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1 Samuel 6-7
Complete Jewish Bible
1 Samuel 6-7
Complete Jewish Bible
6 The ark of Adonai was in the country of the P’lishtim for seven months. 2 The P’lishtim summoned the priests and soothsayers and asked them, “What are we to do with the ark of Adonai? Tell us how to send it back where it belongs.” 3 They said, “If you do send off the ark of the God of Isra’el, don’t send it back empty, but return it with some sort of guilt offering for him. Then you will be cured, and you will learn why he has not stopped oppressing you.” 4 They asked, “What kind of guilt offering should we send him?” and they replied, “Five gold models of tumors and five gold rats, because that’s how many leaders the P’lishtim have, and you and your leaders all had the same illness. 5 So make models of your tumors and models of your rats that are infesting your land, and show respect to the God of Isra’el. Maybe he will stop oppressing you, your gods and your land. 6 Why be obstinate like the Egyptians and Pharaoh were? When he had done his work among them, didn’t they let the people go? — and they left. 7 Now take and prepare yourselves a new cart and two milk-cows that have never been under a yoke. Harness the cows to the cart, but put their calves back in the shed. 8 Then take the ark of Adonai and lay it on the cart. In a box next to it, put the gold objects you are sending back to him as a guilt offering. Then send it away to go off by itself, 9 but watch to see if it goes up the road to Beit-Shemesh in its own territory. If it does, he is responsible for this great tragedy; if not, we will know that it is not his oppression which has been over us, but that what has been happening to us has been only by chance.”
10 The men did it. They took two milk-cows, harnessed them to the cart and confined their calves to the shed. 11 Then they put the ark on the cart, along with the box containing the gold rats and the models of their tumors. 12 The cows made straight for the road to Beit-Shemesh and took that route, mooing as they went and turning off neither to the right nor to the left. The leaders of the P’lishtim followed them as far as the border of Beit-Shemesh.
13 The people of Beit-Shemesh were harvesting their wheat in the valley when they looked up and saw the ark. They were so happy to see it! 14 The cart entered the field of Y’hoshua the Beit-Shimshi and stood there by a big rock. They cut up the wood of the cart and offered up the cows as a burnt offering to Adonai. 15 Then the L’vi’im removed the ark of Adonai and the box that was with it, which contained the gold objects, and put them on the big rock. That same day the men of Beit-Shemesh offered burnt offerings and sacrifices to Adonai. 16 Upon seeing this, the five leaders of the P’lishtim returned that day to ‘Ekron.
17 The gold tumors which the P’lishtim sent back as a guilt offering for Adonai were one each for Ashdod, ‘Azah, Ashkelon, Gat and ‘Ekron; 18 and the gold rats also corresponded to the number of all the cities of the P’lishtim that belonged to the five leaders — fortified cities and country villages. [The rock] is a witness to this day of the great mourning [which resulted from] putting the ark of Adonai on it in the field of Y’hoshua the Beit-Shimshi; 19 for [Adonai] struck the people of Beit-Shemesh for looking at the ark of Adonai. He killed 50,070 of the people; the people mourned because Adonai had struck them with such a terrible slaughter. 20 The people of Beit-Shemesh asked, “Who can stand before Adonai, this holy God? To whom can we send it, to get it away from us?”
21 They sent messengers to the people living in Kiryat-Ye‘arim with this message: “The P’lishtim have returned the ark of Adonai. Come down and bring it back up with you.”
7 So the men of Kiryat-Ye‘arim came and brought back the ark of Adonai. They took it to the home of Avinadav on the hill and appointed his son El‘azar to guard the ark of Adonai. 2 From the day that the ark arrived in Kiryat-Ye‘arim a long time elapsed, twenty years; and all the people of Isra’el yearned for Adonai.
3 Sh’mu’el addressed all the people of Isra’el; he said: “If you are returning to Adonai with all your heart, then be done with the foreign gods and ‘ashtarot that you have with you, and direct your hearts to Adonai. If you will serve only him, he will rescue you from the power of the P’lishtim.” 4 So the people of Isra’el banished the ba‘alim and the ‘ashtarot and served only Adonai.
5 Sh’mu’el said, “Gather all Isra’el to Mitzpah, and I will pray for you to Adonai.” 6 So they gathered together at Mitzpah, drew water and poured it out before Adonai, fasted that day, and said there, “We have sinned against Adonai.” Sh’mu’el began serving as judge over the people of Isra’el at Mitzpah.
7 When the P’lishtim heard that the people of Isra’el had gathered together at Mitzpah, the leaders of the P’lishtim marched up against Isra’el; and when the people of Isra’el heard about this, they were afraid of the P’lishtim. 8 The people of Isra’el said to Sh’mu’el, “Don’t stop crying out to Adonai our God for us, to save us from the power of the P’lishtim.” 9 Sh’mu’el took a baby lamb and offered it as a whole burnt offering to Adonai. Then Sh’mu’el cried to Adonai for Isra’el, and Adonai answered him. 10 As Sh’mu’el was presenting the burnt offering, the P’lishtim advanced to attack Isra’el. But this time, Adonai thundered violently over the P’lishtim, throwing them into such confusion that they were struck down before Isra’el. 11 The men of Isra’el went out from Mitzpah, pursuing the P’lishtim and attacking them all the way to Beit-Kar.
12 Sh’mu’el took a stone, placed it between Mitzpah and Shen, and gave it the name Even-‘Ezer [stone of help], explaining, “Adonai has helped us until now.” 13 Thus the P’lishtim were humbled, so that they no longer entered Isra’el’s territory; and the hand of Adonai was against the P’lishtim as long as Sh’mu’el lived. 14 The cities between ‘Ekron and Gat which the P’lishtim had captured from Isra’el were restored to Isra’el, and Isra’el rescued all this territory from the power of the P’lishtim. There was also peace between Isra’el and the Emori.
15 Sh’mu’el continued in office as judge of Isra’el as long as he lived. 16 Year by year he would travel in a circuit that included Beit-El, Gilgal and Mitzpah; and in all these places he served as judge over Isra’el. 17 Then he would return to Ramah, because that’s where his home was, and he would judge Isra’el there too. He also built an altar there to Adonai.
1 Samuel 6-7
Living Bible
1 Samuel 6-7
Living Bible
6 The Ark remained in the Philistine country for seven months in all. 2 Then the Philistines called for their priests and diviners and asked them, “What shall we do about the Ark of God? What sort of gift shall we send with it when we return it to its own land?”
3 “Yes, send it back with a gift,” they were told. “Send a guilt offering so that the plague will stop. Then, if it doesn’t, you will know God didn’t send the plague upon you after all.”
4-5 “What guilt offering shall we send?” they asked.
And they were told, “Send five gold models of the tumor caused by the plague, and five gold models of the rats that have ravaged the whole land—the capital cities and villages alike. If you send these gifts and then praise the God of Israel, perhaps he will stop persecuting you and your god. 6 Don’t be stubborn and rebellious as Pharaoh and the Egyptians were. They wouldn’t let Israel go until God had destroyed them with dreadful plagues. 7 Now build a new cart and hitch to it two cows that have just had calves—cows that never before have been yoked—and shut their calves away from them in the barn. 8 Place the Ark of God on the cart beside a chest containing the gold models of the rats and tumors, and let the cows go wherever they want to. 9 If they cross the border of our land and go into Beth-shemesh, then you will know that it was God who brought this great evil upon us; if they don’t but return to their calves,[a] then we will know that the plague was simply a coincidence and was not sent by God at all.”
10 So these instructions were carried out. Two cows with newborn calves were hitched to the cart and their calves were shut up in the barn. 11 Then the Ark of the Lord and the chest containing the gold rats and tumors were placed upon the cart. 12 And sure enough, the cows went straight along the road toward Beth-shemesh, lowing as they went; and the Philistine mayors followed them as far as the border of Beth-shemesh. 13 The people of Beth-shemesh were reaping wheat in the valley, and when they saw the Ark, they went wild with joy!
14 The cart came into the field of a man named Joshua and stopped beside a large rock. So the people broke up the wood of the cart for a fire and killed the cows and sacrificed them to the Lord as a burnt offering. 15 Several men of the tribe of Levi lifted the Ark and the chest containing the gold rats and tumors from the cart and laid them on the rock. And many burnt offerings and sacrifices were offered to the Lord that day by the men of Beth-shemesh.
16 After the five Philistine mayors had watched for a while, they returned to Ekron that same day. 17 The five gold models of tumors which had been sent by the Philistines as a guilt offering to the Lord were gifts from the mayors of the capital cities, Ashdod, Gaza, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron. 18 The gold rats were to placate God for the other Philistine cities, both the fortified cities and the country villages controlled by the five capitals. (By the way, that large rock at Beth-shemesh can still be seen in the field of Joshua.) 19 But the Lord killed seventy of the men of Beth-shemesh because they looked into the Ark. And the people mourned because of the many people whom the Lord had killed.
20 “Who is able to stand before Jehovah, this holy God?” they cried out. “Where can we send the Ark from here?”
21 So they sent messengers to the people at Kiriath-jearim and told them that the Philistines had brought back the Ark of the Lord.
“Come and get it!” they begged.
7 So the men of Kiriath-jearim came and took the Ark to the hillside home of Abinadab and installed his son Eleazar to be in charge of it. 2 The Ark remained there for twenty years, and during that time all Israel was in sorrow because the Lord had seemingly abandoned them.
3 At that time Samuel said to them, “If you are really serious about wanting to return to the Lord, get rid of your foreign gods and your Ashtaroth idols. Determine to obey only the Lord; then he will rescue you from the Philistines.”
4 So they destroyed their idols of Baal and Ashtaroth and worshiped only the Lord.
5 Then Samuel told them, “Come to Mizpah, all of you, and I will pray to the Lord for you.”
6 So they gathered there and, in a great ceremony, drew water from the well and poured it out before the Lord. They also went without food all day as a sign of sorrow for their sins. So it was at Mizpah that Samuel became Israel’s judge.
7 When the Philistine leaders heard about the great crowds at Mizpah, they mobilized their army and advanced. The Israelis were badly frightened when they learned that the Philistines were approaching.
8 “Plead with God to save us!” they begged Samuel.
9 So Samuel took a suckling lamb and offered it to the Lord as a whole burnt offering and pleaded with him to help Israel. And the Lord responded. 10 Just as Samuel was sacrificing the burnt offering, the Philistines arrived for battle, but the Lord spoke with a mighty voice of thunder from heaven, and they were thrown into confusion, and the Israelis routed them 11 and chased them from Mizpah to Beth-car, killing them all along the way. 12 Samuel then took a stone and placed it between Mizpah and Jeshanah and named it Ebenezer (meaning, “the Stone of Help”), for he said, “The Lord has certainly helped us!” 13 So the Philistines were subdued and didn’t invade Israel again at that time because the Lord was against them throughout the remainder of Samuel’s lifetime. 14 The Israeli cities between Ekron and Gath, which had been conquered by the Philistines, were now returned to Israel, for the Israeli army rescued them from their Philistine captors. And there was peace between Israel and the Amorites in those days.
15 Samuel continued as Israel’s judge for the remainder of his life. 16 He rode circuit annually, setting up his court first at Bethel, then Gilgal, and then Mizpah, and cases of dispute were brought to him in each of those three cities from all the surrounding territory. 17 Then he would come back to Ramah, for his home was there, and he would hear cases there too. And he built an altar to the Lord at Ramah.
Footnotes
- 1 Samuel 6:9 return to their calves, implied.
1 Samuel 6-7
New International Version
1 Samuel 6-7
New International Version
The Ark Returned to Israel
6 When the ark of the Lord had been in Philistine territory seven months, 2 the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners(A) and said, “What shall we do with the ark of the Lord? Tell us how we should send it back to its place.”
3 They answered, “If you return the ark of the god of Israel, do not send it back to him without a gift;(B) by all means send a guilt offering(C) to him. Then you will be healed, and you will know why his hand(D) has not been lifted from you.”
4 The Philistines asked, “What guilt offering should we send to him?”
They replied, “Five gold tumors and five gold rats, according to the number(E) of the Philistine rulers, because the same plague(F) has struck both you and your rulers. 5 Make models of the tumors(G) and of the rats that are destroying the country, and give glory(H) to Israel’s god. Perhaps he will lift his hand from you and your gods and your land. 6 Why do you harden(I) your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh did? When Israel’s god dealt harshly with them,(J) did they(K) not send the Israelites out so they could go on their way?
7 “Now then, get a new cart(L) ready, with two cows that have calved and have never been yoked.(M) Hitch the cows to the cart, but take their calves away and pen them up. 8 Take the ark of the Lord and put it on the cart, and in a chest beside it put the gold objects you are sending back to him as a guilt offering. Send it on its way, 9 but keep watching it. If it goes up to its own territory, toward Beth Shemesh,(N) then the Lord has brought this great disaster on us. But if it does not, then we will know that it was not his hand that struck us but that it happened to us by chance.”
10 So they did this. They took two such cows and hitched them to the cart and penned up their calves. 11 They placed the ark of the Lord on the cart and along with it the chest containing the gold rats and the models of the tumors. 12 Then the cows went straight up toward Beth Shemesh, keeping on the road and lowing all the way; they did not turn to the right or to the left. The rulers of the Philistines followed them as far as the border of Beth Shemesh.
13 Now the people of Beth Shemesh were harvesting their wheat(O) 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(P) to the Lord. 15 The Levites(Q) took down the ark of the Lord, together with the chest containing the gold objects, and placed them on the large rock.(R) On that day the people of Beth Shemesh(S) 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.
17 These are the gold tumors the Philistines sent as a guilt offering to the Lord—one each(T) for Ashdod, Gaza, Ashkelon, Gath and Ekron. 18 And the number of the gold rats was according to the number of Philistine towns belonging to the five rulers—the fortified towns with their country villages. The large rock on which the Levites set the ark of the Lord is a witness to this day in the field of Joshua of Beth Shemesh.
19 But God struck down(U) some of the inhabitants of Beth Shemesh, putting seventy[a] of them to death because they looked(V) 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(W) in the presence of the Lord, this holy(X) God? To whom will the ark go up from here?”
21 Then they sent messengers to the people of Kiriath Jearim,(Y) saying, “The Philistines have returned the ark of the Lord. Come down and take it up to your town.” 7 1 So the men of Kiriath Jearim came and took up the ark(Z) of the Lord. They brought it to Abinadab’s(AA) house on the hill and consecrated Eleazar his son to guard the ark of the Lord. 2 The ark remained at Kiriath Jearim(AB) a long time—twenty years in all.
Samuel Subdues the Philistines at Mizpah
Then all the people of Israel turned back to the Lord.(AC) 3 So Samuel said to all the Israelites, “If you are returning(AD) to the Lord with all your hearts, then rid(AE) yourselves of the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths(AF) and commit(AG) yourselves to the Lord and serve him only,(AH) and he will deliver(AI) you out of the hand of the Philistines.” 4 So the Israelites put away their Baals and Ashtoreths, and served the Lord only.
5 Then Samuel(AJ) said, “Assemble all Israel at Mizpah,(AK) and I will intercede(AL) with the Lord for you.” 6 When they had assembled at Mizpah,(AM) they drew water and poured(AN) it out before the Lord. On that day they fasted and there they confessed, “We have sinned against the Lord.” Now Samuel was serving as leader[b](AO) of Israel at Mizpah.
7 When the Philistines heard that Israel had assembled at Mizpah, the rulers of the Philistines came up to attack them. When the Israelites heard of it, they were afraid(AP) because of the Philistines. 8 They said to Samuel, “Do not stop crying(AQ) out to the Lord our God for us, that he may rescue us from the hand of the Philistines.” 9 Then Samuel(AR) took a suckling lamb and sacrificed it as a whole burnt offering to the Lord. He cried out to the Lord on Israel’s behalf, and the Lord answered him.(AS)
10 While Samuel was sacrificing the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to engage Israel in battle. But that day the Lord thundered(AT) with loud thunder against the Philistines and threw them into such a panic(AU) that they were routed before the Israelites. 11 The men of Israel rushed out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines, slaughtering them along the way to a point below Beth Kar.
12 Then Samuel took a stone(AV) and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer,[c](AW) saying, “Thus far the Lord has helped us.”
13 So the Philistines were subdued(AX) and they stopped invading Israel’s territory. Throughout Samuel’s lifetime, the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines. 14 The towns from Ekron(AY) to Gath that the Philistines had captured from Israel were restored to Israel, and Israel delivered the neighboring territory from the hands of the Philistines. And there was peace between Israel and the Amorites.(AZ)
15 Samuel(BA) continued as Israel’s leader(BB) all(BC) the days of his life. 16 From year to year he went on a circuit from Bethel(BD) to Gilgal(BE) to Mizpah, judging(BF) Israel in all those places. 17 But he always went back to Ramah,(BG) where his home was, and there he also held court(BH) for Israel. And he built an altar(BI) there to the Lord.
Footnotes
- 1 Samuel 6:19 A few Hebrew manuscripts; most Hebrew manuscripts and Septuagint 50,070
- 1 Samuel 7:6 Traditionally judge; also in verse 15
- 1 Samuel 7:12 Ebenezer means stone of help.
Complete Jewish Bible (CJB)
Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.
Living Bible (TLB)
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
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