¶ And the ark of the LORD was in the country of the Philistines seven months.

And the Philistines called² for the priests and the diviners, saying, What shall we do to the ark of the LORD? tell us wherewith³ we shall send it to his place.

And they said, If ye send away the ark of the God of Israel, send it not empty⁴; but in any wise return him a trespass⁵ offering: then ye shall be healed, and it shall be known⁶ to you why his hand is not removed from you.

Then said they, What shall be the trespass offering which we shall return to him? They answered, Five golden⁷ emerods, and five golden mice, according to the number of the lords of the Philistines: for one plague was on you all,⁸ and on your lords.

Wherefore ye shall make images of your emerods, and images of your mice⁹ that mar the land; and ye shall give glory¹⁰ unto the God of Israel: peradventure he will lighten¹¹ his hand from off you, and from off your¹² gods, and from off your land.

Wherefore then do ye harden¹³ your hearts, as the Egyptians¹⁴ and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? when he had wrought wonderfully¹⁵ among them, did they not let the people¹⁶ go, and they departed?

Now therefore make a new cart¹⁷, and take two milch kine, on which¹⁸ there hath come no yoke, and tie the kine to the cart, and bring their calves home from them:

And take the ark of the LORD, and lay it upon the cart; and put the jewels¹⁹ 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.

And see, if it goeth up by the way of his own coast to Bethshemesh²⁰, then he²¹ hath done us this great evil: but if not, then we shall²² know that it is not his hand²³ that smote us: it was a chance²⁴ that happened to us.

¶ And the men did so; and took two milch kine, and tied them to the cart, and shut up their calves at home:

And they laid²⁵ the ark of the LORD upon the cart, and the coffer with the mice of gold and the images of their emerods.

And the kine took the straight way to the way of Bethshemesh, 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 Bethshemesh.

And they of Bethshemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley: and they lifted up their eyes, and saw the ark, and rejoiced to see it.

And the cart came into the field of Joshua, a Bethshemite, and stood there, where there was a great stone: and they clave the wood of the cart, and offered²⁶ the kine a burnt offering unto the LORD.

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 Bethshemesh offered burnt offerings and sacrificed sacrifices the same day unto the LORD.

And when the five²⁷ lords of the Philistines had seen it, they returned²⁸ to Ekron the same day.

And these²⁹ are the golden emerods which the Philistines returned for a trespass offering unto the LORD; for Ashdod³⁰ one, for Gaza³¹ one, for Askelon³² one, for Gath³³ one, for Ekron³⁴ one;

And the golden mice, according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five lords³⁵, both of fenced cities, and of country villages, even unto the great stone of³⁶ Abel, whereon they set down the ark of the LORD: which stone remaineth unto this day in the field of Joshua, the Bethshemite.

¶ And he smote³⁷ the men of Bethshemesh, because they had looked into the ark of the LORD, even he smote of the people fifty thousand³⁸ and threescore and ten men: and the people lamented, because the LORD had smitten many of the people with a great slaughter.

¶³⁹And the men of Bethshemesh said, Who is able to stand before this holy LORD God? and to whom shall he go up from us?

And they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kirjathjearim⁴⁰, saying, The Philistines have brought again the ark of the LORD; come ye down, and fetch it up to you.