| 1 And the ark of Jehovah 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 with the ark of Jehovah? show us wherewith we shall
sent it to its place. 3 And they said, If ye send away the ark of the God
of Israel, send it not empty; but by all means 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? And they said, Five golden
tumors, 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 tumors, 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 take and prepare you a new cart, and 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 Jehovah, 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 its own border to Beth-shemesh, 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 put the ark of Jehovah upon
the cart, and the coffer with the mice of gold and the images of their
tumors. 12 And the kine took the straight way by the way to Beth-shemesh;
they 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 Beth-shemesh. 13 And they of Beth-shemesh 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
the Beth-shemite, and stood there, where there was a great stone: and they
clave the wood of the cart, and offered up the kine for a burnt-offering unto
Jehovah. 15 And the Levites took down the ark of Jehovah, and the coffer
that was with it, wherein the jewels of gold were, and put them on the great
stone: and the men of Beth-shemesh offered burnt-offerings and sacrificed
sacrifices the same day unto Jehovah. 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 tumors which the Philistines returned for a
trespass-offering unto Jehovah: for Ashdod one, for Gaza one, for Ashkelon
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 fortified cities and of country villages, even unto the great stone,
whereon they set down the ark of Jehovah, which stone remaineth unto
this day in the field of Joshua the Beth-shemite.
19 And he smote of the men of Beth-shemesh, because they had looked into
the ark of Jehovah, he smote of the people seventy men, and fifty
thousand men; and the people mourned, because Jehovah had smitten the people
with a great slaughter. 20 And the men of Beth-shemesh said, Who is able
to stand before Jehovah, this holy God? and to whom shall he go up from us?
21 And they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kiriath-jearim, saying,
The Philistines have brought back the ark of Jehovah; come ye down, and fetch
it up to you.
Genesis - Public
Domain
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