1 Samuel 6
6
Philistines Send the Ark Back
1After the ark of Adonai had been in the country of the Philistines seven months,
2the Philistines summoned the priests and the diviners saying, “What should we do with the ark of Adonai? Tell us how we should send it back to its place.”
3So they said, “If you are going to send the ark of the God of Israel back, do not send it empty. For you must surely return it with a guilt offering. Then you will be healed and it will be revealed to you why His hand has not been removed from you.”
4“What guilt offering should we return to Him?” they asked. So they said, “Five golden tumors and five golden mice—according to the number of the lords of the Philistines, for one plague was on each of you and on your lords.
5So you will make images of your tumors and images of your mice that mar the land, and you must give glory to the God of Israel. Perhaps He will lighten His hand off of you, your gods and your land.
6Why harden your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? When He afflicted them, didn’t they send them away so they left?
7Now therefore get a new cart ready, two milk cows on which there has never been a yoke, hitch the cows to the cart, and return their calves home, away from them.
8Then take the ark of Adonai and place it on the cart; also put the golden objects that you return to Him as a guilt offering in a box by its side. Then send it off so it may go.
9Then watch—if it goes up by the way of its own territory to Beth-shemesh, then it was He who inflicted on us this great harm. But if not, then we will know that it was not His hand that struck us; it just happened to us by chance.”
10So the people did so—they took two milk cows and hitched them to the cart, and shut up their calves at home.
11Then they placed the ark of Adonai on the cart together with the box, the golden mice, and the models of their tumors.
12So the cows took the way straight toward Beth-shemesh—they kept along the same highway, lowing as they went, and turned aside neither to the right nor to the left. The lords of the Philistines followed them to the border of Beth-shemesh.
13Now the people of Beth-shemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley. When they lifted up their eyes and saw the ark, they rejoiced to see it.
14The cart came to the field of Joshua of Beth-shemesh and stopped there, where there was a large stone. Then they chopped the wood of the cart and offered up the cows as a burnt offering to Adonai.
15The Levites took down the ark of Adonai and the box that was with it that contained the gold objects, and placed them on the large stone. Then the people of Beth-shemesh offered burnt offerings and sacrifices to Adonai that day.
16Now when the five lords of the Philistines had seen it, they returned to Ekron that same day.
17So these are the golden tumors that the Philistines returned as a guilt offering to Adonai: one for Ashdod, one for Gaza, one for Ashkelon, one for Gath, one for Ekron.
18The golden mice also corresponded to the number of all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five lords—both the fortified cities and their country villages—as far as the large stone on which they had set down the ark of Adonai. It remains to this day in the field of Joshua of Beth-shemesh.
19Then He struck down some of the men of Beth-shemesh because they had gazed into the ark of Adonai. He struck down the people—70 out of 50,000 men—the people mourned because Adonai had struck the people a great slaughter.
20So the men of Beth-shemesh asked, “Who is able to stand before Adonai—this holy God? To whom should it go up from us?”
21So they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kiriath-jearim, saying, “The Philistines have brought back the ark of Adonai. Come down—bring it up to you.”
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Copyright © 2014 - Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society
1 Samuel 6
6
1 Samuel 6
1¶ And the ark of the Lord was in the land of the Philistines seven months.
2Then the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners, saying, What shall we do with the ark of the Lord? Tell us how we shall return it to his place.
3And they said, If ye send away the ark of the God of Israel, do not send it empty, but ye shall pay unto him the expiation of guilt; then ye shall be healed, and ye shall know why his hand was not removed from you.
4Then said they, What shall be the expiation of guilt which we shall pay unto him? They answered, Five golden hemorrhoids and five golden rats, according to the number of the cardinals of the Philistines, for the same plague that is on you is also on your cardinals.
5Therefore, ye shall make images of your hemorrhoids and images of your rats that destroy 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.
6Why then do ye harden your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? When he had dealt thus among them, did they not let the people go, and they departed?
7Now, therefore, make a new cart and take two milk cows, on which no yoke has been placed and tie the cows to the cart and bring their calves home from them.
8Then ye shall take the ark of the Lord and lay it upon the cart and put the jewels of gold, which ye pay him for expiation of guilt, in a coffer by the side thereof, and let it go.
9And see if it goes up by the way of his own border to Bethshemesh, then he has done us this great evil, but if not, then we shall know that it is not his hand that smote us; it was an accident that happened to us.
10¶ And the men did so and took two milk cows and tied them to the cart and shut up their calves at home.
11Then they laid the ark of the Lord upon the cart and the coffer with the rats of gold and the images of their hemorrhoids.
12And the cows went straight down 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 cardinals of the Philistines went after them unto the border of Bethshemesh.
13And those 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.
14And the cart came into the field of Joshua, a Bethshemite, and stopped there, for there was a great stone there; and they clave the wood of the cart and offered the cows in a burnt offering unto the Lord.
15And the Levites took down the ark of the Lord and the coffer that was with it, in which were the jewels of gold, and put them on the great stone, and the men of Bethshemesh offered burnt offerings and sacrificed sacrifices the same day unto the Lord.
16And when the five cardinals of the Philistines had seen it, they returned to Ekron the same day.
17These, therefore are the golden hemorrhoids which the Philistines returned in expiation for their guilt unto the Lord, for Ashdod one, for Gaza one, for Askelon one, for Gath one, for Ekron one,
18and the golden rats, according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five cardinals; a ransom for those of the fenced cities and for the country dwellers even unto the great stone of Abel, upon which they placed the ark of the Lord in the field of Joshua, the Bethshemite, and this is remembered unto this day.
19¶ Then God smote those of Bethshemesh because they had looked at the ark of the Lord; he smote fifty thousand of the people and seventy principal men. And the people lamented because the Lord had smitten the people with such a great slaughter.
20And the men of Bethshemesh said, Who is able to stand before this holy Lord God? And to whom shall he go up from us?
21And they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kirjathjearim, saying, The Philistines have returned the ark of the Lord; come down, therefore, and carry it up to you.
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The Jubilee Bible 2000 (JUB) by Ransom Press International