1 Samuel 6
6
The Ark Returned to Israel
1The ark of the Lord was in the country of the Philistines seven months. 2And the Philistines called for the priests and #Deut. 18:10; [Gen. 41:8; Ex. 7:11; Dan. 2:2; 5:7]the diviners and said, “What shall we do with the ark of the Lord? Tell us with what we shall send it to its place.” 3They said, “If you send away the ark of the God of Israel, do not send it empty, but by all means return him #[Lev. 5:15, 16] a guilt offering. Then you will be healed, and it will be known to you why #ver. 9his hand does not turn away from you.” 4And they said, “What is the guilt offering that we shall return to him?” They answered, “Five golden #ch. 5:6, 9, 12 tumors and five golden mice, #ver. 17, 18; Josh. 13:3; Judg. 3:3according to the number of the lords of the Philistines, for the same plague was on all of you and on your lords. 5So you must make images of your #[See ver. 4 above] tumors and images of your mice that ravage the land, #[Josh. 7:19] and give glory to the God of Israel. Perhaps #[ch. 5:6, 9, 11] he will lighten his hand from off you #ch. 5:3, 4, 7and your gods and your land. 6Why should you harden your hearts as #[Ex. 14:17] the Egyptians and #Ex. 8:15, 32; [Ex. 7:13; 9:7, 35; 10:1] Pharaoh hardened their hearts? After he had dealt severely with them, #Ex. 12:31did they not send the people away, and they departed? 7Now then, take and prepare #[2 Sam. 6:3] a new cart and two milk cows #[Num. 19:2]on which there has never come a yoke, and yoke the cows to the cart, but take their calves home, away from them. 8And take the ark of the Lord and place it on the cart and put in a box at its side #ver. 4, 5 the figures of gold, which you are returning to him as #[See ver. 3 above]a guilt offering. Then send it off and let it go its way 9and watch. If it goes up on the way to its own land, to #Josh. 15:10 Beth-shemesh, then it is he who has done us this great harm, but if not, then we shall know that it is not #ver. 3his hand that struck us; it happened to us by coincidence.”
10The men did so, and took two milk cows and yoked them to the cart and shut up their calves at home. 11And they put the ark of the Lord on the cart and the box with the golden mice and the images of their tumors. 12And the cows went straight in the direction of #Josh. 21:16 Beth-shemesh along #Num. 20:19one highway, lowing as they went. They turned neither to the right nor to the left, and the lords of the Philistines went after them as far as the border of #Josh. 21:16 Beth-shemesh. 13Now the people of #[See ver. 12 above]Beth-shemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley. And when they lifted up their eyes and saw the ark, they rejoiced to see it. 14The cart came into the field of Joshua of Beth-shemesh and stopped there. #ver. 18A great stone was there. And they split up the wood of the cart and offered the cows as a burnt offering to the Lord. 15And the Levites took down the ark of the Lord and the box that was beside it, in which were the golden figures, and set them upon #[See ver. 14 above] the great stone. And the men of #[See ver. 12 above]Beth-shemesh offered burnt offerings and sacrificed sacrifices on that day to the Lord. 16And when #See ver. 4the five lords of the Philistines saw it, they returned that day to Ekron.
17These are the golden tumors that the Philistines returned as a #ver. 3, 8guilt offering to the Lord: one for Ashdod, one for Gaza, one for Ashkelon, one for Gath, one for Ekron, 18and the golden mice, according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five lords, #[Deut. 3:5] both fortified cities and unwalled villages. #ver. 14, 15The great stone beside which they set down the ark of the Lord is a witness to this day in the field of Joshua of Beth-shemesh.
19 # [Ex. 19:21; Num. 4:15, 20; 2 Sam. 6:7] And he struck some of the men of Beth-shemesh, because they looked upon the ark of the Lord. He struck seventy men of them,#6:19 Most Hebrew manuscripts struck of the people seventy men, fifty thousand men and the people mourned because the Lord had struck the people with a great blow. 20Then the men of Beth-shemesh said, #[2 Sam. 6:9]“Who is able to stand before the Lord, this holy God? And to whom shall he go up away from us?” 21So they sent messengers to the inhabitants of #1 Chr. 13:5, 6; [Josh. 9:17; 18:14]Kiriath-jearim, saying, “The Philistines have returned the ark of the Lord. Come down and take it up to you.”
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The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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1 Samuel 6
6
1And the ark of Jehovah is in the field of the Philistines seven months,
2and the Philistines call for priests and for diviners, saying, ‘What do we do to the ark of Jehovah? let us know wherewith we send it to its place?’
3And they say, ‘If ye are sending away the ark of the God of Israel, ye do not send it away empty; for ye do certainly send back to Him a guilt-offering; then ye are healed, and it hath been known to you why His hand doth not turn aside from you.’
4And they say, ‘What [is] the guilt-offering which we send back to Him?’ and they say, ‘The number of the princes of the Philistines — five golden emerods, and five golden mice — for one plague [is] to you all, and to your princes,
5and ye have made images of your emerods, and images of your mice that are corrupting the land, and have given honour to the God of Israel; it may be He doth lighten His hand from off you, and from off your gods, and from off your land;
6and why do ye harden your heart as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their heart? do they not — when He hath rolled Himself upon them — send them away, and they go?
7‘And now, take and make one new cart, and two suckling kine, on which a yoke hath not gone up, and ye have bound the kine in the cart, and caused their young ones to turn back from after them to the house,
8and ye have taken the ark of Jehovah, and put it on the cart, and the vessels of gold which ye have returned to Him — a guilt-offering — ye put in a coffer on its side, and have sent it away, and it hath gone;
9and ye have seen, if the way of its own border it goeth up to Beth-Shemesh — He hath done to us this great evil; and if not, then we have known that His hand hath not come against us; an accident it hath been to us.’
10And the men do so, and take two suckling kine, and bind them in the cart, and their young ones they have shut up in the house;
11and they place the ark of Jehovah upon the cart, and the coffer, and the golden mice, and the images of their emerods.
12And the kine go straight in the way, on the way to Beth-Shemesh, in one highway they have gone, going and lowing, and have not turned aside right or left; and the princes of the Philistines are going after them unto the border of Beth-Shemesh.
13And the Beth-Shemeshites are reaping their wheat-harvest in the valley, and they lift up their eyes, and see the ark, and rejoice to see [it].
14And the cart hath come in unto the field of Joshua the Beth-Shemeshite, and standeth there, and there [is] a great stone, and they cleave the wood of the cart, and the kine they have caused to ascend — a burnt-offering to Jehovah.
15And the Levites have taken down the ark of Jehovah, and the coffer which [is] with it, in which [are] the vessels of gold, and place [them] on the great stone; and the men of Beth-Shemesh have caused to ascend burnt-offerings and sacrifice sacrifices in that day to Jehovah;
16and the five princes of the Philistines have seen [it], and turn back [to] Ekron, on that day.
17And these [are] the golden emerods which the Philistines have sent back — a guiltoffering to Jehovah: for Ashdod one, for Gaza one, for Ashkelon one, for Gath one, for Ekron one;
18and the golden mice — the number of all the cities of the Philistines — for the five princes, from the fenced city even unto the hamlet of the villages, even unto the great meadow on which they placed the ark of Jehovah — [are] unto this day in the field of Joshua the Beth-Shemeshite.
19And He smiteth among the men of Beth-Shemesh, for they looked into the ark of Jehovah, yea, He smiteth among the people seventy men — fifty chief men; and the people mourn, because Jehovah smote among the people — a great smiting.
20And the men of Beth-Shemesh say, ‘Who is able to stand before Jehovah, this holy God? and unto whom doth He go up from us?’
21And they send messengers unto the inhabitants of Kirjath-Jearim, saying, ‘The Philistines have sent back the ark of Jehovah; come down, take it up unto you.’
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