1 Samuel 6
1 And the ark of the LORD was in the country of the Philistines seven months.
And the Ark of YHWH is in the field of the Philistines [for] seven months,
2 And the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners, saying, What shall we do with the ark of the LORD? shew us wherewith we shall send it to its place.
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.”
3 And they said, If ye send away the ark of the God of Israel, send it not empty; but in any wise return him a guilt offering: then ye shall be healed, and it shall be known to you why his hand is not removed from you.
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.”
4 Then said they, What shall be the guilt offering which we shall return to him? And they said, Five golden tumours, and five golden mice, [according to] the number of the lords of the Philistines: for one plague was on you all, and on your lords.
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,
5 Wherefore ye shall make images of your tumours, and images of your mice that mar the land; and ye shall give glory unto the God of Israel: peradventure he will lighten his hand from off you, and from off your gods, and from off your land:
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;
6 Wherefore then do ye harden your hearts, as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? when he had wrought wonderfully among them, did they not let the people go and they departed?
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?
7 Now therefore take and prepare you a new cart, and two milch kine, on which there hath come no yoke, and tie the kine to the cart, and bring their calves home from them:
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,
8 and take the ark of the LORD, and lay it upon the cart; and put the jewels of gold, which ye return him for a guilt offering, in a coffer by the side thereof; and send it away, that it may go.
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;
9 And see, if it goeth up by the way of its own border to Beth-shemesh, then he hath done us this great evil: but if not, then we shall know that it is not his hand that smote us; it was a chance that happened to us.
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.”
10 And the men did so; and took two milch kine, and tied them to the cart, and shut up their calves at home:
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;
11 and they put the ark of the LORD upon the cart, and the coffer with the mice of gold and the images of their tumours.
and they place the Ark of YHWH on the cart, and the coffer, and the golden muroids, and the images of their lumps.
12 And the kine took the straight way by the way to Beth-shemesh; they went along the highway, lowing as they went, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left; and the lords of the Philistines went after them unto the border of Beth-shemesh.
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.
13 And they of Beth-shemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley: and they lifted up their eyes, and saw the ark, and rejoiced to see it.
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].
14 And the cart came into the field of Joshua the Beth-shemite, and stood there, where there was a great stone: and they clave the wood of the cart, and offered up the kine for a burnt offering unto the LORD.
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.
15 And the Levites took down the ark of the LORD, and the coffer that was with it, wherein the jewels of gold were, and put them on the great stone: and the men of Beth-shemesh offered burnt offerings and sacrificed sacrifices the same day unto the LORD.
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;
16 And when the five lords of the Philistines had seen it, they returned to Ekron the same day.
and the five princes of the Philistines have seen [it], and return [to] Ekron, on that day.
17 And these are the golden tumours which the Philistines returned for a guilt offering unto the LORD; for Ashdod one, for Gaza one, for Ashkelon one, for Gath one, for Ekron one;
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;
18 and the golden mice, according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five lords, both of fenced cities and of country villages: even unto the great stone, whereon they set down the ark of the LORD, [which stone remaineth] unto this day in the field of Joshua the Beth-shemite.
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.
19 And he smote of the men of Beth-shemesh, because they had looked into the ark of the LORD, even he smote of the people seventy men, [and] fifty thousand men: and the people mourned, because the LORD had smitten the people with a great slaughter.
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.
20 And the men of Beth-shemesh said, Who is able to stand before the LORD, this holy God? and to whom shall he go up from us?
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?”
21 And they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kiriath-jearim, saying, The Philistines have brought again the ark of the LORD; come ye down, and fetch it up to you.
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.”
