The Ark Returned to Israel

1And the arke of the Lord was in the countrey of the Philistines seuen monethes. 2And the Philistines called for the priestes and the soothsayers, saying: What shall we do with the arke of the Lord? Tell vs wherewith we shall sende it home againe: 3They sayde: If you send away the arke of the God of Israel, send it not emptie: but rewarde it with sinne offeryng, and then ye shall be whole, and it shall be knowen to you, why his hand departeth not from you. 4Then sayd they: And what shalbe the sinne offering, which we shall rewarde him with? They aunswered: Fiue golden emerodes, and fiue golden myce, accordyng to the number of the princes of ye Philistines: For one plague was on you all, and on your princes. 5Wherfore ye shall make images lyke to your emerodes, & images like to your myce that corrupt the land, and ye shall geue glorie vnto the God of Israel, that he may take his hand from of you, and from of your goddes, and from of your land. 6Wherfore do ye harden your heartes, as the Egyptians and Pharao hardened their heartes? Which when he wrought wonderfullie among them, did they not let the people go, and they departed? 7Now therfore, make a newe cart, and take two melche kyne, on whom there hath come no yocke, and tye the kyne to the carte, and bring the calues home from them. 8And take the arke of the Lorde, and lay it vpon the cart, and put the iewels of golde whiche ye rewarde him with for a sinne offering, in a coffer by the side thereof, and send it awaye, that it may go. 9And if ye see that he go vp by the way of his owne coaste to Bethsames, then it is he that did vs this great euill: If no. we shall knowe then that it is not his hand that smote vs, but it was a chaunce that happened vs.

10And the men did euen so: And toke two kyne that gaue milke, & tyed them to the cart, and kept the calues at home. 11And they layde the arke of the Lorde vpon the cart, and the coffer with the myce of golde, and with the images of their emerodes. 12And the kyne toke the strayght way to Bethsames, & went on the strayght way: and as they went, lowed, and turned neither to the ryght hande nor to the left: And the princes of the Philistines went after them, vnto the borders of Bethsames.

13And they of Bethsames were reaping their wheate haruest in the valley: And they lyft vp their eyes, and spied the arke, and reioyced when they sawe it. 14And the carte came into the fielde of one Iehosua, a Bethsamite, and stoode still ther. There was also a great stone: And they claue the wood of the carte, and offred the kyne a burnt offring vnto the Lorde. 15And the Leuites toke downe the arke of the Lorde, and the coffer that was with it, wherein the iewels of golde were, and put them on the great stone: And the men of Bethsames sacrificed burnt sacrifice, and offered offeringes the same day vnto the Lorde. 16And when the fiue princes of the Philistines had seene it, they returned to Acaron the same day.

17And these are the golden emerodes which the Philistines gaue for a sinne offering to the Lord: for Asdod one, for Gaza one, for Ascalon one, for Gath one, and for Acaron one. 18And golden myce, accordyng to the number of al the cities of the Philistines belongyng to the fyue lordes, both of walled townes, and of townes vnwalled, euen vnto the great stone of Abel, whereon they set downe the arke of the Lorde vnto this day, in the fielde of Iehosua the Bethsamite.

19And he smote of the men of Bethsames, because they had loked in the arke of the Lorde, and he slue among the people fiftie thousand and three score and ten men: And the people lamented, because the Lorde had slaine the people with so great a slaughter. 20Wherfore the men of Bethsames said: Who is able to stand before this holie Lorde God? And to whom shall he go from vs? 21And they sent messengers to the inhabitaunts of Kiriathiarim, saying: The Philistines haue brought againe the arke of the Lord, come ye downe and fet it vp to you.