1 Samuel 6
1 And the ark of Jehovah is in the field of the Philistines seven months,
And the ark of YHWH was in the country of the Philistines seven months.
2 and the Philistines call for priests and for diviners, saying, 'What do we do to the ark of Jehovah? let us know wherewith we send it to its 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 And they say, 'If ye are sending away the ark of the God of Israel, ye do not send it away empty; for ye do certainly send back to Him a guilt-offering; then ye are healed, and it hath been known to you why His hand doth not turn aside from 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 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 emerods, and five golden mice — for one plague [is] to you all, and to your princes,
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 ye have made images of your emerods, and images of your mice that are corrupting the land, and have given honour to the God of Israel; it may be He doth lighten His hand from off you, and from off your gods, and from off your land;
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 and why do ye harden your heart as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their heart? do they not — when He hath rolled Himself upon them — send them away, and they go?
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 'And now, take and make one new cart, and two suckling kine, on which a yoke hath not gone up, and ye have bound the kine in the cart, and caused their young ones to turn back from after them to the house,
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 have taken the ark of Jehovah, and put it on the cart, and the vessels of gold which ye have returned to Him — a guilt-offering — ye put in a coffer on its side, and have sent it away, and it hath gone;
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 have seen, if the way of its own border it goeth up to Beth-Shemesh — He hath done to us this great evil; and if not, then we have known that His hand hath not come against us; an accident it hath been to us.'
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 And the men do so, and take two suckling kine, and bind them in the cart, and their young ones they have shut up in the house;
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 they place the ark of Jehovah upon the cart, and the coffer, and the golden mice, and the images of their emerods.
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 And the kine go straight in the way, on the way to Beth-Shemesh, in one highway they have gone, going and lowing, and have not turned aside right or left; and the princes of the Philistines are going after them unto the border of Beth-Shemesh.
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 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 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 cart hath come in unto the field of Joshua the Beth-Shemeshite, and standeth there, and there [is] a great stone, and they cleave the wood of the cart, and the kine they have caused to ascend — a burnt-offering to Jehovah.
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 And the Levites have taken down the ark of Jehovah, 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 to ascend burnt-offerings and sacrifice sacrifices in that day to Jehovah;
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 the five princes of the Philistines have seen [it], and turn back [to] Ekron, on that day.
And when the five rulers of the Philistines had seen it, they returned to Ekron the same day.
17 And these [are] the golden emerods which the Philistines have sent back — a guilt-offering to Jehovah: for Ashdod one, for Gaza one, for Ashkelon one, for Gath one, for Ekron one;
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 the golden mice — the number of all the cities of the Philistines — for the five princes, from the fenced city even unto the hamlet of the villages, even unto the great meadow on which they placed the ark of Jehovah — [are] unto this day in the field of Joshua the Beth-Shemeshite.
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 And He smiteth among the men of Beth-Shemesh, for they looked into the ark of Jehovah, yea, He smiteth among the people seventy men — fifty chief men; and the people mourn, because Jehovah smote among the people — a great smiting.
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 the men of Beth-Shemesh say, 'Who is able to stand before Jehovah, this holy God? and unto whom doth He go up from us?'
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 they send messengers unto the inhabitants of Kirjath-Jearim, saying, 'The Philistines have sent back the ark of Jehovah; come down, take it up unto 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.
