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
1And the ark of the LORD was in the country of the Philistines seven months. 2And the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners, saying, What shall we do with the ark of the LORD? shew us wherewith we shall send it to its place. 3And they said, If ye send away the ark of the God of Israel, send it not empty; but in any wise return him a guilt offering: then ye shall be healed, and it shall be known to you why his hand is not removed from you. 4Then said they, What shall be the guilt offering which we shall return to him? And they said, Five golden tumours, 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. 5Wherefore ye shall make images of your tumours, 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: 6Wherefore 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? 7Now 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: 8and take the ark of the LORD, and lay it upon the cart; and put the jewels of gold, which ye return him for a guilt offering, in a coffer by the side thereof; and send it away, that it may go. 9And 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.
10And the men did so; and took two milch kine, and tied them to the cart, and shut up their calves at home: 11and they put the ark of the LORD upon the cart, and the coffer with the mice of gold and the images of their tumours. 12And 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. 13And 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. 14And 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 the LORD. 15And 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 Beth-shemesh offered burnt offerings and sacrificed sacrifices the same day unto the LORD. 16And when the five lords of the Philistines had seen it, they returned to Ekron the same day. 17And these are the golden tumours which the Philistines returned for a guilt offering unto the LORD; for Ashdod one, for Gaza one, for Ashkelon one, for Gath one, for Ekron one; 18and 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, whereon they set down the ark of the LORD, which stone remaineth unto this day in the field of Joshua the Beth-shemite.
19And he smote of the men of Beth-shemesh, because they had looked into the ark of the LORD, even he smote of the people seventy men, and fifty thousand men: and the people mourned, because the LORD had smitten the people with a great slaughter. 20And the men of Beth-shemesh said, Who is able to stand before the LORD, this holy God? and to whom shall he go up from us? 21And they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kiriath-jearim, saying, The Philistines have brought again the ark of the LORD; come ye down, and fetch it up to you.
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