1And the ark of the LORD was in the Philistines’ country for seven months. 2And the Philistines summoned their priests and diviners, asking, “What shall we do with the ark of the LORD? How shall we send it back to its place.” 3And they said, “If you send the ark of the God of Israel away, do not send it empty; but by all means return to Him a trespass offering; then you shall be healed, and you shall know it was His hand that has caused your plague.” 4Then they asked, “What should the trespass offering be that we return to Him?” They answered, “Five gold tumors, and five gold mice, according to the number of the rulers of the Philistines; for the same plague was on you and on your lords. 5So you should make images of your tumors, and images of the mice that ravaged the land; and you shall give glory to the God of Israel. Perhaps He will lighten His hand from you, your gods, and your land. 6Why harden your hearts like the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? When He had dealt harshly with them, did they not let the people go, and they departed? 7Therefore, build a new cart, and take two milk cows, upon which there has never been a yoke, and hitch the cows to the cart, and take their calves away from them. 8And place the ark of the LORD on the cart; and put the jewels of gold, which you return to Him for a trespass offering, in a box beside it; and send it on its way. 9And keep watching, if it crosses our border to Beth-shemesh, then it is He Who has done this great harm to us; but if not, then we shall know that it is not His hand that afflicted us; it just happened to us by chance.”

10And the men did so: they took two milk cows, hitched them to a new cart, and shut up their calves at home: 11And they laid the ark of the LORD on the cart, along with the box of gold images of their tumors and mice. 12And the cows took a straight path to Beth-shemesh, going along the highway, lowing as they went, and did not turn to the right or to the left; and the lords of the Philistines followed them to the border of Beth-shemesh. 13And those of Beth-shemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley; and when they looked up and saw the ark, they rejoiced to see it. 14And the cart came into the field of Joshua, a Beth-shemite, and stopped beside a large stone. And they split the wood from the cart, and offered the two cows as a burnt offering unto the LORD. 15And the Levites took the ark of the LORD, and the box with the jewels of gold that was with it, and put them on the great stone; and the men of Beth-shemesh offered burnt offerings and sacrifices that day unto the LORD. 16And when the five rulers of the Philistines had seen it, they returned that same day to Ekron.

17And these were the golden tumors which the Philistines returned for a trespass offering unto the LORD: one each for Ashdod, Gaza, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron; 18And the golden mice, according to the number of all the Philistine cities that belonged to the five rulers, both fortified cities, and country villages, and that large stone of Abel, on which they set the ark of the LORD remains until this day in the field of Joshua, the Beth-shemite. 19And God struck down seventy men of Beth-shemesh, because they had looked into the ark of the LORD; and the people mourned, because the LORD had smitten the people with a great slaughter. 20And the men of Beth-shemesh said, “Who can stand before this holy LORD God? And where shall we send the ark from here?” 21And they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kiriath-jearim, saying, “The Philistines have returned the ark of the LORD; come down, and fetch it up to your town.”