1 Samuel 6
6
The Philistines Return the Ark
1 When the ark of the Lord had been in the land#tn Heb “field.” of the Philistines for seven months,#tc The LXX adds “and their land swarmed with mice.” 2 the Philistines called the priests and the omen readers, saying, “What should we do with the ark of the Lord? Advise us as to how we should send it back to its place.”
3 They replied, “If you are going to send the ark of#tc The LXX and a Qumran ms add “the covenant of the Lord.” the God of Israel back, don’t send it away empty. Be sure to return it with a guilt offering. Then you will be healed, and you will understand why his hand is not removed from you.” 4 They inquired, “What is the guilt offering that we should send to him?”
They replied, “The Philistine leaders number five. So send five gold sores and five gold mice, for it is the same plague that has afflicted both you and your leaders. 5 You should make images of the sores and images of the mice#tn Heb “your mice.” A Qumran ms has simply “the mice.” that are destroying the land. You should honor the God of Israel. Perhaps he will release his grip on you, your gods, and your land.#tn Heb “Perhaps he will lighten his hand from upon you and from upon your gods and from upon your land.” 6 Why harden your hearts like the Egyptians and Pharaoh did?#tn Heb “like Egypt and Pharaoh hardened their heart.” When God#tn Heb “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity. treated them harshly, didn’t the Egyptians send the Israelites on their way?#tn Heb “and they sent them away and they went.” 7 So now go and make a new cart. Get two cows that have calves and that have never had a yoke placed on them. Harness the cows to the cart and take their calves from them back to their stalls. 8 Then take the ark of the Lord and place it on the cart, and put in a chest beside it the gold objects you are sending to him as a guilt offering. You should then send it on its way. 9 But keep an eye on it. If it should go up by the way of its own border to Beth Shemesh, then he has brought this great calamity on us. But if that is not the case, then we will know that it was not his hand that struck us; rather, it just happened to us by accident.”
10 So the men did as instructed.#tn Heb “and the men did so.” They took two cows that had calves and harnessed them to a cart; they also removed their calves to their stalls. 11 They put the ark of the Lord on the cart, along with the chest, the gold mice, and the images of the sores. 12 Then the cows went directly on the road to Beth Shemesh. They went along, mooing as they went; they turned neither to the right nor to the left. The leaders of the Philistines were walking along behind them all the way to the border of Beth Shemesh.
13 Now the residents of Beth Shemesh were harvesting wheat in the valley. When they looked up and saw the ark, they were pleased at the sight. 14 The cart was coming to the field of Joshua, who was from Beth Shemesh. It paused there near a big stone. Then they cut up the wood of the cart and offered the cows as a burnt offering to the Lord. 15 The Levites took down the ark of the Lord and the chest that was with it, which contained the gold objects. They placed them near the big stone. At that time the people of Beth Shemesh offered burnt offerings and made sacrifices to the Lord. 16 The five leaders of the Philistines watched what was happening and then returned to Ekron on the same day.
17 These are the gold sores that the Philistines brought as a guilt offering to the Lord – one for each of the following cities: Ashdod, Gaza, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron. 18 The gold mice corresponded in number to all the Philistine cities of the five leaders, from the fortified cities to hamlet villages, to greater Abel,#tc A few Hebrew mss and the LXX read “villages; the large rock…[is witness] until this very day.” where they positioned the ark of the Lord until this very day in the field of Joshua who was from Beth Shemesh.
19 But the Lord#tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity. struck down some of the people of Beth Shemesh because they had looked into the ark of the Lord; he struck down 50,070#tc The number 50,070 is surprisingly large, although it finds almost unanimous textual support in the MT and in the ancient versions. Only a few medieval Hebrew mss lack “50,000,” reading simply “70” instead. However, there does not seem to be sufficient external evidence to warrant reading 70 rather than 50,070, although that is done by a number of recent translations (e.g., NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT). The present translation (reluctantly) follows the MT and the ancient versions here. of the men. The people grieved because the Lord had struck the people with a hard blow. 20 The residents of Beth Shemesh asked, “Who is able to stand before the Lord, this holy God? To whom will the ark#tn Heb “he” or “it”; the referent here (the ark) has been specified in the translation for clarity (cf. also NIV, CEV, NLT). Others, however, take the referent to be the Lord himself. go up from here?”
21 So they sent messengers to the residents of Kiriath Jearim, saying, “The Philistines have returned the ark of the Lord. Come down here and take it back home with you.”
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1 Samuel 6
6
1So the Arke of the Lord was in the countrey of the Philistims seuen moneths. 2And the Philistims called the priests and the soothsayers, saying, What shall we doe with the Arke of the Lord? tell vs wherewith we shall send it home againe. 3And they sayd, If you send away the Arke of the God of Israel, send it not away emptie, but giue vnto it a sinne offering: then shall ye be healed, and it shall be knowen to you, why his hand departeth not from you. 4Then sayd they, What shalbe the sinne offring, which we shall giue vnto it? And they answered, Fiue golden emerods and fiue golden mise, according to the number of the princes of the Philistims: for one plague was on you all, and on your princes. 5Wherefore ye shall make the similitudes of your emerods, and the similitudes of your mise that destroy the land: so ye shall giue glory vnto the God of Israel, that he may take his hand from you, and from your gods, and from your land. 6Wherefore then should ye harden your hearts, as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? when he wrought wonderfully among them, did they not let them goe, and they departed? 7Now therefore make a new cart, and take two milch kine, on whome there hath come no yoke: and tye the kine to the cart, and bring the calues home from them. 8Then take the Arke of the Lord, and set it vpon the cart, and put the iewels of gold which ye giue it for a sinne offering in a coffer by the side thereof, and send it away, that it may go. 9And take heede, if it goe vp by the way of his owne coast to Beth-shemesh, it is he that did vs this great euill: but if not, we shall know then, that it is not his hand that smote vs, but it was a chance that happened vs. 10And the men did so: for they tooke two kine that gaue milke, and tied them to the cart, and shut the calues at home. 11So they set the Arke of the Lord vpon the cart, and the coffer with the mise of golde, and with the similitudes of their emerods. 12And the kine went the streight way to Beth-shemesh, and kept one path and lowed as they went, and turned neither to the right hand nor to the left: also the Princes of the Philistims went after them, vnto the borders of Beth-shemesh. 13Nowe they of Beth-shemesh were reaping their wheate haruest in the valley, and they lift vp their eyes, and spied the Arke, and reioyced when they sawe it. 14And the cart came into the fielde of Ioshua a Beth-shemite, and stood still there. There was also a great stone, and they claue the wood of the cart, and offered the kine for a burnt offring vnto the Lord. 15And the Leuites tooke downe the Arke of the Lord, and the coffer that was with it, wherein the iewels of golde were, and put them on the great stone, and the men of Beth-shemesh offred burnt offring, and sacrificed sacrifices that same day vnto the Lord. 16And when the fiue Princes of ye Philistims had seene it, they returned to Ekron the same day. 17So these are the golden emerods, which the Philistims gaue for a sinne offering to the Lord: for Ashdod one, for Gaza one, for Askelon one, for Gath one, and for Ekron one, 18And golden mise, according to the number of all the cities of the Philistims, belonging to the fiue princes, both of walled townes, and of townes vnwalled, vnto the great stone of Abel, whereon they set the Arke of the Lord: which stone remaineth vnto this day in the fielde of Ioshua the Beth-shemite. 19And hee smote of the men of Beth-shemesh, because they had looked in the Arke of the Lord: he slew euen among the people fiftie thousand men and three score and ten men. and the people lamented, because the Lord had slaine the people with so great a slaughter. 20Wherefore the men of Beth-shemesh said, Who is able to stand before this holy Lord God? and to whom shall he go from vs? 21And they sent messengers to the inhabitans of Kiriath-iearim, saying, The Philistims haue brought againe the Arke of the Lord: come ye downe and take it vp to you.
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