¹³ Now the people of Beth Shemesh were harvesting their wheat^(A) in the valley, and when they looked up and saw the ark, they rejoiced at the sight. ¹⁴ The cart came to the field of Joshua of Beth Shemesh, and there it stopped beside a large rock. The people chopped up the wood of the cart and sacrificed the cows as a burnt offering^(B) to the Lord. ¹⁵ The Levites^(C) took down the ark of the Lord, together with the chest containing the gold objects, and placed them on the large rock.^(D) On that day the people of Beth Shemesh^(E) offered burnt offerings and made sacrifices to the Lord. ¹⁶ The five rulers of the Philistines saw all this and then returned that same day to Ekron.

¹⁹ But God struck down^(A) some of the inhabitants of Beth Shemesh, putting seventy^[a] of them to death because they looked^(B) into the ark of the Lord. The people mourned because of the heavy blow the Lord had dealt them. ²⁰ And the people of Beth Shemesh asked, “Who can stand^(C) in the presence of the Lord, this holy^(D) God? To whom will the ark go up from here?”

²¹ Then they sent messengers to the people of Kiriath Jearim,^(E) saying, “The Philistines have returned the ark of the Lord. Come down and take it up to your town.”