2 And the Philisthiims called the Priests and soothsayers, saying: What shall we do with the ark of the Lord? Tell us how we may send it back into his place. Who said:📜💬📚

3 If you send back the ark of the God of Israel, send it not away empty, but that which you owe render unto it for sin, and then you shall be cured: and you shall know why his hand departeth not from you.📜💬📚

4 Who answered: What is that which we ought to render unto it for sin? And they answered:📜💬📚

5 According to the number of the provinces of the Philisthiims you shall make five golden emeroids, and five golden mice: because there hath been one plague to you, and to your Princes. And you shall make the similitudes of your emeroids, and the similitudes of the mice that have destroyed the land, and you shall give glory to the God of Israel: if perhaps he will lighten his hand from you, and from your gods and from your land.📜💬📚

6 Why do you harden your hearts, as AEgypt and Pharao did harden their heart? Did not he after he was strucken them dismiss them, and they departed?📜💬📚

7 Now therefore take and make one new wain: and two kine having calved, on which there hath no yoke been put, couple in the wain, & shut up their calves at home.📜💬📚

8 And you shall take the ark of the Lord, and put it in the wain, and the vessels of gold, which you have paid him for sin, you shall put into a little casket at the side thereof: and dismiss it that it may go.📜💬📚

9 And you shall look: and if so be that it shall go up by the way of his coasts against Bethsames, he hath done us this great evil: but if not, we shall know that his hand hath not touched us, but it hath happened by chance.📜💬📚

10 They therefore did in this manner: and taking two kine, that had sucking calves, yoked them to the wain, and shut up their calves at home.📜💬📚

11 And they laid the ark of God upon the wain, and the little casket, that had the golden mice and the similitudes of emeroids.📜💬📚

12 And the kine went directly by the way that leadeth to Bethsames, and they went one way, going forward and lowing: and they declined not neither to the right hand nor to the left: but the Princes also of the Philisthiims followed unto the borders of Bethsames.📜💬📚

13 Moreover the Bethsamites reaped wheat in the valley: and lifting up their eyes, they saw the ark, & were glad when they had seen it.📜💬📚

14 And the wain came into the field of Josue the Bethsamite, and stood there. And there was a great stone, and they did cut the wood of the wain, and laid the kine upon it an holocaust to our Lord.📜💬📚

15 And the Levites took down the ark of God, and the little casket, that was at the side of it, wherein were the vessels of gold, and they put it upon the great stone. The men also of Bethsames offered holocausts, and immolated victims that day to our Lord.📜💬📚

16 And the five Princes of the Philisthiims saw, and returned into Accaron that day.📜💬📚

17 And these are the golden emeroids, which the Philistiims rendered for sin to our Lord: Azotus one, Gaza one, Ascalon one, Geth one, Accaron one:📜💬📚

18 and the golden mice according to the number of the cities of the Philistiims, of the five provinces, from walled city unto town that was without wall, and unto Abel the great, whereupon they put the ark of our Lord, which was until that day in the field of Josue the Bethsamite.📜💬📚

19 But he struck of the men of Bethsames, for that they had seen the ark of our Lord: and he struck of the people seventy men, and fifty thousand of the common people. And the people mourned, because our Lord had strucken the common people with a great plague.📜💬📚

20 And the men of Bethsames said: Who shall be able to stand in the sight of our Lord God this holy one? And to whom shall he go up from us?📜💬📚

21 And they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Cariathiarim, saying: The Philistiims have brought back the ark of our Lord, come & fetch it back unto you.📜💬📚

Douay Rheims Original ↷

1 Samuel 6 📜 📕 ↷

Ark Returned to Israel

Next Chapter: 1 Samuel 7