1. And the ark of the LORD was in the country of the Philistines seven months.
2. And the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners, saying, What shall we do to the ark of the LORD? tell us with what we shall send it to its place.
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 will be healed, and it will be known to you why his hand is not removed from you.
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.
5. Wherefore ye shall make images of your emerods, and images of your mice that mar the land; and ye shall give glory to the God of Israel it may be he will lighten his hand from off you, and from off your gods, and from off your land.
6. Why 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?
7. Now therefore make a new cart, and take two milch-cows on which there hath come no yoke, and tie the cows to the cart, and bring their calves home from them
8. And take the ark of the LORD, and lay it upon the cart; and put the jewels of gold which ye return to him [for] a trespass-offering, in a coffer by its side; and send it away, that it may go.
9. And see, if it goeth up by the way of his own coast to Beth-shemesh, [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.
10. And the men did so; and took two milch cows, and tied them to the cart, and shut up their calves at home
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.
12. And the cows took the straight way to the way of Beth-shemesh, [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 to the border of Beth-shemesh.
13. And [they of] Beth-shemesh [were] reaping their wheat harvest in the valley and they lifted up their eyes, and saw the ark, and rejoiced to see [it].
14. And the cart came into the field of Joshua, a Beth-shemite, and stood there, where [there was] a great stone and they cleaved the wood of the cart, and offered the cows a burnt-offering to the LORD.
15. And the Levites took down the ark of the LORD, and the coffer that [was] with it, in which [were] the jewels of gold, and put [them] on the great stone and the men of Beth-shemesh offered burnt-offerings and sacrificed sacrifices the same day to the LORD.
16. And when the five lords of the Philistines had seen [it], they returned to Ekron the same day.
17. And these [are] the golden emerods which the Philistines returned [for] a trespass-offering to the LORD; for Ashdod one, for Gaza one, for Askelon one, for Gath one, for Ekron one;
18. And 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, even to the great [stone of] Abel, on which they set down the ark of the LORD [which stone remaineth] to this day in the field of Joshua the Beth-shemite.
19. And he smote the men of Beth-shemesh, because they had looked into the ark of the LORD, even he smote of the people fifty thousand and seventy men and the people lamented, because the LORD had smitten [many] of the people with a great slaughter.
20. And the men of Beth-shemesh said, Who is able to stand before this holy LORD God? and to whom shall he go up from us?
21. And they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kirjath-jearim, saying, The Philistines have brought again the ark of the LORD; come ye down, [and] bring it up to you.