1 Samuel 6

1And the ark of the Yahuah was in the country of the Philistines seven months. 2And the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners, saying, What shall we do to the ark of the Yahuah? tell us wherewith we shall send it to his place. 3And 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. 4Then said they, What the trespass offering which we shall return to him? They answered, Five golden emerods, and five golden mice, the number of the lords of the Philistines: for one plague on you all, and on your lords. 5therefore 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 your gods, and from off your land. 6therefore then do ye harden your hearts, as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? when he had wrought wonderfully among them, did they not let the people go, and they departed? 7Now therefore make a new cart, and take two milch kine, on which there has come no yoke, and tie the kine to the cart, and bring their calves home from them: 8And take the ark of the Yahuah, and lay it upon the cart; and put the jewels of gold, which ye return him a trespass offering, in a coffer by the side thereof; and send it away, that it may go. 9And see, if it goeth up by the way of his own coast to Bethshemesh, he has done us this great evil: but if not, then we shall know that not his hand smote us: it a chance happened to us. 10And the men did so; and took two milch kine, and tied them to the cart, and shut up their calves at home: 11And they laid the ark of the Yahuah upon the cart, and the coffer with the mice of gold and the images of their emerods. 12And the kine took the straight way to the way of Bethshemesh, went along the highway, lowing as they went, and turned not aside the right hand or the left; and the lords of the Philistines went after them unto the border of Bethshemesh. 13And Bethshemesh reaping their wheat harvest in the valley: and they lifted up their eyes, and saw the ark, and rejoiced to see . 14And the cart came into the field of Joshua, a Bethshemite, and stood there, where a great stone: and they clave the wood of the cart, and offered the kine a burnt offering unto the Yahuah. 15And the Levites took down the ark of the Yahuah, and the coffer that with it, wherein the jewels of gold , and put on the great stone: and the men of Bethshemesh offered burnt offerings and sacrificed sacrifices the same day unto the Yahuah. 16And when the five lords of the Philistines had seen , they returned to Ekron the same day. 17And these the golden emerods which the Philistines returned a trespass offering unto the Yahuah; for Ashdod one, for Gaza one, for Askelon one, for Gath one, for Ekron one; 18And the golden mice, the number of all the cities of the Philistines to the five lords, of fenced cities, and of country villages, even unto the great Abel, whereon they set down the ark of the Yahuah: unto this day in the field of Joshua, the Bethshemite. 19And he smote the men of Bethshemesh, because they had looked into the ark of the Yahuah, even he smote of the people fifty thousand and threescore and ten men: and the people lamented, because the Yahuah had smitten of the people with a great slaughter. 20And the men of Bethshemesh said, Who is able to stand before this holy Yahuah Elohim? and to whom shall he go up from us? 21And they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kirjathjearim, saying, The Philistines have brought again the ark of the Yahuah; come ye down, fetch it up to you.