1 N ow the ark of the Lord was in the country of the Philistines seven months.

And the ark of Jehovah is in the field of the Philistines seven months,

2 A nd the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners, saying, “What shall we do with the ark of the Lord ? Tell us how we should send it to its place.”

and the Philistines call for priests and for diviners, saying, `What do we do to the ark of Jehovah? let us know wherewith we send it to its place?'

3 S o they said, “If you send away the ark of the God of Israel, do not send it empty; but by all means return it to Him with a trespass offering. Then you will be healed, and it will be known to you why His hand is not removed from you.”

And they say, `If ye are sending away the ark of the God of Israel, ye do not send it away empty; for ye do certainly send back to Him a guilt-offering; then ye are healed, and it hath been known to you why His hand doth not turn aside from you.'

4 T hen they said, “What is the trespass offering which we shall return to Him?” They answered, “Five golden tumors and five golden rats, according to the number of the lords of the Philistines. For the same plague was on all of you and on your lords.

And they say, `What the guilt-offering which we send back to Him?' and they say, `The number of the princes of the Philistines -- five golden emerods, and five golden mice -- for one plague to you all, and to your princes,

5 T herefore you shall make images of your tumors and images of your rats that ravage the land, and you shall give glory to the God of Israel; perhaps He will lighten His hand from you, from your gods, and from your land.

and ye have made images of your emerods, and images of your mice that are corrupting the land, and have given honour to the God of Israel; it may be He doth lighten His hand from off you, and from off your gods, and from off your land;

6 W hy then do you harden your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? When He did mighty things among them, did they not let the people go, that they might depart?

and why do ye harden your heart as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their heart? do they not -- when He hath rolled Himself upon them -- send them away, and they go?

7 N ow therefore, make a new cart, take two milk cows which have never been yoked, and hitch the cows to the cart; and take their calves home, away from them.

`And now, take and make one new cart, and two suckling kine, on which a yoke hath not gone up, and ye have bound the kine in the cart, and caused their young ones to turn back from after them to the house,

8 T hen take the ark of the Lord and set it on the cart; and put the articles of gold which you are returning to Him as a trespass offering in a chest by its side. Then send it away, and let it go.

and ye have taken the ark of Jehovah, and put it on the cart, and the vessels of gold which ye have returned to Him -- a guilt-offering -- ye put in a coffer on its side, and have sent it away, and it hath gone;

9 A nd watch: if it goes up the road to its own territory, to Beth Shemesh, then He has done us this great evil. But if not, then we shall know that it is not His hand that struck us—it happened to us by chance.”

and ye have seen, if the way of its own border it goeth up to Beth-Shemesh -- He hath done to us this great evil; and if not, then we have known that His hand hath not come against us; an accident it hath been to us.'

10 T hen the men did so; they took two milk cows and hitched them to the cart, and shut up their calves at home.

And the men do so, and take two suckling kine, and bind them in the cart, and their young ones they have shut up in the house;

11 A nd they set the ark of the Lord on the cart, and the chest with the gold rats and the images of their tumors.

and they place the ark of Jehovah upon the cart, and the coffer, and the golden mice, and the images of their emerods.

12 T hen the cows headed straight for the road to Beth Shemesh, and went along the highway, lowing as they went, and did not turn aside to the right hand or the left. And the lords of the Philistines went after them to the border of Beth Shemesh.

And the kine go straight in the way, on the way to Beth-Shemesh, in one highway they have gone, going and lowing, and have not turned aside right or left; and the princes of the Philistines are going after them unto the border of Beth-Shemesh.

13 N ow the people of Beth Shemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley; and they lifted their eyes and saw the ark, and rejoiced to see it.

And the Beth-Shemeshites are reaping their wheat-harvest in the valley, and they lift up their eyes, and see the ark, and rejoice to see.

14 T hen the cart came into the field of Joshua of Beth Shemesh, and stood there; a large stone was there. So they split the wood of the cart and offered the cows as a burnt offering to the Lord.

And the cart hath come in unto the field of Joshua the Beth-Shemeshite, and standeth there, and there a great stone, and they cleave the wood of the cart, and the kine they have caused to ascend -- a burnt-offering to Jehovah.

15 T he Levites took down the ark of the Lord and the chest that was with it, in which were the articles of gold, and put them on the large stone. Then the men of Beth Shemesh offered burnt offerings and made sacrifices the same day to the Lord.

And the Levites have taken down the ark of Jehovah, and the coffer which with it, in which the vessels of gold, and place on the great stone; and the men of Beth-Shemesh have caused to ascend burnt-offerings and sacrifice sacrifices in that day to Jehovah;

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

and the five princes of the Philistines have seen, and turn back Ekron, on that day.

17 T hese are the golden tumors which the Philistines returned as a trespass offering to the Lord: one for Ashdod, one for Gaza, one for Ashkelon, one for Gath, one for Ekron;

And these the golden emerods which the Philistines have sent back -- a guilt-offering to Jehovah: for Ashdod one, for Gaza one, for Ashkelon one, for Gath one, for Ekron one;

18 a nd the golden rats, according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five lords, both fortified cities and country villages, even as far as the large stone of Abel on which they set the ark of the Lord, which stone remains to this day in the field of Joshua of Beth Shemesh.

and the golden mice -- the number of all the cities of the Philistines -- for the five princes, from the fenced city even unto the hamlet of the villages, even unto the great meadow on which they placed the ark of Jehovah -- unto this day in the field of Joshua the Beth-Shemeshite.

19 T hen He struck the men of Beth Shemesh, because they had looked into the ark of the Lord. He struck fifty thousand and seventy men of the people, and the people lamented because the Lord had struck the people with a great slaughter. The Ark at Kirjath Jearim

And He smiteth among the men of Beth-Shemesh, for they looked into the ark of Jehovah, yea, He smiteth among the people seventy men -- fifty chief men; and the people mourn, because Jehovah smote among the people -- a great smiting.

20 A nd the men of Beth Shemesh said, “Who is able to stand before this holy Lord God? And to whom shall it go up from us?”

And the men of Beth-Shemesh say, `Who is able to stand before Jehovah, this holy God? and unto whom doth He go up from us?'

21 S o they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kirjath Jearim, saying, “The Philistines have brought back the ark of the Lord; come down and take it up with you.”

And they send messengers unto the inhabitants of Kirjath-Jearim, saying, `The Philistines have sent back the ark of Jehovah; come down, take it up unto you.'