1 Samuel 6
1 And the Ark of YHWH is in the field of the Philistines [for] seven months,
And the ark was seven months in the country of the Philistines, and their land brought forth swarms of mice.
2 and the Philistines call for priests and for diviners, saying, “What do we do to the Ark of YHWH? Let us know with what we send it to its place.”
And the Philistines call their priests, and their prophets, and their enchanters, saying, What shall we do to the ark of the Lord? teach us wherewith we shall send it away to its place.
3 And they say, “If you are sending the Ark of the God of Israel away, you do not send it away empty; for you certainly send back a guilt-offering to Him; then you are healed, and it has been known to you why His hand does not turn aside from you.”
And they said, If you send away the ark of the covenant of the Lord God of Israel, do not on any account send it away empty, but by all means render to it an offering for the plague; and then shall you be healed, and an atonement shall be made for you: should not his hand be [thus] stayed from off you?
4 And 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 lumps, and five golden muroids—for one plague [is] to you all, and to your princes,
And they say, What [is] the offering for the plague [which] we shall return to it? and they said,
5 and you have made images of your lumps, and images of your muroids that are corrupting the land, and have given glory to the God of Israel; it may be [that] He lightens His hand from off you, and from off your gods, and from off your land;
According to the number of the lords of the Philistines, five golden tumors, for the plague was on you, and on your rulers, and on the people; and golden mice, the likeness of the mice that destroy your land: and you shall give glory to the Lord, that he may lighten his hand from off you, and from off your gods, and from off your land.
6 and why do you harden your heart as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their heart? Do they not—when He has rolled Himself on them—send them away, and they go?
And why do you harden your hearts, as Egypt and Pharao hardened their hearts? [was it] not [so] when he mocked them, [that] they let the people go, and they departed?
7 And now, take and make one new cart, and two suckling cows, on which a yoke has not gone up, and you have bound the cows in the cart, and caused their young ones to turn back from after them to the house,
And now take wood and make a new wagon, and take two cows, that have calved for the first time, without their calves; and do you yoke the cows to the wagon, and lead away the calves from behind them home.
8 and you have taken the Ark of YHWH, and put it on the cart, and the vessels of gold which you have returned to Him—a guilt-offering—you put in a coffer on its side, and have sent it away, and it has gone;
And you shall take the ark and put it on the wagon; and you shall restore to it the golden articles for the trespass-offering in a coffer by the side of it: and you shall let it go, and sent it away, and you shall depart.
9 and you have seen if it goes up the way of its own border, to Beth-Shemesh—He has done this great evil to us; and if not, then we have known that His hand has not come against us; it has been an accident to us.”
And you shall see, if it shall go the way of its coasts along by Baethsamys, he has brought upon us this great affliction; and if not, then shall we know that his hand has not touched us, but this [is a] chance [which] has happened to us.
10 And the men do so, and take two suckling cows, and bind them in the cart, and they shut up their young ones in the house;
And the Philistines did so; and they took two cows that had calved for the first time, and yoked them to the waggon, and shut up their calves at home.
11 and they place the Ark of YHWH on the cart, and the coffer, and the golden muroids, and the images of their lumps.
And they set the ark of the Lord, and the coffer, and the golden mice, on the waggon.
12 And the cows go straight in the way, on the way to Beth-Shemesh, they have gone in one highway, going and lowing, and have not turned aside right or left; and the princes of the Philistines are going after them to the border of Beth-Shemesh.
And the cows went straight on the way to the way of Baethsamys, they went along one track; and laboured, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left, and the lords of the Philistines went after it as far as the coasts of Baethsamys.
13 And 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].
And the men of Baethsamys were reaping the wheat harvest in the valley; and they lifted up their eyes, and saw the ark of the Lord, and rejoiced to meet it.
14 And the cart has come into the field of Joshua the Beth-Shemeshite, and stands there, and there [is] a great stone, and they cleave the wood of the cart, and they have caused the cows to ascend [as] a burnt-offering to YHWH.
And the waggon entered into the field of Osee, which was in Baethsamys, and they set there by it a great stone; and they split the wood of the waggon, and offered up the cows for a whole burnt offering to the Lord.
15 And the Levites have taken down the Ark of YHWH, 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 burnt-offerings to ascend and sacrifice sacrifices in that day to YHWH;
And the Levites brought up the ark of the Lord, and the coffer with it, and the golden articles upon it, and placed them on the great stone, and the men of Baethsamys offered whole burnt offerings and meat offerings on that day to the Lord.
16 and the five princes of the Philistines have seen [it], and return [to] Ekron, on that day.
And the five lords of the Philistines saw, and returned to Ascalon in that day.
17 And these [are] the golden lumps which the Philistines have sent back—a guilt-offering to YHWH: one for Ashdod, one for Gaza, one for Ashkelon, one for Gath, one for Ekron;
And these [are] the golden tumors which the lords of the Philistines gave as a trespass-offering to the Lord; for Azotus one, for Gaza one, for Ascalon one, for Geth one, for Accaron one.
18 and the golden muroids—the number of all the cities of the Philistines, for the five princes, from the fortified city even to a village of the open place, and to the great stone [[or great meadow]] on which they placed the Ark of YHWH—[are] in the field of Joshua the Beth-Shemeshite to this day.
And the golden mice according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines, belonging to the five lords, from the fenced city to the village of the Pherezite, and to the great stone, on which they placed the ark of the covenant of the Lord, that was in the field of Osee the Baethsamysite.
19 And He strikes among the men of Beth-Shemesh, for they looked into the Ark of YHWH, indeed, He strikes seventy men [out] of fifty thousand men [[or fifty thousand and seventy men]] among the people; and the people mourn, because YHWH struck among the people [with] a great striking.
And the sons of Jechonias were not pleased with the men of Baethsamys, because they saw the ark of the Lord; and [the Lord] struck among them seventy men, and fifty thousand men: and the people mourned, because the Lord had inflicted on the people, a very great plague.
20 And the men of Beth-Shemesh say, “Who is able to stand before YHWH, this holy God? And to whom does He go up from us?”
And the men of Baethsamys said, Who shall be able to pass before this holy Lord God? and to whom shall the ark of the Lord go up from us?
21 And they send messengers to the inhabitants of Kirjath-Jearim, saying, “The Philistines have sent back the Ark of YHWH; come down, take it up with you.”
And they send messengers to the inhabitants of Cariathiarim, saying, The Philistines have brought back the ark of the Lord, go down and take it home to yourselves.
