1And the ark of YHWH was in the field of the Philistines seven months.
2And the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners, saying: "What shall we do with the ark of YHWH? Let us know wherewith we shall send it to its place."
3And they said: "If you send away the ark of the God of Israel, do not send it empty, but you shall surely return to him a guilt offering; then you shall be healed, and it shall be known to you why his hand does not turn from you."
4And they said: "What is the guilt offering which we shall return to him?" And they said: "Five golden tumors and five golden mice, according to the number of the lords of the Philistines; for one plague was upon you all and upon your lords.
5And you shall make images of your tumors and images of your mice that mar the land, and you shall give glory to the God of Israel; perhaps he will lighten his hand from upon you, and from upon your gods, and from upon your land.
6And why do you harden your heart, as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their heart? Was it not when he had dealt severely with them that they let them go, and they departed?
7And now take and make one new cart, and two milch cows, upon which no yoke has come, and tie the cows to the cart, and bring back their calves from after them to the house.
8And you shall take the ark of YHWH, and put it upon the cart, and the articles of gold, which you return to him for a guilt offering, you shall put in a box beside it; and you shall send it away, and it shall go.
9And you shall see: if it goes up by the way of its own border to Beth-shemesh, then he has done us this great evil; but if not, then we shall know that it was not his hand that struck us; it was a chance that happened to us."
10And the men (ish) did so, and took two milch cows, and tied them to the cart, and shut up their calves at home.
11And they put the ark of YHWH upon the cart, and the box, and the mice of gold, and the images of their tumors.
12And the cows went straight on the way, upon the way to Beth-shemesh; they went along one highway, going and lowing, and they turned not aside to the right or to the left; and the lords of the Philistines went after them as far as the border of Beth-shemesh.
13And those of Beth-shemesh were reaping the wheat harvest in the valley; and they lifted up their eyes, and saw the ark, and rejoiced to see it.
14And the cart came into the field of Joshua the Beth-shemite, and stood there, and there was a great stone; and they split the wood of the cart, and offered up the cows as a burnt-offering to YHWH.
15And the Levites took down the ark of YHWH, and the box that was with it, in which were the articles of gold, and put them on the great stone; and the men (ish) of Beth-shemesh offered up burnt-offerings and sacrificed sacrifices that day to YHWH.
16And the five lords of the Philistines saw it, and returned to Ekron that day.
17And these are the golden tumors which the Philistines returned as a guilt offering to YHWH: for Ashdod one, for Gaza one, for Ashkelon one, for Gath one, for Ekron one;
18And the golden mice were according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five lords, from the fortified city to the village of the open country, even to great Abel, upon which they set the ark of YHWH, to this day, in the field of Joshua the Beth-shemite.
19And he smote among the men (ish) of Beth-shemesh, because they looked into the ark of YHWH, and he smote among the people seventy men (ish), fifty thousand men (ish); and the people mourned, because YHWH had smitten the people with a great slaughter.
20And the men (ish) of Beth-shemesh said: "Who is able to stand before YHWH, this holy God? And to whom shall he go up from us?"
21And they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kiriath-jearim, saying: "The Philistines have brought back the ark of YHWH; come down, bring it up to you."