1 And the ark of the LORD was in the country of the
Philistines seven months.
2 And
the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners, saying, What shall we
do to the ark of the LORD? tell us wherewith we shall send it to his place.
3 And
they said, If ye send away the ark of the God of Israel, send it not empty; but
in any wise return him a trespass offering: then ye shall be healed, and it
shall be known to you why his hand is not removed from you.
4 Then
said they, What shall be the trespass offering which we shall
return to him? They answered, Five golden emerods, and five golden mice, according to the
number of the lords of the Philistines: for one plague was on
you all, and on your lords.
5 Wherefore
ye shall make images of your emerods, and images of your mice that mar the
land; and ye shall give glory unto the God of Israel: peradventure he will
lighten his hand from off you, and from off your gods, and from off your land.
6 Wherefore
then do ye harden your hearts, as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their
hearts? when he had wrought wonderfully among them, did they not let the people
go, and they departed?
7 Now
therefore make a new cart, and take two milch kine, on which there hath come no
yoke, and tie the kine to the cart, and bring their calves home from them:
8 And
take the ark of the LORD, and lay it upon the cart; and put the jewels of gold,
which ye return him for a trespass offering, in a coffer by
the side thereof; and send it away, that it may go.
9 And
see, if it goeth up by the way of his own coast to Bethshemesh, then he
hath done us this great evil: but if not, then we shall know that it is not
his hand that smote
us: it was a
chance that happened
to us.
10 And
the men did so; and took two milch kine, and tied them to the cart, and shut up
their calves at home:
11 And
they laid the ark of the LORD upon the cart, and the coffer with the mice of
gold and the images of their emerods.
12 And
the kine took the straight way to the way of Bethshemesh, and went
along the highway, lowing as they went, and turned not aside to the
right hand or to the left; and the lords of the
Philistines went after them unto the border of Bethshemesh.
13 And they of Bethshemesh were reaping
their wheat harvest in the valley: and they lifted up their eyes, and saw the
ark, and rejoiced to see it.
14 And
the cart came into the field of Joshua, a Bethshemite, and stood there, where there was a
great stone: and they clave the wood of the cart, and offered the kine a burnt
offering unto the LORD.
15 And
the Levites took down the ark of the LORD, and the coffer that was with
it, wherein the jewels of gold were, and put them on
the great stone: and the men of Bethshemesh offered burnt offerings and
sacrificed sacrifices the same day unto the LORD.
16 And
when the five lords of the Philistines had seen it, they returned to Ekron the same day.
17 And
these are the
golden emerods which the Philistines returned for a trespass offering unto the LORD; for
Ashdod one, for Gaza one, for Askelon one, for Gath one, for Ekron one;
18 And
the golden mice, according to the number of all the cities of the
Philistines belonging to
the five lords, both of fenced cities, and of country
villages, even unto the great stone of Abel, whereon they set down the ark of
the LORD: which stone remaineth unto
this day in the field of Joshua, the Bethshemite.
19 And
he smote the men of Bethshemesh, because they had looked into the ark of the
LORD, even he smote of the people fifty thousand and threescore and ten men:
and the people lamented, because the LORD had smitten many of
the people with a great slaughter.
20 And
the men of Bethshemesh said, Who is able to stand before this holy LORD God?
and to whom shall he go up from us?
21 And
they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kirjathjearim, saying, The
Philistines have brought again the ark of the LORD; come ye down, and fetch
it up to you.
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