1 Samuel 6
1 When the ark of the LORD had been in the land of the Philistines seven months,
上主的約櫃在培肋舍特地方七個月之久。
2 the Philistines summoned the priests and diviners, saying, “What shall we do with the ark of the LORD? Tell us how to send it back to its place.”
培肋舍特人召集司祭和占卜者說：「我們對上主的約櫃該作什麼﹖請告訴我們，用什麼方法可將它送回原處﹖」
3 They replied, “If you return the ark of the God of Israel, do not send it away empty, but by all means return it to Him with a guilt offering. Then you will be healed, and you will understand why His hand has not been lifted from you.”
他們回答說：「你們若將以色列天主的約櫃送回，不可空空的將它送回，必須奉上贖罪的禮品：這樣你們纔能痊癒，也會明瞭他的手為什麼沒有離開你們。」
4 “What guilt offering should we send back to Him?” asked the Philistines. “Five gold tumors and five gold rats,” they said, “according to the number of rulers of the Philistines, since the same plague has struck both you and your rulers.
他們問說：「我們應奉上什麼贖罪的禮品﹖」他們回答說：「按照培肋舍特酋長的數目，奉上五個金毒瘡像和五個金鼠像，因為你們所有的人和你們的酋長，都遭遇同樣的災禍。
5 Make images of your tumors and of the rats that are ravaging the land. Give glory to the God of Israel, and perhaps He will lift His hand from you and your gods and your land.
所以你們應製造你們患的毒瘡像，和損壞你們地方的老鼠的像，應歸光榮於以色列的天主：這樣或許他會對你們，對你們的神和你們的地方放鬆他的手。
6 Why harden your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened theirs? When He afflicted them, did they not send the people on their way as they departed?
你們為什麼像埃及人和法郎一樣心硬呢﹖不是上主玩弄了他們以後，埃及人纔放走了他們嗎﹖
7 Now, therefore, prepare one new cart with two milk cows that have never been yoked. Hitch the cows to the cart, but take their calves away and pen them up.
現今，趕快製造一輛新車，牽出兩頭正在哺乳，還沒有負過軛的母牛來，套上這輛新車，把小牛牽回棚裏去；
8 Take the ark of the LORD, set it on the cart, and in a chest beside it put the gold objects you are sending Him as a guilt offering. Then send the ark on its way,
然後把上主的約櫃裝在車上，把那奉上作為贖罪禮品的金器，都盛在一匣子內，放在約櫃旁邊，然後讓它去。
9 but keep watching it. If it goes up the road to its homeland, toward Beth-shemesh, it is the LORD who has brought on us this great disaster. But if it does not, then we will know that it was not His hand that punished us and that it happened by chance.”
但你們應留神：若是約櫃取道往自己的地方去，即往貝特舍默士去，那麼，這大災難，即是上主加給我們的；若不然，我們就知道，不是他的手打擊了我們，而我們所遭遇的是出於偶然。」
10 So the men did as instructed. They took two milk cows, hitched them to the cart, and penned up their calves.
人們就這樣作了；牽出兩頭正在哺乳的母牛來，套上那輛新車，將牛犢關在棚裏，
11 Then they put the ark of the LORD on the cart, along with the chest containing the gold rats and the images of the tumors.
把上主的約櫃，以及裝有金老鼠和毒瘡像的匣子，都放在車上。
12 And the cows headed straight up the road toward Beth-shemesh, staying on that one highway and lowing as they went, never straying to the right or to the left. The rulers of the Philistines followed behind them to the border of Beth-shemesh.
那對母牛直直奔向貝特舍默士的路上走去，一邊走，一邊叫，不偏左也不偏右；培肋舍特的酋長跟在後面，一直到了貝特舍默士的邊境。
13 Now the people of Beth-shemesh were harvesting wheat in the valley, and when they looked up and saw the ark, they were overjoyed at the sight.
那時，貝特舍默士人正在谷中收割麥子，舉目一看，見是上主的約櫃，就前去歡迎。
14 The cart came to the field of Joshua of Beth-shemesh and stopped there near a large rock. The people chopped up the cart and offered the cows as a burnt offering to the LORD.
車來到貝特舍默士人約叔亞的莊田，就在那裏停住了。那裏有一塊大石頭，人就將車輛的木頭劈開，把母牛祭獻給上主作全燔祭。
15 And the Levites took down the ark of the LORD and the chest containing the gold objects, and they placed them on the large rock. That day the men of Beth-shemesh offered burnt offerings and made sacrifices to the LORD.
肋未人先把上主的約櫃和旁邊盛有金器的匣子搬下來，放在那塊大石上。貝特舍默士人當天給上主獻了全燔祭，宰殺了許多犧牲。
16 And when the five rulers of the Philistines saw this, they returned to Ekron that same day.
培肋舍特的五位酋長見事已成，當天就回了厄刻龍。
17 As a guilt offering to the LORD, the Philistines had sent back one gold tumor for each city: Ashdod, Gaza, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron.
以下是培肋舍特人奉獻給上主作為贖罪禮品的金毒瘡像：阿市多得一個，迦薩一個，阿市刻隆一個，加特一個，厄刻龍一個。
18 The number of gold rats also corresponded to the number of Philistine cities belonging to the five rulers—the fortified cities and their outlying villages. And the large rock on which they placed the ark of the LORD stands to this day in the field of Joshua of Beth-shemesh.
金老鼠也是依照培肋舍特五酋長的城市數目，包括有垣墻的城市和所有的村落。那曾安放過上主約櫃的大石，直到今日還在貝特舍默士人約叔亞的田內，作為見證。
19 But God struck down some of the people of Beth-shemesh because they looked inside the ark of the LORD. He struck down seventy men, and the people mourned because the LORD had struck them with a great slaughter.
當貝特舍默士人看見上主的約櫃時，耶苛尼雅的子孫沒有與他們一起表示歡樂，所以上主擊殺了他們中七十人。百姓就難受，因為上主這樣嚴厲打擊了百姓。
20 The men of Beth-shemesh asked, “Who can stand in the presence of the LORD, this holy God? To whom should the ark go up from here?”
於是貝特舍默士人說：「在這神聖的天主上主面前，誰還能站得住﹖從我們這裏把它送到誰那裏去呢﹖」
21 So they sent messengers to the people of Kiriath-jearim, saying, “The Philistines have returned the ark of the LORD. Come down and take it up with you.”
他們遂派使者到克黎雅特耶阿陵的居民那裏，對他們說：「培肋舍特人送回了上主的約櫃，你們下來，將它抬上去，放在你們那裏。」
