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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© 1987, 2004 Bible League International
1 Kings 6
6
1Now the ark of God was in the land 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? Tell us how we are to send it back to its place? And they said:
3If you send back the ark of the God of Israel, send it not away empty; but render unto him what you owe for sin. And then you shall be healed: and you shall know why his hand departeth not from you.
4They answered: What is it we ought to render unto him for sin? And they answered:
5According to the number of the provinces of the Philistines you shall make five golden emerods, and five golden mice; for the same plague hath been upon you all, and upon your lords. And you shall make the likeness of your emerods, and the likeness of the mice that have destroyed the land; and you shall give glory to the God of Israel, to see if he will take off his hand from you, and from your gods, and from your land.
6Why do you harden your hearts, as Egypt and Pharao hardened their hearts? Did not he, after he was struck, then let them go, and they departed?
7Now therefore take and make a new cart. And two kine that have calved, on which there hath come no yoke, tie to the cart; and shut up their calves at home.
8And you shall take the ark of the Lord, and lay it on the cart. And the vessels of gold, which you have paid him for sin, you shall put into a little box, at the side thereof. And send it away that it may go.
9And you shall look: and if it go up by the way of his own coasts towards Bethsames, then he hath done us this great evil. But if not, we shall know that it is not his hand hath touched us, but it hath happened by chance.
10They did therefore in this manner: and taking two kine, that had suckling calves, they yoked them to the cart, and shut up their calves at home.
11And they laid the ark of God upon the cart, and the little box that had in it the golden mice and the likeness of the emerods.
12And the kine took the straight way that leadeth to Bethsames; and they went along the way, lowing as they wen; and turned not aside neither to the right hand nor to the left. And the lords of the Philistines followed them as far as the borders of Bethsames.
13Now the Bethsamites were reaping wheat in the valley: and lifting up their eyes they saw the ark, and rejoiced to see it.
14And the cart came into the field of Josue a Bethsamite, and stood there. And there was a great stone; and they cut in pieces the wood of the cart, and laid the kine upon it, a holocaust to the Lord.
15And the Levites took down the ark of God, and the little box that was at the side of it, wherein were the vessels of gold; and they put them upon the great stone. The men also of Bethsames offered holocausts and sacrificed victims that day to the Lord.
16And the five princes of the Philistines saw: and they returned to Accaron the same day.
17And these are the golden emerods, which the Philistines returned for sin to the Lord: For Azotus one, for Gaza one, for Ascalon one, for Geth one, for Accaron one:
18And the golden mice according to the number of the cities of the Philistines, of the five provinces, from the fenced city to the village that was without wall, and to the great Abel (the stone) whereon they set down the ark of the Lord, which was till that day in the field of Josue the Bethsamite.
19But he slew of the men of Bethsames, because they had seen the ark of the Lord; and he slew of the people seventy men, and fifty thousand of the common people. And the people lamented, because the Lord had smitten the people with a great slaughter.
20And the men of Bethsames said: Who shall be 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 Cariathiarim, saying: The Philistines have brought back the ark of the Lord. Come ye down and fetch it up to you.
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An historical text maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society.