1 Samuel 6
The Philistines Return
the Ark |
1 |
And the ark of the LORD was in the country of the Philistines seven
months.
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2 |
And the Philistines called for the
priests and the diviners, saying, What shall we do to the ark of the
LORD? tell us wherewith we shall send it to his
place.
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3 |
And they said, If ye send away the ark of
the God of Israel, send it not empty; but in any wise 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.
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4 |
Then said they, What shall be the
trespass offering which we shall return to him? They answered, Five
golden emerods, 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.
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5 |
Wherefore ye shall make images of your
emerods, 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.
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6 |
Wherefore 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?
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7 |
Now therefore make a new cart, and take
two milch kine, on which there hath come no yoke, and tie the kine
to the cart, and bring their calves home from them:
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8 |
and take the ark of the LORD, 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.
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9 |
And see, if it goeth up by the way of his
own coast to Beth-she'mesh, 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.
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10 |
And the men did so; and took two milch
kine, and tied them to the cart, and shut up their calves at
home:
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11 |
and they laid the ark of the LORD upon the cart, and the coffer with the mice of
gold and the images of their emerods.
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12 |
And the kine took the straight way to the
way of Beth-she'mesh, and 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-she'mesh.
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13 |
And they of Beth-she'mesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley: and they
lifted up their eyes, and saw the ark, and rejoiced to see it.
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14 |
And the cart came into the field of
Joshua, a Beth-she'mite, and stood there, where there was a
great stone: and they clave the wood of the cart, and offered the
kine a burnt offering unto the LORD.
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15 |
And the Levites took down the ark of the
LORD, 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-she'mesh offered burnt offerings
and sacrificed sacrifices the same day unto the LORD.
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16 |
And when the five lords of the
Philistines had seen it, they returned to Ekron the same
day.
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17 |
And these are the golden emerods
which the Philistines returned for a trespass offering unto
the LORD; for Ashdod one, for Gaza one, for
As'kelon one, for Gath one, for Ekron one;
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18 |
and the golden mice, according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines belonging to
the five lords, both of fenced cities, and of country
villages, even unto the great stone of Abel, whereon they set
down the ark of the LORD: which stone
remaineth unto this day in the field of Joshua, the
Beth-she'mite.
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19 |
And he smote the men of Beth-she'mesh,
because they had looked into the ark of the LORD, even he smote of the people fifty thousand and
threescore and ten men: and the people lamented, because the LORD had smitten many of the people with a
great slaughter.
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20 |
And the men of Beth-she'mesh said, Who is
able to stand before this holy LORD God? and to
whom shall he go up from us?
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21 |
And they sent messengers to the
inhabitants of Kir'jath-je'arim, saying, The Philistines have
brought again the ark of the LORD; come ye
down, and fetch it up to you.
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