1 Samuel 6
6
The Philistines Return the Ark to Israel
1The ark of the Lord had been in Philistine territory for seven months. 2The Philistines called for the priests and for those who practice evil magic. They wanted their advice. They said to them, “What should we do with the ark of the Lord? Tell us how we should send it back to its place.”
3They answered, “If you return the ark of the god of Israel, don’t send it back to him without a gift. Be sure you send a guilt offering to their god along with it. Then you will be healed. You will find out why his power has continued to be against you.”
4The Philistines asked, “What guilt offering should we send to him?”
Their advisers replied, “There are five Philistine rulers. So send five gold rats. Also send five gold models of the growths in your bodies. Do it because the same plague has struck you and your rulers alike. 5Make models of the rats and the growths that are destroying the country. Give honor to Israel’s god. Then perhaps his power will no longer be against you, your gods and your land. 6Why are you stubborn, as Pharaoh and the people of Egypt were? Israel’s god was very hard on them. Only then did they send the Israelites out. Only then did they let them go on their way.
7“Now then, get a new cart ready. Get two cows that have just had calves. Be sure the cows have never pulled a cart before. Tie the cart to them. But take their calves away and put them in a pen. 8Then put the ark of the Lord on the cart. Put the gold models in a chest beside the ark. Send them back to the Lord as a guilt offering. Send the cart on its way. 9But keep an eye on the cart. See if it goes up toward Beth Shemesh to its own territory. If it does, then it’s the Lord who has brought this horrible trouble on us. But if it doesn’t, then we’ll know it wasn’t his hand that struck us. We’ll know it happened to us by chance.”
10So that’s what they did. They took the two cows and tied the cart to them. They put the calves in a pen. 11They placed the ark of the Lord on the cart. They put the chest there along with it. The chest held the gold models of the rats and of the growths. 12Then the cows went straight up toward Beth Shemesh. They stayed on the road. They were mooing all the way. They didn’t turn to the right or the left. The Philistine rulers followed them all the way to the border of Beth Shemesh.
13The people of Beth Shemesh were working in the valley. They were gathering their wheat crop. They looked up and saw the ark. When they saw it, they were filled with joy. 14The cart came to the field of Joshua of Beth Shemesh. It stopped there beside a large rock. The people chopped up the wood the cart was made out of. They sacrificed the cows as a burnt offering to the Lord. 15Some Levites had taken the ark of the Lord off the cart. They had also taken off the chest that held the gold models. They placed them on the large rock. On that day the people of Beth Shemesh offered burnt offerings to the Lord. They also made sacrifices to him. 16The five Philistine rulers saw everything that happened. On that same day they returned to Ekron.
17The Philistines sent gold models of growths as a guilt offering to the Lord. There was one each for Ashdod, Gaza, Ashkelon, Gath and Ekron. 18They also sent five gold models of rats. There was one for each of the Philistine towns that belonged to the five rulers. Each of those towns had high walls around it. The towns also had country villages around them. The Levites set the ark of the Lord on the large rock. To this day the rock is a witness to what happened there. It’s in the field of Joshua of Beth Shemesh.
19But some of the people of Beth Shemesh looked into the ark of the Lord. So he struck them down. He put 70 of them to death. The rest of the people were filled with sorrow. That’s because the Lord had killed so many of them. 20The people of Beth Shemesh said, “The Lord is a holy God. Who can stand in front of him? Where can the ark go up to from here?”
21Then messengers were sent to the people of Kiriath Jearim. The messengers said, “The Philistines have returned the ark of the Lord. Come down and take it up to your town.”
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1 Samuel 6: NIrV
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1 Samuel 6
6
God’s Holy Box Is Sent Back Home
1The Philistines kept the Lord’s Holy Box in their land for seven months. 2The Philistines called their priests and magicians and said, “What must we do with the Lord’s Box? Tell us how to send it back home.”
3The priests and magicians answered, “If you send back the Holy Box of the God of Israel, don’t send it away empty. You must offer gifts to the God of Israel. Then you will be healed. You must do this so that God will stop punishing you.”#6:3 You must do … punishing you This is found in the ancient Greek version and a Hebrew scroll from Qumran. The standard Hebrew text has “Then you will know why God did not stop punishing you.”
4The Philistines asked, “What kind of gifts should we send for Israel’s God to forgive us?”
The priests and magicians answered, “There are five Philistine leaders, one leader for each city. All of you and your leaders had the same problems. So you must make five gold models to look like five tumors. And you must make five gold models to look like five mice. 5So make models of the tumors and models of the mice that are ruining the country. Give these gold models to the God of Israel as payment. Then maybe the God of Israel will stop punishing you, your gods, and your land. 6Don’t be stubborn like Pharaoh and the Egyptians. God punished the Egyptians. That is why the Egyptians let the Israelites leave Egypt.
7“You must build a new wagon and get two cows that have just had calves. These must be cows that have never worked in the fields. Tie the cows to the wagon so that they can pull it. Then take the calves back home and put them in their pen. Don’t let them follow their mothers.#6:7 Don’t let … mothers The Philistines thought if the cows did not try to find their calves it would prove that God was leading them and that he had accepted their gifts. 8Put the Lord’s Holy Box on the wagon. You must put the golden models in the bag beside the Box. They are your gifts for God to forgive your sins. Send the wagon straight on its way. 9Watch the wagon. If the wagon goes toward Beth Shemesh in Israel’s own land, then it is their God who has given us this great sickness. But if the cows don’t go straight to Beth Shemesh, we will know it was not their God who brought this sickness to us. It was just one of those things that sometimes happen.”
10The Philistines did what the priests and magicians said. They found two cows that had just had calves and tied them to the wagon. But they kept the calves at home in a pen. 11Then the Philistines put the Lord’s Holy Box on the wagon along with the bag with the golden models of the tumors and mice. 12The cows went straight to Beth Shemesh. The cows stayed on the road, mooing all the way. They did not turn right or left. The Philistine rulers followed the cows as far as the city limits of Beth Shemesh.
13The people of Beth Shemesh were harvesting their wheat in the valley. They looked up and saw the Holy Box. They were very happy to see it again. They ran to get it. 14-15The wagon came to the field that belonged to Joshua of Beth Shemesh and stopped there near a large rock.
Some Levites took down the Lord’s Holy Box and the bag that had the golden models. The Levites put the Lord’s Box and the bag that was with it on the large rock.
The people of Beth Shemesh cut up the wagon and killed the cows. That day, they sacrificed the cows as burnt offerings to the Lord.
16The five Philistine rulers watched the people of Beth Shemesh do this and then went back to Ekron that same day.
17In this way the Philistines sent golden models of tumors as gifts for their sins to the Lord. They sent one golden model of a tumor for each of the Philistine towns of Ashdod, Gaza, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron. 18The Philistines also sent golden models of mice. The number of these golden mice was the same number as the towns that belonged to the five Philistine rulers. These towns had walls around them, and each town had villages around it.
The people of Beth Shemesh put the Lord’s Holy Box on a rock. That rock is still in the field of Joshua from Beth Shemesh. 19But no priests#6:19 no priests Only priests were allowed to carry the Box of the Agreement. were there to lead the celebration#6:19 But no … celebration This is based on the ancient Greek version and Josephus. when the men of Beth Shemesh saw the Lord’s Holy Box. So the Lord killed 70 men#6:19 This is found in a few Hebrew copies. Most Hebrew copies and the ancient versions have “70 men, 50,000 men.” from Beth Shemesh. The people of Beth Shemesh cried loudly because of this hard punishment. 20They said, “Where is a priest who can care for the Holy Box? Where should the Box go from here?”
21There was a priest at Kiriath Jearim. The people of Beth Shemesh sent messengers to the people of Kiriath Jearim. The messengers said, “The Philistines have brought back the Lord’s Holy Box. Come down and take it to your city.”
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