1 Samuel 6:5-13

King James Version

⁵Wherefore 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.

⁶Wherefore 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?

⁷Now 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:

⁸And 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.

⁹And see, if it goeth up by the way of his own coast to Bethshemesh, 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.

¹⁰And the men did so; and took two milch kine, and tied them to the cart, and shut up their calves at home:

¹¹And they laid the ark of the Lord upon the cart, and the coffer with the mice of gold and the images of their emerods.

¹²And 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.

¹³And 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.

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1 Samuel 6:5-13

New International Version

⁵Make models of the tumors^(A) and of the rats that are destroying the country, and give glory^(B) to Israel’s god. Perhaps he will lift his hand from you and your gods and your land. ⁶Why do you harden^(C) your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh did? When Israel’s god dealt harshly with them,^(D) did they^(E) not send the Israelites out so they could go on their way?

⁷“Now then, get a new cart^(F) ready, with two cows that have calved and have never been yoked.^(G) Hitch the cows to the cart, but take their calves away and pen them up. ⁸Take the ark of the Lord and put it on the cart, and in a chest beside it put the gold objects you are sending back to him as a guilt offering. Send it on its way, ⁹but keep watching it. If it goes up to its own territory, toward Beth Shemesh,^(H) then the Lord has brought this great disaster on us. But if it does not, then we will know that it was not his hand that struck us but that it happened to us by chance.”

¹⁰So they did this. They took two such cows and hitched them to the cart and penned up their calves. ¹¹They placed the ark of the Lord on the cart and along with it the chest containing the gold rats and the models of the tumors. ¹²Then the cows went straight up toward Beth Shemesh, keeping on the road and lowing all the way; they did not turn to the right or to the left. The rulers of the Philistines followed them as far as the border of Beth Shemesh.

¹³Now the people of Beth Shemesh were harvesting their wheat^(I) in the valley, and when they looked up and saw the ark, they rejoiced at the sight.

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1 Samuel 6:5-13

New King James Version

⁵Therefore you shall make images of your tumors and images of your rats that ^(A)ravage the land, and you shall ^(B)give glory to the God of Israel; perhaps He will ^(C)lighten^[a] His hand from you, from ^(D)your gods, and from your land. ⁶Why then do you harden your hearts ^(E)as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? When He did mighty things among them, ^(F)did they not let the people go, that they might depart? ⁷Now therefore, make ^(G)a new cart, take two milk cows ^(H)which have never been yoked, and hitch the cows to the cart; and take their calves home, away from them. ⁸Then take the ark of the Lord and set it on the cart; and put ^(I)the articles of gold which you are returning to Him as a trespass offering in a chest by its side. Then send it away, and let it go. ⁹And watch: if it goes up the road to its own territory, to ^(J)Beth Shemesh, then He has done ^[b]us this great evil. But if not, then ^(K)we shall know that it is not His hand that struck us—it happened to us by chance.”

¹⁰Then the men did so; they took two milk cows and hitched them to the cart, and shut up their calves at home. ¹¹And they set the ark of the Lord on the cart, and the chest with the gold rats and the images of their tumors. ¹²Then the cows headed straight for the road to Beth Shemesh, and went along the ^(L)highway, lowing as they went, and did not turn aside to the right hand or the left. And the lords of the Philistines went after them to the border of Beth Shemesh.

¹³Now the people of Beth Shemesh were reaping their ^(M)wheat harvest in the valley; and they lifted their eyes and saw the ark, and rejoiced to see it.

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