1 Samuel 6

NEW JERUSALEM	KING JAMES BIBLE
1 The ark of Yahweh was in Philistine territory for seven months.	1 And the ark of the LORD was in the country of the Philistines seven months.
2 The Philistines then cal ed for their priests and diviners and asked, 'What shall we do with the ark ofYahweh? Tel us how to send it back to where it belongs.'	2 And the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners, saying, What shall we do to the ark of the LORD? tell us wherewith we shall send it to his place.
3 They replied, 'If you send the ark of the God of Israel away, you must certainly not send it away withouta gift; you must pay him a guilt offering. You wil then recover and wil realise why he continual y oppressed you.'	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 trespass offering: then ye shall be healed, and it shall be known to you why his hand is not removed from you.
4 They then asked, 'What guilt offering ought we to pay him?' They replied, 'Corresponding to the numberof Philistine chiefs: five golden tumours and five golden rats, since the same plague afflicted your chiefs as therest of you.	4 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 the lords of the Philistines: for one plague was on you all, and on your lords.
5 So make models of your tumours and models of your rats ravaging the territory, and pay honour to theGod of Israel. Then perhaps he wil stop oppressing you, your gods and your country.	5 Wherefore ye shall make images of your emerods, 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.
6 Why should you be as stubborn as Egypt and Pharaoh were? After he had brought disasters on them,did they not let the people leave?	6 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, then, take and fit out a new cart, and two milch cows that have never borne the yoke. Thenharness the cows to the cart and take their calves back to the byre.	7 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 Then take the ark of Yahweh, place it on the cart, and put the golden objects which you are paying himas guilt offering in a box beside it; and then send it off on its own.	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 trespass offering, in a coffer by the side thereof; and send it away, that it may go.
9 Watch it; if it goes up the road to its own territory, towards Beth-Shemesh, then he was responsible forthis great harm to us; but if not, we shal know that it was not his hand that struck us, and that this has happenedto us by chance.'	9 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 The people did this. They took two milch cows and harnessed them to the cart, shutting their calves inthe byre.	10 And the men did so; and took two milch kine, and tied them to the cart, and shut up their calves at home:
11 They then put the ark of Yahweh on the cart, with the box and the golden rats and the models of theirtumours.	11 And they laid the ark of the LORD upon the cart, and the coffer with the mice of gold and the images of their emerods.
12 The cows made straight for Beth-Shemesh, keeping to the one road, lowing as they went and turningneither to right nor to left. The Philistine chiefs followed them as far as the boundaries of Beth-Shemesh.	12 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 lords of the Philistines went after them unto the border of Beth-shemesh.
13 The people of Beth-Shemesh were reaping the wheat harvest in the plain when they looked up andsaw the ark and went joyful y to meet it.	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.
14 When the cart came to the field of Joshua of Beth-Shemesh, it stopped. There was a large stonethere, and they cut up the wood of the cart and offered the cows as a burnt offering to Yahweh.	14 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 the LORD.
15 The Levites had taken down the ark of Yahweh and the box with it containing the golden objects andput these on the large stone. That day the people of Beth-Shemesh presented burnt offerings and madesacrifices to Yahweh.	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.
16 The five chiefs of the Philistines, having witnessed this, went back to Ekron the same day.	16 And when the five lords of the Philistines had seen it, they returned to Ekron the same day.
17 The golden tumours paid by the Philistines as a guilt offering to Yahweh were as fol ows: one forAshdod, one for Gaza, one for Ashkelon, one for Gath, one for Ekron;	17 And these are the golden emerods which the Philistines returned for a trespass offering unto the LORD; for Ashdod one, for Gaza one, for Askelon one, for Gath one, for Ekron one;
18 and golden rats to the number of al the Philistine towns, those of the five chiefs, from fortified townsdown to open villages: stil to this day the large stone in the field of Joshua of Beth-Shemesh, on which they putthe ark of Yahweh, is a witness.	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 of Abel, whereon they set down the ark of the LORD: which stone remaineth unto this day in the field of Joshua, the Beth-shemite.
19 Of the people of Beth-Shemesh the sons of Jeconiah had not rejoiced when they saw the ark ofYahweh, and Yahweh struck down seventy of them. The people mourned because Yahweh had struck them sofiercely.	19 And he smote the men of Beth-shemesh, because they had looked into the ark of the LORD, even he smote of the people fifty thousand and threescore and ten men: and the people lamented, because the LORD had smitten many of the people with a great slaughter.
20 The people of Beth-Shemesh then said, 'Who can stand his ground before Yahweh, this holy God? Towhom shal he go, so that we are rid of him?'	20 And the men of Beth-shemesh said, Who is able to stand before this holy LORD God? and to whom shall he go up from us?
21 So they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kiriath-Jearim, to say, 'The Philistines have sent backthe ark of Yahweh; come down and take it up to your town.'	21 And they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kirjath-jearim, saying, The Philistines have brought again the ark of the LORD; come ye down, and fetch it up to you.