I Samuelis 6
1 Fuit ergo arca Domini in regione Philisthinorum septem mensibus.
When the ark of the LORD had been in the land of the Philistines seven months,
2 Et vocaverunt Philisthiim sacerdotes et divinos, dicentes: Quid faciemus de arca Domini? indicate nobis quomodo remittamus eam in locum suum. Qui dixerunt:
the Philistines summoned the priests and diviners, saying, “What shall we do with the ark of the LORD? Tell us how to send it back to its place.”
3 Si remittitis arcam Dei Israël, nolite dimittere eam vacuam, sed quod debetis, reddite ei pro peccato, et tunc curabimini: et scietis quare non recedat manus ejus a vobis.
They replied, “If you return the ark of the God of Israel, do not send it away empty, but by all means return it to Him with a guilt offering. Then you will be healed, and you will understand why His hand has not been lifted from you.”
4 Qui dixerunt: Quid est quod pro delicto reddere debeamus ei? Responderuntque illi:
“What guilt offering should we send back to Him?” asked the Philistines. “Five gold tumors and five gold rats,” they said, “according to the number of rulers of the Philistines, since the same plague has struck both you and your rulers.
5 Juxta numerum provinciarum Philisthinorum quinque anos aureos facietis, et quinque mures aureos: quia plaga una fuit omnibus vobis, et satrapis vestris. Facietisque similitudines anorum vestrorum, et similitudines murium, qui demoliti sunt terram: et dabitis Deo Israël gloriam, si forte relevet manum suam a vobis, et a diis vestris, et a terra vestra.
Make images of your tumors and of the rats that are ravaging the land. Give glory to the God of Israel, and perhaps He will lift His hand from you and your gods and your land.
6 Quare aggravatis corda vestra, sicut aggravavit Ægyptus et Pharao cor suum? nonne postquam percussus est, tunc dimisit eos, et abierunt?
Why harden your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened theirs? When He afflicted them, did they not send the people on their way as they departed?
7 Nunc ergo arripite et facite plaustrum novum unum: et duas vaccas fœtas, quibus non est impositum jugum, jungite in plaustro, et recludite vitulos earum domi.
Now, therefore, prepare one new cart with two milk cows that have never been yoked. Hitch the cows to the cart, but take their calves away and pen them up.
8 Tolletisque arcam Domini, et ponetis in plaustro, et vasa aurea quæ exsolvistis ei pro delicto, ponetis in capsellam ad latus ejus: et dimittite eam ut vadat.
Take the ark of the LORD, set it on the cart, and in a chest beside it put the gold objects you are sending Him as a guilt offering. Then send the ark on its way,
9 Et aspicietis: et si quidem per viam finium suorum ascenderit contra Bethsames, ipse fecit nobis hoc malum grande: sin autem, minime: sciemus quia nequaquam manus ejus tetigit nos, sed casu accidit.
but keep watching it. If it goes up the road to its homeland, toward Beth-shemesh, it is the LORD who has brought on us this great disaster. But if it does not, then we will know that it was not His hand that punished us and that it happened by chance.”
10 Fecerunt ergo illi hoc modo: et tollentes duas vaccas quæ lactabant vitulos, junxerunt ad plaustrum, vitulosque earum concluserunt domi.
So the men did as instructed. They took two milk cows, hitched them to the cart, and penned up their calves.
11 Et posuerunt arcam Dei super plaustrum, et capsellam quæ habebat mures aureos et similitudines anorum.
Then they put the ark of the LORD on the cart, along with the chest containing the gold rats and the images of the tumors.
12 Ibant autem in directum vaccæ per viam quæ ducit Bethsames, et itinere uno gradiebantur, pergentes et mugientes: et non declinabant neque ad dextram neque ad sinistram: sed et satrapæ Philisthiim sequebantur usque ad terminos Bethsames.
And the cows headed straight up the road toward Beth-shemesh, staying on that one highway and lowing as they went, never straying to the right or to the left. The rulers of the Philistines followed behind them to the border of Beth-shemesh.
13 Porro Bethsamitæ metebant triticum in valle: et elevantes oculos suos, viderunt arcam, et gavisi sunt cum vidissent.
Now the people of Beth-shemesh were harvesting wheat in the valley, and when they looked up and saw the ark, they were overjoyed at the sight.
14 Et plaustrum venit in agrum Josue Bethsamitæ, et stetit ibi. Erat autem ibi lapis magnus, et conciderunt ligna plaustri, vaccasque imposuerunt super ea holocaustum Domino.
The cart came to the field of Joshua of Beth-shemesh and stopped there near a large rock. The people chopped up the cart and offered the cows as a burnt offering to the LORD.
15 Levitæ autem deposuerunt arcam Dei, et capsellam quæ erat juxta eam, in qua erant vasa aurea, et posuerunt super lapidem grandem. Viri autem Bethsamitæ obtulerunt holocausta, et immolaverunt victimas in die illa Domino.
And the Levites took down the ark of the LORD and the chest containing the gold objects, and they placed them on the large rock. That day the men of Beth-shemesh offered burnt offerings and made sacrifices to the LORD.
16 Et quinque satrapæ Philisthinorum viderunt, et reversi sunt in Accaron in die illa.
And when the five rulers of the Philistines saw this, they returned to Ekron that same day.
17 Hi sunt autem ani aurei quos reddiderunt Philisthiim pro delicto, Domino: Azotus unum, Gaza unum, Ascalon unum, Geth unum, Accaron unum:
As a guilt offering to the LORD, the Philistines had sent back one gold tumor for each city: Ashdod, Gaza, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron.
18 et mures aureos secundum numerum urbium Philisthiim, quinque provinciarum, ab urbe murata usque ad villam quæ erat absque muro, et usque ad Abelmagnum, super quem posuerunt arcam Domini, quæ erat usque in illum diem in agro Josue Bethsamitis.
The number of gold rats also corresponded to the number of Philistine cities belonging to the five rulers—the fortified cities and their outlying villages. And the large rock on which they placed the ark of the LORD stands to this day in the field of Joshua of Beth-shemesh.
19 Percussit autem de viris Bethsamitibus, eo quod vidissent arcam Domini: et percussit de populo septuaginta viros, et quinquaginta millia plebis. Luxitque populus, eo quod Dominus percussisset plebem plaga magna.
But God struck down some of the people of Beth-shemesh because they looked inside the ark of the LORD. He struck down seventy men, and the people mourned because the LORD had struck them with a great slaughter.
20 Et dixerunt viri Bethsamitæ: Quis poterit stare in conspectu Domini Dei sancti hujus? et ad quem ascendet a nobis?
The men of Beth-shemesh asked, “Who can stand in the presence of the LORD, this holy God? To whom should the ark go up from here?”
21 Miseruntque nuntios ad habitatores Cariathiarim, dicentes: Reduxerunt Philisthiim arcam Domini: descendite, et reducite eam ad vos.
So they sent messengers to the people of Kiriath-jearim, saying, “The Philistines have returned the ark of the LORD. Come down and take it up with you.”
