The ark of the LORD was in the country of the Philistines seven
months. And the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners
and said, “What shall we do with the ark of the LORD? Tell us with
what we shall send it to its place.” They said, “If you send away
the ark of the God of Israel, do not send it empty, but by all
means return him a guilt offering. Then you will be healed, and it
will be known to you why his hand does not turn away from you.” And
they said, “What is the guilt offering that we shall return to
him?” They answered, “Five golden tumors and five golden mice,
according to the number of the lords of the Philistines, for the
same plague was on all of you and on your lords. So you must make
images of your tumors and images of your mice that ravage the land,
and give glory to the God of Israel. Perhaps he will lighten his
hand from off you and your gods and your land. Why should you
harden your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their
hearts? After he had dealt severely with them, did they not send
the people away, and they departed? Now then, take and prepare a
new cart and two milk cows 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 the figures of gold, which you are
returning to him as 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
Beth-shemesh, then it is he who has done us this great harm, but if
not, then we shall know that it is not his hand that struck us; it
happened to us by coincidence.”

  The men did so, and took two milk cows and yoked them to the cart
and shut up their calves at home. And they put the ark of the LORD
on the cart and the box with the golden mice and the images of
their tumors. And the cows went straight in the direction of Beth-
shemesh along one highway, lowing as they went. They turned neither
to the right nor to the left, and the lords of the Philistines went
after them as far as the border of Beth-shemesh. Now the people of
Beth-shemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley. And
when they lifted up their eyes and saw the ark, they rejoiced to
see it. The cart came into the field of Joshua of Beth-shemesh and
stopped there. A great stone was there. And they split up the wood
of the cart and offered the cows as a burnt offering to the LORD.
And the Levites took down the ark of the LORD and the box that was
beside it, in which were the golden figures, and set them upon the
great stone. And the men of Beth-shemesh offered burnt offerings
and sacrificed sacrifices on that day to the LORD. And when the
five lords of the Philistines saw it, they returned that day to
Ekron.

  These are the golden tumors that the Philistines returned as a
guilt offering to the LORD: one for Ashdod, one for Gaza, one for
Ashkelon, one for Gath, one for Ekron, and the golden mice,
according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines
belonging to the five lords, both fortified cities and unwalled
villages. The great stone beside which they set down the ark of the
LORD is a witness to this day in the field of Joshua of Beth-
shemesh.

  And he struck some of the men of Beth-shemesh, because they
looked upon the ark of the LORD. He struck seventy men of them, and
the people mourned because the LORD had struck the people with a
great blow. Then the men of Beth-shemesh said, “Who is able to
stand before the LORD, this holy God? And to whom shall he go up
away from us?” So they sent messengers to the inhabitants of
Kiriath-jearim, saying, “The Philistines have returned the ark of
the LORD. Come down and take it up to you.”

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001
by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by
permission. All rights reserved.