1 Samuel 6
1 Therfor the arke of the Lord was in the cuntrei of Filisteis bi seuene monethis;
And the ark of YHWH was in the country 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 to the ark of YHWH? tell us wherewith we shall send it to his place.
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.
And they said, If ye send away the ark of the Elohim of Israel, send it not empty; but in any wise return him a trespass offering: then ye shall be healed, and it shall be known to you why his hand is not removed from you.
4 And thei seiden, What is it, that we owen to yelde to hym for trespas?
Then said they, What shall be the trespass offering which we shall return to him? They answered, Five golden emerods, and five golden mice, according to the number of rulers of the Philistines: for one plague was on you all, and on your rulers.
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.
Wherefore ye shall make images of your emerods, and images of your mice that mar the land; and ye shall give glory unto the Elohim of Israel: peradventure he will lighten his hand from off you, and from off yourelohim, and from off 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?
Wherefore then do ye harden your hearts, as the Egyptians and Pharoah hardened their hearts? when he had wrought wonderfully among them, did they not let the people 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 make a new cart, and take two milch kine, on which there hath come no yoke, and tie the kine to the cart, and bring their calves home from them:
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 take the ark of YHWH, and lay it upon the cart; and put the jewels of gold, which ye return him for a trespass offering, in a coffer by 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 see, if it goeth up by the way of his own coast to Beth-shemesh, then he hath done us this great evil: but if not, then we shall know that is not his hand that smote us; it was a chance that happened to us.
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.
And the men did so; and took two milch kine, and tied 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 YHWH upon the cart, and the coffer with the mice of gold and the images of their 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 to the way of Beth-shemesh, and went along the highway, lowing as they went, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left; and the rulers of the Philistines went after them unto the border of Beth-shemesh.
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.
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.
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 Joshua, a Beth-shemite, and stood there, where there was a great stone: and they clave the wood of the cart, and offered the kine a burnt offering unto YHWH.
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 YHWH, 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 YHWH.
16 And fyue princes of Filisteis sien, and turneden ayen in to Accoron in that dai.
And when the five rulers of the Philistines had seen it, they returned to Ekron 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 a trespass offering unto YHWH; for Ashdod one, for Gaza one, for Askelon one, for Gath one, for Ekron 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 all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five rulers, both of fenced cities, and of country villages, even unto the great stone of Abel, whereon they set down the ark of YHWH: which stone remaineth unto this day in the field of Joshua, the Beth-shemite.
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.
And he smote the men of Beth-shemesh, because they had looked into the ark of YHWH, even he smote of the people fifty thousand and threescore and ten men: and the people lamented, because YHWH had smitten many of 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 Beth-shemesh said, Who is able to stand before this holy YHWH Elohim? 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 Kirjath-jearim, saying, The Philistines have brought again the ark of YHWH; come ye down, and fetch it up to you.
