- First Book of Samuel (First Book of Kings)
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chapter 6
1
Now
the ark of God was in the land of the Philistines seven months.
2 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 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 They answered: What is it we ought to render unto him
for sin? and they answered:
5 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 the five princes of the Philistines saw, and
they returned to Accaron the same day.
17 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 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 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 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 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.
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