1 Samuel 6
1 Therfor the arke of the Lord was in the cuntrei of Filisteis bi seuene monethis;
Now the ark of God was in the land of the Philistines seven months.
2 and aftir these thingis Filisteis clepiden preestis and false dyuynours, and seiden, What schulen we do of the arke of God? Shewe ye to vs, hou we schulen sende it in to his place.
And the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners, saying: What shall we do with the ark of the Lord? tell us how we are to send it back to its place? And they said:
3 Whiche seiden, If ye senden ayen the arke of God of Israel, nyle ye delyuere it voide, but yelde ye to hym that, that ye owen for synne; and thanne ye schulen be heelid, and ye schulen wite, whi `his hond goith not awei fro you.
If you send back the ark of the God of Israel, send it not away empty, but render unto him what you owe for sin, and then you shall be healed: and you shall know why his hand departeth not from you.
4 And thei seiden, What is it, that we owen to yelde to hym for trespas?
They answered: What is it we ought to render unto him for sin? and they answered:
5 And thei answeriden to hem, Bi the noumbre of prouynces of Filisteis ye schulen make fyue goldun ersis, and fyue goldun myis; for o veniaunce was to alle you and to youre `wise men, ether princes. And ye schulen make the licnesse of youre ersis, and the licnesse of myis that distriede youre lond; and ye schulen yyue glorie to God of Israel, if in hap he withdrawe his hond fro you, and fro youre goddis, and fro youre lond.
According to the number of the provinces of the Philistines you shall make five golden emerods, and five golden mice: for the same plague hath been upon you all, and upon your lords. And you shall make the likeness of your emerods, and the likeness of the mice that have destroyed the land, and you shall give glory to the God of Israel: to see if he will take off his hand from you, and from your gods, and from your land.
6 Whi maken ye heuy youre hertis, as Egipt, and Farao `made heuy his herte? Whether not after that he was smytun, thanne he delyuerede hem, and thei yeden forth?
Why do you harden your hearts, as Egypt and Pharao hardened their hearts? did not he, after he was struck, then let them go, and they departed?
7 Now therfor take ye, and make o newe wayn, and ioyne ye twei kien hauynge caluys, on whiche kyen no yok was put; and close ye her calues at hoome.
Now therefore take and make a new cart: and two kine that have calved, on which there hath come no yoke, tie to the cart, and shut up their calves at home.
8 And ye schulen take the arke of the Lord, and ye schulen sette in the wayn; and ye schulen put in a panyere at the side therof the goldun vessels, whiche ye payeden to hym for trespas; and delyuere ye the arke, that it go.
And you shall take the ark of the Lord, and lay it on the cart, and the vessels of gold, which you have paid him for sin, you shall put into a little box, at the side thereof: and send it away that it may go.
9 And ye schulen biholde, and sotheli if it stieth ayens Bethsames bi the weie of `hise coostis, `he dide to you this greet yuel; but if nay, we schulen wite `for his hond touchide not vs, but `if it bifelde bi hap.
And you shall look: and if it go up by the way of his own coasts towards Bethsames, then he hath done us this great evil: but if not, we shall know that it is not his hand hath touched us, but it hath happened by chance.
10 Therfor thei diden in this manere; and thei token twei kien that yauen mylk to caluys, and ioyneden to the wayn; and thei closiden her caluys at hoome.
They did therefore in this manner: and taking two kine, that had suckling calves, they yoked them to the cart, and shut up their calves at home.
11 And thei puttiden the arke of God on the wayn, and `thei puttiden the panyere, that hadde the goldun myis, and the licnesse of ersis `on the wayn.
And they laid the ark of God upon the cart, and the little box that had in it the golden mice and the likeness of the emerods.
12 Sotheli the kien yeden streiytli bi the weie that ledith to Bethsames; and tho yeden in o weie goynge and lowynge, and bowiden not nether to the riyt side nether to the left side; but also the wise men of Filisteis sueden `til to the termes of Bethsames.
And the kine took the straight way that leadeth to Bethsames, and they went along the way, lowing as they went: and turned not aside neither to the right hand nor to the left: and the lords of the Philistines followed them as far as the borders of Bethsames.
13 Forsothe men of Bethsames repiden whete in the valey, and thei reisiden the iyen, and sien the arke, and thei weren ioyful, whanne thei hadden sien `the arke.
Now the Bethsamites were reaping wheat in the valley: and lifting up their eyes they saw the ark, and rejoiced to see it.
14 And the wayn cam in to the feelde of Josue of Bethsames, and stood there. Forsothe a greet stoon was there; and thei kittiden `the trees of the wayn, and puttiden the kien `on tho trees, a brent sacrifice to the Lord.
And the cart came into the field of Josue a Bethsamite, and stood there. And there was a great stone, and they cut in pieces the wood of the cart, and laid the kine upon it a holocaust to the Lord.
15 Sotheli dekenes token doun the arke of God, and the panyere, that was bisidis it, where ynne the goldun vessels weren; and thei settiden on the greet stoon. Forsothe the men of Bethsames offriden brent sacrifices, and offriden slayn sacrifices in that dai `to the Lord.
And the Levites took down the ark of God, and the little box that was at the side of it, wherein were the vessels of gold, and they put them upon the great stone. The men also of Bethsames offered holocausts and sacrificed victims that day to the Lord.
16 And fyue princes of Filisteis sien, and turneden ayen in to Accoron in that dai.
And the five princes of the Philistines saw, and they returned to Accaron the same day.
17 Sotheli these ben the goldun ersis, whiche the Filisteis yeldiden to the Lord for trespas; Azotus yeldide oon; Gaza yeldide oon; Ascolon yeldide oon; Geth yeldide oon; Accaron yeldide oon;
And these are the golden emerods, which the Philistines returned for sin to the Lord: For Azotus one, for Gaza one, for Ascalon one, for Geth one, for Accaron one:
18 and Filisteis yeldiden golden myis bi the noumbre of `citees of Filisteis of fyue prouynces, fro a wallid citee `til to `a town that was with out wal, and `til to the greet Abel, `on which thei puttiden the arke of the Lord, that was there `til in that dai in the feeld of Josue of Bethsames.
And the golden mice according to the number of the cities of the Philistines, of the five provinces, from the fenced city to the village that was without wall, and to the great Abel (the stone) whereon they set down the ark of the Lord, which was till that day in the field of Josue the Bethsamite.
19 Forsothe the Lord smoot of the men of Bethsames, for thei hadden seyn the arke of the Lord, and he smoot of the puple seuenti men, and fifty thousynde of the porail. And the puple morenyde, for the Lord hadde smyte `the puple with greet veniaunce.
But he slew of the men of Bethsames, because they had seen the ark of the Lord: and he slew of the people seventy men, and fifty thousand of the common people. And the people lamented, because the Lord had smitten the people with a great slaughter.
20 And men of Bethsames seiden, Who schal now stonde in the siyt of the Lord God of this hooli thing, and to whom schal it stie fro vs?
And the men of Bethsames said: Who shall be able to stand before the Lord this holy God? and to whom shall he go up from us?
21 And thei senten messangeris to the dwelleris of Cariathiarym, and seiden, Filisteis han brouyt ayen the arke of the Lord; come ye doun, and lede it ayen to you.
And they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Cariathiarim, saying: The Philistines have brought back the ark of the Lord, come ye down and fetch it up to you.
