Now then, take and prepare (A)a new cart and two milk cows (B)on which there has never come a yoke, and yoke the cows to the cart, but take their calves home, away from them. And take the ark of the Lord and place it on the cart and put in a box at its side (C)the figures of gold, which you are returning to him as (D)a guilt offering. Then send it off and let it go its way and watch. If it goes up on the way to its own land, to (E)Beth-shemesh, then it is he who has done us this great harm, but if not, then we shall know that it is not (F)his hand that struck us; it happened to us by coincidence.”

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“Now then, get a new cart(A) ready, with two cows that have calved and have never been yoked.(B) Hitch the cows to the cart, but take their calves away and pen them up. Take 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, but keep watching it. If it goes up to its own territory, toward Beth Shemesh,(C) 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.”

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