الإصحَاحُ
السَّادِسُ

 

Chapter
6

1
And 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, saying, What shall
we do to the ark of the LORD? tell us wherewith we shall send it to his place.

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
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
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
Wherefore 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?

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
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
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 it is not his
hand that smote us: it was a chance that happened to us.

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
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
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
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
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
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
And when the five lords of the Philistines had seen it, they returned to Ekron
the same day.

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 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
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
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
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.