The Ark Sent Back to Israel
1The ark of Yahweh remained in the territory of the Philistines seven months. 2Then the Philistines called for their priests and diviners and asked, “What should we do with the ark of Yahweh? Tell us how we should send it back to its place.” 3They answered, “If you send the ark of the God of Israel away, do not send it empty — you must return a guilt offering to him. Then you will be healed, and you will understand why his hand has not left you.” 4The Philistines asked, “What guilt offering should we send back to him?” They answered, “Five gold tumors and five gold mice, according to the number of the Philistine rulers, since the same plague has struck you all, including your rulers. 5Make images of your tumors and images of the mice that are destroying the land, and give glory to the God of Israel. Perhaps he will lift his hand from you, from your gods, and from your land. 6Why harden your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened theirs? When he dealt harshly with them, did they not finally let the people go, and Israel departed? 7Now then, take and prepare a new cart and two milk cows that have never worn a yoke. Hitch the cows to the cart, but take their calves away and pen them up. 8Then take the ark of Yahweh and put it on the cart. Put the gold objects you are sending back to him as a guilt offering in a box beside it, and send it off; let it go on its way. 9Then watch: if it goes up toward its own territory, toward Beth-shemesh, then it was Yahweh who brought this great disaster on us. But if not, then we will know that it was not his hand that struck us — it was only an accident that happened to us.” 10So the men did this. They took two milk cows and hitched them to the cart, and shut their calves up at home. 11They placed the ark of Yahweh on the cart, along with the box containing the gold mice and the images of the tumors. 12The cows went straight up the road toward Beth-shemesh, keeping to the one highway, lowing as they went, without turning aside to the right or the left. The Philistine rulers followed them all the way to the border of Beth-shemesh. 13The people of Beth-shemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley. When they looked up and saw the ark, they rejoiced at the sight of it. 14The cart came to the field of Joshua of Beth-shemesh and stopped there, beside a large stone. The people split up the wood of the cart and offered the cows as a burnt offering to Yahweh. 15The Levites took down the ark of Yahweh, along with the box beside it containing the gold objects, and placed them on the large stone. That day the men of Beth-shemesh offered burnt offerings and other sacrifices to Yahweh. 16When the five Philistine rulers had seen this, they returned to Ekron that same day. 17These are the gold tumors the Philistines sent back as a guilt offering to Yahweh: one for Ashdod, one for Gaza, one for Ashkelon, one for Gath, one for Ekron. 18And the gold mice corresponded to the number of all the Philistine towns belonging to the five rulers, both fortified towns and open villages. The large stone on which they set the ark of Yahweh still stands as a witness in the field of Joshua of Beth-shemesh to this day. 19But God struck down some of the men of Beth-shemesh because they looked into the ark of Yahweh — he struck down seventy men, fifty thousand men. And the people mourned because Yahweh had struck them with such a heavy blow. 20The men of Beth-shemesh said, “Who can stand before Yahweh, this holy God? To whom shall the ark go up, away from us?” 21So they sent messengers to the people of Kiriath-jearim, saying, “The Philistines have returned the ark of Yahweh. Come down and take it up to yourselves.”
