6The Ark of the Lord remained in Philistine territory for seven months.H727H3068H7704H6430H7651H23202The Philistines summoned the priests and diviners and asked, "What should we do about the Ark of the Lord?Tell us how we should send it back to its place."H6430H7121H3548H7080H559H6213H727H3068H3045H7971H47253They said, "If you send the Ark of the God of Israel back, don't send it empty, but rather be sure to send back to him a guilt offering. Then you will be healed and will know why his oppression has not been removed from you."H559H7971H727H430H3478H7971H7387H7725H7725H817H7495H3045H3027H54934They asked, "What is the guilt offering that we should send back to him?" "Five gold tumors and five gold mice," they answered, "according to the number of the lords of the Philistines, since the same plague was on all of you and on your lords.H559H817H7725H559H2568H2091H2914H6076H2568H2091H5909H4557H5633H6430H259H4046H56335Make images of your tumors and images of the mice that are destroying your land, and you are to give glory to the God of Israel. Perhaps he will remove his pressure from you, your gods, and your land.H6213H6754H2914H6076H6754H5909H7843H776H5414H3519H430H3478H7043H3027H430H7766Why should you harden your hearts just as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts?Isn't it true that after God toyed with them, they let Israel go, and off they went -H3513H3824H4714H6547H3513H3820H5953H7971H32127"So make a new cart, and take two milk cows that have never had a yoke on them. Hitch the cows to the cart and take their calves away from them and back to the house.H6213H259H2319H5699H3947H8147H5763H6510H5927H5923H631H6510H5699H7725H1121H1004H3108Take the Ark of the Lord, put it on the cart, and put the gold objects that you are returning to him as a guilt offering in a box beside it. Then send it away and let it go.H3947H727H3068H5414H5699H7760H3627H2091H7725H817H712H6654H7971H19809Keep watching it. If it goes up along the road to its own territory to Beth-shemesh, it's the Lord who has done this great evil to us. But if it does not, then we will know that he wasn't pressuring us. It happened to us as a natural event."H7200H5927H1870H1366H1053H6213H1419H7451H3045H3027H5060H4745H196110The men did this. They took two milk cows, hitched them to the cart, and penned up their calves in the house.H582H6213H3947H8147H5763H6510H631H5699H3607H1121H100411They put the Ark of the Lord, the box, the gold mice, and the images of their tumors on the cart.H7760H727H3068H5699H712H5909H2091H6754H291412The cows took a straight path along the road to Beth-shemesh. They stayed on the highway, lowing as they went, and did not turn to the right or the left. The Philistine lords followed them as far as the border of Beth-shemesh.6H6510H3474H1870H1870H1053H1980H4546H259H1600H1980H5493H3225H8040H5633H6430H1980H310H1366H105313Now the people of Beth-shemesh were gathering their wheat harvest in the valley. They looked up, saw the Ark, and rejoiced to see it.H1053H7114H2406H7105H6010H5375H5869H7200H727H8055H720014The cart came to the field of Joshua of Beth-shemesh, and stopped there. In that place there was a large stone. They broke up the wood from the cart, and offered up the cows as a burnt offering to the Lord.H5699H935H7704H3091H1030H5975H1419H68H1234H6086H5699H5927H6510H5930H306815The Levites took down the Ark of the Lord, along with the box that was with it, containing the objects of gold, and they put them on the large stone. The men of Beth-shemesh offered burnt offerings and made sacrifices to the Lord that day.H3881H3381H727H3068H712H3627H2091H7760H1419H68H582H1053H5927H5930H2076H2077H3117H306816When the five Philistine lords saw this, they returned to Ekron that very day.H2568H5633H6430H7200H7725H6138H311717These are the gold tumors that the Philistines returned as a guilt offering to the Lord: one for Ashdod, one for Gaza, one for Ashkelon, one for Gath, and one for Ekron.H2091H2914H6430H7725H817H3068H795H259H5804H259H831H259H1661H259H6138H25918The gold mice represented the number of all the Philistine towns belonging to the five lords, both fortified towns and unwalled villages. The large stone, beside which they put the Ark of the Lord, is a witness to this day in the field of Joshua of Beth-shemesh.H2091H5909H4557H5892H6430H2568H5633H4013H5892H6521H3724H1419H59H3240H727H3068H3117H7704H3091H103019God struck down the men of Beth-shemesh because they had looked into the Ark of the Lord. He struck down 50,070 men among the people, and the people mourned because the Lord struck down the people with a great slaughter.H5221H376H1053H7200H727H3068H5221H5971H2572H505H7657H582H5971H56H3068H5221H5971H1419H434720The men of Beth-shemesh asked themselves, "Who can stand in the presence of the Lord, this holy God?And to whom shall the Ark go up from here?"H582H1053H559H3201H5975H6440H6918H3068H430H592721They sent messengers to the residents of Kiriath-jearim, who told them, "The Philistines have returned the Ark of the Lord. Come down and take it up with you."H7971H4397H3427H7157H559H6430H7725H727H3068H3381H5927
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