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The First
Book of Samuel 6
Now the ark of God was in the land of the Philistines
seven months.
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:
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.
They answered: What is it we ought to render unto him
for sin? and they answered:
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Now the Bethsamites were reaping wheat in the valley:
and lifting up their eyes they saw the ark, and rejoiced
to see it.
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.
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.
And the five princes of the Philistines saw, and they
returned to Accaron the same day.
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:
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.
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.
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?
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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