| [an error occurred while processing this directive] | New American Standard Bible 1995 |
| 1[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 1Now the ark of the LORD had been in the country of the Philistines seven months. |
| 2[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 2And the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners, saying, "What shall we do with the ark of the LORD? Tell us how we shall send it to its place." |
| 3[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 3They said, "If you send away the ark of the God of Israel, do not send it empty; but you shall surely return to Him a guilt offering. Then you will be healed and it will be known to you why His hand is not removed from you." |
| 4[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 4Then they said, "What shall be the guilt 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 all of you and on your lords. |
| 5[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 5"So you shall make likenesses of your tumors and likenesses of your mice that ravage the land, and you shall give glory to the God of Israel; perhaps He will ease His hand from you, your gods, and your land. |
| 6[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 6"Why then do you harden your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? When He had severely dealt with them, did they not allow the people to go, and they departed? |
| 7[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 7"Now therefore, take and prepare a new cart and two milch cows on which there has never been a yoke; and hitch the cows to the cart and take their calves home, away from them. |
| 8[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 8"Take the ark of the LORD and place it on the cart; and put the articles of gold which you return to Him as a guilt offering in a box by its side. Then send it away that it may go. |
| 9[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 9"Watch, if it goes up by the way of its own territory to Beth-shemesh, then He has done us this great evil. But if not, then we will know that it was not His hand that struck us; it happened to us by chance." |
| 10[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 10Then the men did so, and took two milch cows and hitched them to the cart, and shut up their calves at home. |
| 11[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 11They put the ark of the LORD on the cart, and the box with the golden mice and the likenesses of their tumors. |
| 12[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 12And the cows took the straight way in the direction of Beth-shemesh; they went along the highway, lowing as they went, and did not turn aside to the right or to the left. And the lords of the Philistines followed them to the border of Beth-shemesh. |
| 13[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 13Now the people of Beth-shemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley, and they raised their eyes and saw the ark and were glad to see it. |
| 14[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 14The cart came into the field of Joshua the Beth-shemite and stood there where there was a large stone; and they split the wood of the cart and offered the cows as a burnt offering to the LORD. |
| 15[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 15The Levites took down the ark of the LORD and the box that was with it, in which were the articles of gold, and put them on the large stone; and the men of Beth-shemesh offered burnt offerings and sacrificed sacrifices that day to the LORD. |
| 16[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 16When the five lords of the Philistines saw it, they returned to Ekron that day. |
| 17[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 17These are the golden tumors which the Philistines returned for a guilt offering to the LORD: one for Ashdod, one for Gaza, one for Ashkelon, one for Gath, one for Ekron; |
| 18[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 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. The large stone on which they set the ark of the LORD is a witness to this day in the field of Joshua the Beth-shemite. |
| 19[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 19He struck down some of the men of Beth-shemesh because they had looked into the ark of the LORD. He struck down of all the people, 50,070 men, and the people mourned because the LORD had struck the people with a great slaughter. |
| 20[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 20The men of Beth-shemesh said, "Who is able to stand before the LORD, this holy God? And to whom shall He go up from us?" |
| 21[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 21So they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kiriath-jearim, saying, "The Philistines have brought back the ark of the LORD; come down and take it up to you." |
| [an error occurred while processing this directive] | New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit //www.lockman.org |
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