[1] The ark of the LORD was in the country of the Philistines seven months.
[2] And the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners and said,
"What shall we do with the ark of the LORD? Tell us with what we shall send
it to its place." [3] They said, "If you send away the ark of the God of
Israel, do not send it empty, but by all means return him a guilt offering.
Then you will be healed, and it will be known to you why his hand does not
turn away from you." [4] And they said, "What is the guilt offering that we
shall return to him?" They answered, "Five golden tumors and five golden
mice, according to the number of the lords of the Philistines; for the same
plague was upon all of you and upon your lords. [5] So you must make images
of your tumors and images of your mice that ravage the land, and give glory
to the God of Israel; perhaps he will lighten his hand from off you and
your gods and your land. [6] Why should you harden your hearts as the
Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? After he had made sport of
them, did not they let the people go, and they departed? [7] Now then, take
and prepare a new cart and two milch cows upon which there has never come a
yoke, and yoke the cows to the cart, but take their calves home, away from
them. [8] And take the ark of the LORD and place it on the cart, and put in
a box at its side the figures of gold, which you are returning to him as a
guilt offering. Then send it off, and let it go its way. [9] And watch; if
it goes up on the way to its own land, to Beth-she'mesh, then it is he who
has done us this great harm; but if not, then we shall know that it is not
his hand that struck us, it happened to us by chance." [10] The men did so,
and took two milch cows and yoked them to the cart, and shut up their
calves at home. [11] And they put the ark of the LORD on the cart, and the
box with the golden mice and the images of their tumors. [12] And the cows
went straight in the direction of Beth-she'mesh along one highway, lowing
as they went; they turned neither to the right nor to the left, and the
lords of the Philistines went after them as far as the border of
Beth-she'mesh. [13] Now the people of Beth-she'mesh were reaping their
wheat harvest in the valley; and when they lifted up their eyes and saw the
ark, they rejoiced to see it. [14] The cart came into the field of Joshua
of Beth-she'mesh, and stopped there. A great stone was there; and they
split up the wood of the cart and offered the cows as a burnt offering to
the LORD. [15] And the Levites took down the ark of the LORD and the box
that was beside it, in which were the golden figures, and set them upon the
great stone; and the men of Beth-she'mesh offered burnt offerings and
sacrificed sacrifices on that day to the LORD. [16] And when the five lords
of the Philistines saw it, they returned that day to Ekron. [17] These are
the golden tumors, which the Philistines returned as a guilt offering to
the LORD: one for Ashdod, one for Gaza, one for Ash'kelon, one for Gath,
one for Ekron; [18] also the golden mice, according to the number of all
the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five lords, both fortified
cities and unwalled villages. The great stone, beside which they set down
the ark of the LORD, is a witness to this day in the field of Joshua of
Beth-she'mesh. [19] And he slew some of the men of Beth-she'mesh, because
they looked into the ark of the LORD; he slew seventy men of them, and the
people mourned because the LORD had made a great slaughter among the
people. [20] Then the men of Beth-she'mesh said, "Who is able to stand
before the LORD, this holy God? And to whom shall he go up away from us?"
[21] So they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kir'iath-je'arim,
saying, "The Philistines have returned the ark of the LORD. Come down and
take it up to you."
