 1 The ark of the Lord was in the field of the Philistines seven months. 2 The Philistines called for the priests and the diviners saying, What shall we do to the ark of the Lord? Tell us with what we shall send with it to its place. 3 They said, If you send away the ark of the God of Israel, do not send it empty. For you shall certainly send a guilt offering to him. Then you will be healed and it will be known to you why His hand is not removed from you. 4 Then they said, What shall the guilt offering be that we return to Him? They answered, Five golden tumors and five golden mice, for the number of the lords of the Philistines. For one plague was on you all and on your lords. 5 Make images of your hemorrhoids, and images of your mice which mar the land. And you shall give glory to the God of Israel. Perhaps He will lighten His hand from off you, and from off your gods, and from off your land. 6 Why do you harden your hearts, as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? When He had worked wonderfully among them, did they not let the people go, and did they not depart? 7 Now make a new cart, and take two milk cows on which there has come no yoke, and tie the cows to the cart, and bring their calves home from them. 8 Take the ark of the Lord and lay it on the cart. And put the jewels of gold which you return to Him for a trespass offering in a box in its side. And send it away so that it may go. 9 Watch. If it goes up by the way of its own border to Bethshemesh, He has done us this great evil. But if not, then we shall know that it is not His hand that struck us. It was a chance that happened to us. 10 The men did so. They took two milk cows and tied them to the cart and shut up their calves at home. 11 They laid the ark of the Lord on the cart, and the box with the mice of gold and the images of their hemorrhoids. 12 The cows took the straight way to the way of Bethshemesh going along the highway lowing as they went. They did not turn aside to the right or to the left. And the lords of the Philistines went after them to the border of Bethshemesh. 13 The people of Bethshemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley. They lifted up their eyes and saw the ark and rejoiced to see it. 14 The cart came into the field of Joshua, a Bethshemite, and stood there and there was a great stone. They cut the wood of the cart and offered the cows as a burnt offering to the Lord. 15 The Levites took down the ark of the Lord and the box in it, in which the jewels of gold were, and put them on the great stone. And the men of Bethshemesh offered burnt offerings and sacrificed sacrifices the same day to the Lord. 16 When the five lords of the Philistines had seen, they returned to Ekron on that day. 17 These are the golden hemorrhoids which the Philistines returned for a guilt offering to the Lord: for Ashdod, one. For Gaza, one. For Askelon one. For Gath, one. For Ekron, one. 18 The golden mice were according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines for the five lords, of fortified cities and of country villages, even to the great meadow on which they set down the ark of the Lord to this day, in the field of Joshua the Bethshemite. 19 He struck the men of Bethshemesh because they had looked into the ark of the Lord. He even struck 70 among the people, including 50 chief men. And the people lamented because the Lord had struck the people with a great slaughter. 20 The men of Bethshemesh said, Who is able to stand before this holy Lord God? And to whom shall He go up from us? 21 They sent messengers to the people of Kirjathjearim saying, The Philistines have brought again the ark of the Lord. Come down and bring it up to yourselves.
|