“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.” (1 Samuel
6:1-21 AV)
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