5 2 The Philistines bring the Ark into the house of Dagon, which idol fell down before it. 6 The men of Ashdod are plagued. 8 The Ark is carried into Gath, and after to Ekron.

¹ Then the Philistines took the Ark of God and carried it from Ebenezer unto ^[a]Ashdod,

² Even the Philistines took the Ark of God, and brought it into the house of Dagon, and set it by ^[b]Dagon.

³ And when they of Ashdod rose the next day in the morning, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face on the ground before the Ark of the Lord, and they took up Dagon, and set him in his place again.

⁴ Also they rose up early in the morning the next day, and behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face on the ground before the Ark of the Lord, and the head of Dagon and the two palms of his hands were cut off upon the threshold: only the stump of Dagon was left to him.

⁵ Therefore the Priests of Dagon, and all that come into Dagon’s house, ^[c]tread not on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod, unto this day.

⁶ But the hand of the Lord was heavy upon them of Ashdod, and destroyed them, and smote them with the ^(A)emerods, both Ashdod, and the coasts thereof.

⁷ And when the men of Ashdod saw this, they said, Let not the Ark of the God of Israel abide with us: for his hand is sore upon us and upon Dagon our god.

⁸ They sent therefore, and gathered all the princes of the Philistines unto them, and said, ^[d]What shall we do with the Ark of the God of Israel? And they answered, Let the Ark of the God of Israel be carried about unto Gath: and they carried the Ark of the God of Israel about.

⁹ And when they had carried it about, the hand of the Lord was against the city with a very great destruction, and he smote the men of the city both small and great, and they had emerods in their secret parts.

¹⁰ ¶ Therefore they sent the Ark of God to Ekron: and as soon as the Ark of God came to Ekron, the Ekronites cried out, saying, They have brought the Ark of the God of Israel to us to slay us and our people.

¹¹ Therefore they sent, and gathered together all the princes of the Philistines, and said, Send ^[e]away the Ark of the God of Israel, and let it return to his own place, that it slay us not and our people: for there was a destruction and death throughout all the city, and the hand of God was very sore there.

¹² And the men that died not, were smitten with the emerods: and the cry of the city went up to heaven.

6 1 The time that the Ark was with the Philistines, which they sent again with a gift. 12 It cometh to Beth Shemesh. 17 The Philistines offer golden emerods. 19 The men of Beth Shemesh are stricken for looking into the Ark.

¹ So the Ark of the Lord was in the country of the Philistines ^[a]seven months.

² And the Philistines called the Priests and the Soothsayers, saying, What shall we do with the Ark of the Lord? tell us wherewith we shall send it home again.

³ And they said, If you send away the Ark of the God of Israel, send it not away empty, but give unto it ^[b]a sin offering: then shall ye be healed, and it shall be known to you, why his hand departeth not from you.

⁴ Then said they, What shall be the sin offering, which we shall give unto it? And they answered, Five golden emerods, and five golden mice, according to the number of the princes of the Philistines: for one plague was on you all, and on your princes.

⁵ Wherefore ye shall make the similitudes of your emerods, and the similitudes of your mice that destroy the land: so ye shall give glory unto the God of Israel, that he may take his hand from you, and from your ^[c]gods, and from your land.

⁶ Wherefore then should ye harden your hearts, as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts, when he wrought wonderfully among them, ^(A)did they not let them go, and they departed?

⁷ Now therefore make a new cart, and take two milch kine, on whom there hath come no yoke: and tie the kine to the cart, and bring the calves home from them.

⁸ Then take the Ark of the Lord, and set it upon the cart, and put the ^[d]jewels of gold which ye give it for a sin offering in a coffer by the side thereof, and send it away, that it may go.

⁹ And take heed, if it go up by the way of his own coast to Beth Shemesh, it is ^[e]he that did us this great evil: but if not, we shall know then, that it is not his hand that smote us, but it was a ^[f]chance that happened us.

¹⁰ And the men did so: for they took two kine that gave milk, and tied them to the cart, and shut the calves at home.

¹¹ So they set the Ark of the Lord upon the cart, and the coffer with the mice of gold, and with the similitudes of their emerods.

¹² And the kine went the straight way to Beth Shemesh, and kept one path, and lowed as they went, and turned neither to the right hand nor to the left: also the princes of the Philistines went after ^[g]them unto the borders of Beth Shemesh.

¹³ Now they of Beth Shemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley, and they lift up their eyes, and spied the Ark, and rejoiced when they saw it.

¹⁴ ¶ And the cart came into the field of Joshua a Beth Shemite, and stood still there. There was also a great stone, and ^[h]they clave the wood of the cart, and offered the kine for a burnt offering unto the Lord.

¹⁵ 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 Beth Shemesh offered burnt offering, and sacrificed sacrifices that same day unto the Lord.

¹⁶ And when the five princes of the Philistines had seen it, they returned to Ekron the same day.

¹⁷ ¶ So these are the golden emerods, which the Philistines gave for a sin offering to the Lord: for ^[i]Ashdod one, for Gaza one, for Askelon one, for Gath one, and for Ekron one,

¹⁸ And golden mice, according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines, belonging to the five princes, both of walled towns, and of towns unwalled unto the great stone of ^[j]Abel, whereon they set the Ark of the Lord: which stone remaineth unto this day in the field of Joshua the Beth Shemite.

¹⁹ And he smote of the men of Beth Shemesh, because they ^[k]had looked in the Ark of the Lord: he slew even among the people fifty thousand men and threescore and ten men: and the people lamented, because the Lord had slain the people with so great a slaughter.

²⁰ Wherefore the men of Beth Shemesh said, Who is able to stand before this holy Lord God? and to whom shall he go 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 take it up to you.

28 2 The Barbarians’ courtesy towards Paul and his company. 3 A viper on Paul’s hand: 6 He shaketh it off without harm: 8 Publius  9 and others are by him healed. 11 They depart from Malta, 16 and come to Rome. 17 Paul openeth to the Jews, 20 the cause of his coming: 22 He preacheth Jesus 30 two years.

¹ And when they were come safe, then they knew that the Isle was called ^[a]Malta.

² And the Barbarians showed us no little kindness, for they kindled a fire, and received us everyone, because of the present shower, and because of the cold.

^3 [b]And when Paul had gathered a number of sticks, and laid them on the fire, there came a viper out of the heat, and leaped on his hand.

^4 [c]Now when the Barbarians saw the worm hang on his hand, they said among themselves, This man surely is a murderer, whom, though he hath escaped the sea, yet ^[d]Vengeance hath not suffered to live.

⁵ But he shook off the worm into the fire, and felt no harm.

⁶ Howbeit they waited when he should have ^[e]swollen, or fallen down dead suddenly: ^[f]but after they had looked a great while, and saw no inconvenience come to him, they changed their minds, and said, That he was a God.

^7 [g]In the same quarters, the chief man of the Isle (whose name was Publius) had possessions: the same received us, and lodged us three days courteously.

⁸ And so it was, that the father of Publius lay sick of the fever, and of a bloody flix: to whom Paul entered in, and when he prayed, he laid his hands on him, and healed him.

^9 [h]When this then was done, others also in the Isle, which had diseases, came to him, and were healed,

^10 [i]Which also did us great honor: and when we departed, they laded us with things necessary.

¹¹ ¶ ^[j]Now after three months we departed in a ship of Alexandria, which had wintered in the Isle, whose ^[k]badge was Castor and Pollux.

¹² And when we arrived at Syracuse, we tarried there three days.

¹³ And from thence we set a compass, and came to Rhegium: and after one day, the South wind blew, and we came the second day to Puteoli:

^14 [l]Where we found brethren, and were desired to tarry with them seven days, and so we went toward Rome.

¹⁵ ¶ ^[m]And from thence when the brethren heard of us, they came to meet us at the ^[n]Market of Appius, and at the three taverns, whom when Paul saw, he thanked God, and waxed bold.

¹⁶ So when we came to Rome, the Centurion delivered the prisoners to the general Captain: but Paul was suffered to dwell by ^[o]himself with a soldier that kept him.

^17 [p]And the third day after, Paul calleth the chief of the Jews together, and when they were come, he said unto them, Men and brethren, though I have committed nothing against the people, or Laws of the fathers, yet was I delivered prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans.

¹⁸ Who when they had examined me, would have let me go, because there was no cause of death in me.

^19 [q]But when the Jews spake contrary, I was constrained to appeal unto Caesar, not because I had ought to accuse my nation of.

²⁰ For this cause therefore have I called for you to see you, and to speak with you: for that hope of Israel’s sake, I am bound with this chain.

²¹ Then they said unto him, We neither received letters out of Judea concerning thee, neither came any of the brethren that showed or spake any evil of thee.

²² But we will hear of thee what thou thinkest: for as concerning this sect, we know that everywhere it is spoken against.

^23 [r]And when they had appointed him a day, there came many unto him into his lodging, to whom he expounded, ^[s]testifying the kingdom of God, and persuading them those things that concern Jesus, both out of the Law of Moses, and out of the Prophets, from morning to night.

^24 [t]And some were [persuaded] with the things which were spoken, and some believed not.

²⁵ Therefore when they agreed not among themselves, they departed, after that Paul had spoken one word, to wit, Well spake the holy Ghost by Isaiah the Prophet unto our fathers,

^26 [u]Saying, ^(A)Go unto this people, and say, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand, and seeing ye shall see, and not perceive.

²⁷ For the heart of this people is waxed fat, and their ears are dull of hearing, and with their eyes have they ^[v]winked, lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and should return that I might heal them.

^28 [w]Be it known therefore unto you, that this salvation of God is sent to the Gentiles, and they shall hear it.

^29 [x]And when he had said these things, the Jews departed, and had great reasoning among themselves.

^30 [y]And Paul remained two years full in an house hired for himself, and received all that came in unto him,

³¹ Preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ, with all boldness of speech, without let.