in the night; in the beginning of the watches Pour Out thine Heart Like Water before the face of the Lord; Lam 2:19. David uses the same image, Psa 62:8 : Trust in him at all times, ye people; Pour Out your hearts before him. The same figure is used by Hannah in 1Sam 1:15 of this book; I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit; I have Poured Out my soul before the Lord. Perhaps the drawing and pouring out of water mentioned in the text was done emblematically, to represent the contrition of their hearts. And Samuel judged - He gave them ordinances, heard and redressed grievances, and taught them how to get reconciled to God. The assembly, therefore, was held for religio-politico-military purposes.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on 1 Samuel 7:5-6

Israel drew water and poured it out before the Lord; signifying their humiliation and sorrow for sin. They pour out their hearts in repentance before the Lord. They were free and full in their confession, and fixed in their resolution to cast away from them all their wrong doings. They made a public confession, We have sinned against the Lord; thus giving glory to God, and taking shame to themselves. And if we thus…

Read the full comment on 1 Samuel 7:5-6 →

1 Samuel 7:6 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וַיִּקָּבְצ֣וּvai.yi.ka.ve.Tzuand they gathered togetherH6908

הַ֠מִּצְפָּתָהHa.mitz.pa.tah<the> Mizpah towardsH4709

וַיִּֽשְׁאֲבוּ\־vai.yish.'a.vu-and they drewH7579

מַ֜יִםMa.yimwaterH4325

וַֽיִּשְׁפְּכ֣וּ\׀vai.yish.pe.Khuand they poured [it] outH8210

לִפְנֵ֣יlif.Nei<to> beforeH6440

יְהוָ֗הYah.wehYahwehH3068

וַיָּצ֙וּמוּ֙vai.ya.Tzu.muand they fastedH6684

בַּיּ֣וֹםbai.Yomon the dayH3117

הַה֔וּאha.Hu'<the> thatH1931

וַיֹּ֣אמְרוּvai.Yo.me.ruand they saidH559

שָׁ֔םShamthereH8033

חָטָ֖אנוּcha.Ta.nuwe have sinnedH2398

לַיהוָ֑הla.Yah.wehto YahwehH3068

וַיִּשְׁפֹּ֧טvai.yish.Potand he judgedH8199

שְׁמוּאֵ֛לshe.mu.'ElSamuelH8050

אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853

בְּנֵ֥יbe.Nei[the] people ofH1121

יִשְׂרָאֵ֖לYis.ra.'ElIsraelH3478

בַּמִּצְפָּֽה\׃ba.mitz.Pahat <the> MizpahH4709

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for 1 Samuel 7:6

2 Samuel 14:14
For we must needs die, and are as water spilt on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again; neither doth God respect any person: yet doth he devise means, that his banished be not expelled from him.
1 Samuel 1:15
And Hannah answered and said, No, my lord, I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit: I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but have poured out my soul before the Lord.
Judges 10:10
And the children of Israel cried unto the Lord, saying, We have sinned against thee, both because we have forsaken our God, and also served Baalim.
Psalms 106:6
We have sinned with our fathers, we have committed iniquity, we have done wickedly.
Psalms 62:8
Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us. Selah.
Jeremiah 9:1
Oh that my head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!
Joel 2:12
Therefore also now, saith the Lord, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning:
Lamentations 2:18-19
Their heart cried unto the Lord, O wall of the daughter of Zion, let tears run down like a river day and night: give thyself no rest; let not the apple of thine eye cease. Arise, cry out in the night: in the beginning of the watches pour out thine heart like water before the face of the Lord: lift up thy hands toward him for the life of thy young children, that faint for hunger in the top of every street.
Psalms 119:136
Rivers of waters run down mine eyes, because they keep not thy law.
Luke 15:18
I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee,
1 Kings 8:47
Yet if they shall bethink themselves in the land whither they were carried captives, and repent, and make supplication unto thee in the land of them that carried them captives, saying, We have sinned, and have done perversely, we have committed wickedness;
Job 33:27
He looketh upon men, and if any say, I have sinned, and perverted that which was right, and it profited me not;

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

drew water.Grotius says, that the pouring out of water means the shedding of tears; and the Targum reads, "And they poured out their hearts in penitence, as waters, before the Lord." Others suppose that it was done emblematically, to represent the contrition of their hearts, and their desire to wash away their past offences. But some learned men conceive that it was poured out as a libation, in token of joy, after they had fasted and confessed their sin, as they were wont to do in the feast of tabernacles. (See note on Nu. 29:35.)
1:15; 2Sa 14:14; Job 16:20; Ps 6:6; 42:3; 119:136; Jer 9:1
La 2:11,18; 3:49
fasted.
2Ch 20:3; Ezr 8:21-23; Ne 9:1-3; Da 9:3-5; Joe 2:12; Jon 3:1-10
We have sinned.
Le 26:40; Jud 10:10; 1Ki 8:47; Ezr 9:5-10; Job 33:27; 40:4; 42:6
Ps 38:3-8; 106:6; Jer 3:13,14; 31:19; Lu 15:18
judged.
Jud 3:10; Ne 9:27; Eze 20:4

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

1 Samuel 7:5
And Samuel said, Gather all Israel to Mizpeh, and I will pray for you unto the Lord.
1 Samuel 7:6
And they gathered together to Mizpeh, and drew water, and poured it out before the Lord, and fasted on that day, and said there, We have sinned against the Lord. And Samuel judged the children of Israel in Mizpeh.
1 Samuel 7:7
And when the Philistines heard that the children of Israel were gathered together to Mizpeh, the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the children of Israel heard it, they were afraid of the Philistines.

Read all of 1 Samuel 7

1 Samuel 7:6 in other languages

Spanish Reina-Valera 1909	Y juntándose en Mizpa, sacaron agua, y derramáronla delante de Jehová, y ayunaron aquel día, y dijeron allí: Contra Jehová hemos pecado. Y juzgó Samuel á los hijos de Israel en Mizpa.
French Bible J.N. Darby 1885	Et ils s’assemblèrent à Mitspa, et ils puisèrent de l’eau et la répandirent devant l’ Éternel; et ils jeûnèrent ce jour-là, et dirent là: Nous avons péché contre l’ Éternel. Et Samuel jugea les fils d’Israël à Mitspa.
German Elberfelder 1871	Und sie versammelten sich nach Mizpa und schöpften Wasser und gossen es aus vor Jehova; und sie fasteten an selbigem Tage und sprachen daselbst: Wir haben gegen Jehova gesündigt! Und Samuel richtete die Kinder Israel zu Mizpa. -
Latin Clementine Vulgate	Et convenerunt in Masphath: hauseruntque aquam, et effuderunt in conspectu Domini: et jejunaverunt in die illa atque dixerunt ibi: Peccavimus Domino. Judicavitque Samuel filios Israël in Masphath.