1 GLT And the Box of Yahweh was in the field of the Philistines seven months. BSB BSB: When the ark of the LORD had been in the land of the Philistines seven months,
2 GLT And the Philistines called to the priests and to the ones who practice divination, saying,“What should we do for the Box of Yahweh? Make known to us with what we should send it away to its place.” BSB BSB: the Philistines summoned the priests and diviners, saying, “What shall we do with the ark of the LORD? Tell us how to send it back to its place.”
3 GLT And they said,“If you are about to send away the Box of the God of Israel, do not send it away empty, but surely return to him a guilt offering. Then you will be healed, and it will be known to you why his hand has not turned aside from you.” BSB BSB: They replied, “If you return the ark of the God of Israel, do not send it away empty, but by all means return it to Him with a guilt offering. Then you will be healed, and you will understand why His hand has not been lifted from you.”
4 GLT And they said,“What is the guilt offering that we should return to him?” And they said,“Five tumors of gold and five mice of gold, from the number of the rulers of the Philistines, for one plague was for all of them and for your rulers. BSB BSB: “What guilt offering should we send back to Him?” asked the Philistines. “Five gold tumors and five gold rats,” they said, “according to the number of rulers of the Philistines, since the same plague has struck both you and your rulers.
5 GLT And you shall make images of your tumors and images of your mice, the ones destroying the land, and you shall give glory to the God of Israel. Perhaps he will lighten his hand from on you and from on your gods and from on your land. BSB BSB: Make images of your tumors and of the rats that are ravaging the land. Give glory to the God of Israel, and perhaps He will lift His hand from you and your gods and your land.
6 GLT And why do you make heavy your heart, just as the Egyptians and Pharaoh made their heart heavy? When he dealt severely with them, did they not send them away and they went? BSB BSB: Why harden your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened theirs? When He afflicted them, did they not send the people out so they could go on their way?
8 GLT And take the Box of Yahweh and put it into the cart, and set the objects of gold that you are returning to him as a guilt offering in the box by its side. And send it away and it will go. BSB BSB: Take the ark of the LORD, set it on the cart, and in a chest beside it put the gold objects you are sending back to Him as a guilt offering. Then send the ark on its way,
9 GLT And look; if it goes up the way of its own territory, Beth Shemesh, he has done this great evil to us. But if not, then we will know that his hand did not strike us. It happened to us by chance.” BSB BSB: but keep watching it. If it goes up the road to its homeland, toward Beth-shemesh, it is the LORD who has brought on us this great disaster. But if it does not, then we will know that it was not His hand that punished us and that it happened by chance.”
10 GLT And the men did thus, and they took two nursing cows, and tied them to the cart. But they shut up their sons in the house. BSB BSB: So the men did as instructed. They took two milk cows, hitched them to the cart, and penned up their calves.
11 GLT And they set the Box of Yahweh into the cart with the box and the mice of gold and the images of their tumors. BSB BSB: Then they put the ark of the LORD on the cart, along with the chest containing the gold rats and the images of the tumors.
12 GLT And the cows went straight in the way, on the road of Beth Shemesh. They went in one highway, going and lowing, and they did not turn aside right or left. And the rulers of the Philistines were going after them as far as the border of Beth Shemesh. BSB BSB: And the cows headed straight up the road toward Beth-shemesh, staying on that one highway and lowing as they went, never straying to the right or to the left. The rulers of the Philistines followed behind them to the border of Beth-shemesh.
13 GLT Now Beth Shemesh was reaping the harvest of wheat in the valley. And they lifted up their eyes and saw the Box, and they rejoiced to see it. BSB BSB: Now the people of Beth-shemesh were harvesting wheat in the valley, and when they looked up and saw the ark, they were overjoyed at the sight.
14 GLT And the cart came into the field of Joshua the Bethshemite and stood there, and a large stone was there. And they split the wood pieces of the cart, and offered up the cows as a burnt up offering to Yahweh. BSB BSB: The cart came to the field of Joshua of Beth-shemesh and stopped there near a large rock. The people chopped up the cart and offered the cows as a burnt offering to the LORD.
15 GLT And the Levites brought down the Box of Yahweh and the box that was with it, in which was the objects of gold, and they set them on the large stone. And the men of Beth Shemesh offered up burnt up offerings and sacrificed sacrifices on that day to Yahweh. BSB BSB: And the Levites took down the ark of the LORD and the chest containing the gold objects, and they placed them on the large rock. That day the men of Beth-shemesh offered burnt offerings and made sacrifices to the LORD.
16 GLT And the five rulers of the Philistines saw and returned to Ekron on that day. BSB BSB: And when the five rulers of the Philistines saw this, they returned to Ekron that same day.
17 GLT And these are the tumors of gold which the Philistines returned as a guilt offering to Yahweh: one for Ashdod, one for Gaza, one for Ashkelon, one for Gath, one for Ekron. BSB BSB: As a guilt offering to the LORD, the Philistines had sent back one gold tumor for each city: Ashdod, Gaza, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron.
18 GLT And the mice of gold were from the number of all the cities of the Philistines of the five rulers, from the cities of fortification and as far as the villages of the open country, and as far as the great Abel on which they rested the Box of Yahweh. It is in the field of Joshua the Bethshemite until this day. BSB BSB: The number of gold rats also corresponded to the number of Philistine cities belonging to the five rulers—the fortified cities and their outlying villages. And the large rock on which they placed the ark of the LORD stands to this day in the field of Joshua of Beth-shemesh.
19 GLT And he struck among the men of Beth Shemesh because they had looked in the Box of Yahweh. And he struck 50, 070 men among the people. And the people mourned because Yahweh had stricken a great blow among the people. BSB BSB: But God struck down some of the people of Beth-shemesh because they looked inside the ark of the LORD. He struck down seventy men, and the people mourned because the LORD had struck them with a great slaughter.
20 GLT And the men of Beth Shemesh said,“Who is able to stand before the face of Yahweh, this holy God? And to whom will he go up from on us?” BSB BSB: The men of Beth-shemesh asked, “Who can stand in the presence of the LORD, this holy God? To whom should the ark go up from here?”
21 GLT And they sent messengers to those dwelling in Kiriath Jearim, saying,“The Philistines have returned the Box of Yahweh; come down and bring it up to you.” BSB BSB: So they sent messengers to the people of Kiriath-jearim, saying, “The Philistines have returned the ark of the LORD. Come down and take it up with you.”
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