1 Samuel 6

1And the ark of Jehovah was in the country of the Philistines seven months.

1The chest of the Lord remained in the territory of the Philistines for seven months.

2And the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners, saying, What shall we do with the ark of Jehovah? show us wherewith we shall send it to its place.

2Then the Philistines called for their priests and magicians and asked, 'What should we do with the chest of the Lord? Tell us how we should send it back to its own place.'

3And they said, If ye send away the ark of the God of Israel, send it not empty; but by all means 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.

3The priests and magicians answered, 'If you send back the chest of the God of Israel, do not send it away empty. You must send a guilt offering to him. Then you will be healed, and you will understand why he has not stopped punishing you.'

4Then said they, What shall be the trespass-offering which we shall return to him? And they said, Five golden tumors, 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.

4The people asked, 'What kind of guilt offering should we send to him?' They replied, 'Make five gold models of the tumors and five gold mice, matching the number of the Philistine rulers, because the same plague has struck both you and your leaders.'

5Wherefore ye shall make images of your tumors, 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.

5'Make images of the tumors and the mice that are ruining the land, and honor the God of Israel. Perhaps he will stop being so hard on you, your gods, and your land.'

6Wherefore 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?

6'Why be stubborn like the Egyptians and Pharaoh were? After God had dealt severely with them, didn't they let the Israelites go so they could leave?'

7Now therefore take and prepare you a new cart, and two milch kine, on which there hath come no yoke; and tie the kine to the cart, and bring their calves home from them;

7'Now, prepare a new cart and two cows that have recently given birth and have never been under a yoke. Hitch the cows to the cart, but take their calves back to the barn.'

8and take the ark of Jehovah, 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.

8'Place the chest of the Lord on the cart. Put the gold objects you are sending as a guilt offering in a box beside it. Then send the cart on its way.'

9And see; if it goeth up by the way of its own border 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.

9'Watch the cart. If it goes up the road toward the Israelite town of Beth-shemesh, then it was the Lord who brought this great disaster on us. But if it doesn't, we will know it wasn't his hand that struck us, and that our trouble happened by chance.'

10And the men did so, and took two milch kine, and tied them to the cart, and shut up their calves at home;

10The men followed these instructions. They took two cows that had calves, hitched them to the cart, and shut their calves in the barn.

11and they put the ark of Jehovah upon the cart, and the coffer with the mice of gold and the images of their tumors.

11They placed the chest of the Lord on the cart, along with the box containing the gold mice and the models of the tumors.

12And the kine took the straight way by the way to Beth-shemesh; they 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.

12The cows went straight toward Beth-shemesh, staying on the main road and mooing as they went. They did not turn to the right or the left. The Philistine rulers followed them as far as the border of Beth-shemesh.

13And 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.

13The people of Beth-shemesh were harvesting their wheat in the valley. When they looked up and saw the chest, they were overjoyed.

14And the cart came into the field of Joshua the Beth-shemite, and stood there, where there was a great stone: and they clave the wood of the cart, and offered up the kine for a burnt-offering unto Jehovah.

14The cart came into the field of Joshua of Beth-shemesh and stopped there beside a large rock. The people chopped up the wood of the cart and sacrificed the cows as a burnt offering to the Lord.

15And the Levites took down the ark of Jehovah, 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 Jehovah.

15The Levites took down the chest of the Lord and the box containing the gold objects and placed them on the large rock. That day the people of Beth-shemesh presented burnt offerings and sacrifices to the Lord.

16And when the five lords of the Philistines had seen it, they returned to Ekron the same day.

16After the five Philistine rulers saw all this, they returned to Ekron that same day.

17And these are the golden tumors which the Philistines returned for a trespass-offering unto Jehovah: for Ashdod one, for Gaza one, for Ashkelon one, for Gath one, for Ekron one;

17The five gold tumors the Philistines sent as a guilt offering to the Lord were for the cities of Ashdod, Gaza, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron.

18and the golden mice, according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five lords, both of fortified cities and of country villages, even unto the great stone, whereon they set down the ark of Jehovah, which stone remaineth unto this day in the field of Joshua the Beth-shemite.

18The number of gold mice matched the number of Philistine towns belonging to the five rulers, including both fortified cities and country villages. The large rock where they set the chest of the Lord stands to this day in the field of Joshua of Beth-shemesh as a witness.

19And he smote of the men of Beth-shemesh, because they had looked into the ark of Jehovah, he smote of the people seventy men, andfifty thousand men; and the people mourned, because Jehovah had smitten the people with a great slaughter.

19But God struck down some of the men of Beth-shemesh because they looked inside the chest of the Lord. He killed seventy men and fifty thousand men, and the people wept because the Lord had struck them with such a terrible slaughter.

20And the men of Beth-shemesh said, Who is able to stand before Jehovah, this holy God? and to whom shall he go up from us?

20The men of Beth-shemesh asked, 'Who can stand in the presence of the Lord, this holy God? Where can we send the chest to get it away from us?'

21And they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kiriath-jearim, saying, The Philistines have brought back the ark of Jehovah; come ye down, and fetch it up to you.

21They sent messengers to the people of Kiriath-jearim, saying, 'The Philistines have returned the chest of the Lord. Come down and take it back with you.'