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1 Samuel 6
Common English Bible
1 Samuel 6
Common English Bible
God’s chest is returned
6 The Lord’s chest was in Philistine territory for seven months. 2 The Philistines called for the priests and the diviners. “What should we do with the Lord’s chest?” they asked. “Tell us how we should send it back to its own home.”
3 They replied, “If you are returning the chest of Israel’s God, don’t send it back empty, but be sure to return a guilt offering to him.[a] Then you will be healed, and it will become clear to you why God’s hand hasn’t left you alone.”
4 “What compensation offering should we return to him?” they asked.
The priests and diviners replied: “Five gold tumors[b] and five gold mice,[c] matching the number of the Philistine rulers, because the same plague came on all of you and your rulers. 5 You must make images of your tumors and the mice that have devastated the land. Honor Israel’s God. Perhaps he will lighten the weight of his hand on you, your gods, and your land. 6 Why be stubborn like the Egyptians and Pharaoh? After God had dealt harshly with them, didn’t they send the Israelites on their way? 7 So get a new cart ready along with two nursing cows that have never been yoked before. Harness the cows to the cart, but take any of their calves that are following back home. 8 Next, take the Lord’s chest and put it in the cart. Set the gold items that you are giving God as a compensation offering in a box next to the chest. Then send it on its way. 9 Then watch what happens: If the cart goes up the road to its own territory toward Beth-shemesh, then Israel’s God has brought this great disaster on us. If the cart goes another way, then we’ll know that it wasn’t God’s hand that struck us. It happened to us randomly.”
10 The rulers[d] did just that. They took two nursing cows and harnessed them to the cart, penning their calves up at home. 11 They put the Lord’s chest on the cart along with the box containing the gold mice and the images of their tumors.[e] 12 The cows went straight ahead, following the road to Beth-shemesh. They kept to one route, mooing as they went, without turning right or left. The Philistine rulers followed them as far as the territory of Beth-shemesh.
13 Now the people of Beth-shemesh were harvesting wheat in the valley. When they looked up and saw the chest, they were overjoyed at the sight. 14 The cart entered the field belonging to Joshua of Beth-shemesh and stopped right by a large stone. They chopped up the wood of the cart and offered the cows as an entirely burned offering to the Lord. 15 The Levites unloaded the Lord’s chest and the box that was with it that contained all the gold items, and they set them on the large stone. That very day the people of Beth-shemesh offered entirely burned offerings and made sacrifices to the Lord. 16 When the five Philistine rulers witnessed this, they went straight back to Ekron.
17 These are the gold tumors that the Philistines returned as a compensation offering to the Lord: one for Ashdod, one for Gaza, one for Ashkelon, one for Gath, and one for Ekron. 18 The gold mice matched the number of Philistine cities belonging to the five rulers, from fortified cities to country villages. And the large stone[f] they set the Lord’s chest on is a witness even now in the field that belongs to Joshua of Beth-shemesh.
19 But God struck down some of the people from Beth-shemesh because they looked into the Lord’s chest. God struck seventy people,[g] and the community grieved because the Lord had struck them so severely. 20 The people of Beth-shemesh said, “Who can stand before the Lord, this holy God? Where can he go that is away from us here?” 21 They sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kiriath-jearim. “The Philistines returned the Lord’s chest!” they said. “Come down and take it back with you.”
Footnotes
- 1 Samuel 6:3 Or be sure to return it with a compensation offering.
- 1 Samuel 6:4 Kethib; Qere hemorrhoids (cf Deut 28:27); also in 6:5; see note at 6:11.
- 1 Samuel 6:4 LXX lacks and five gold mice.
- 1 Samuel 6:10 See 6:12; MT men.
- 1 Samuel 6:11 Or hemorrhoids; also in 6:17, the Qere form for the Hebrew written form of tumors used in 6:4-5
- 1 Samuel 6:18 LXX
- 1 Samuel 6:19 LXX; MT adds fifty thousand people.
1 Sa-mu-ên 6
New Vietnamese Bible
1 Sa-mu-ên 6
New Vietnamese Bible
Người Phi-li-tin Trả Rương Giao Ước Về
6 Sau khi Rương Giao Ước của CHÚA ở trong xứ người Phi-li-tin được bảy tháng, 2 người Phi-li-tin mời các thầy cúng tế và các thầy bói của họ đến, hỏi: “Chúng tôi phải làm gì với Rương Giao Ước của CHÚA? Xin cho chúng tôi biết chúng tôi phải làm gì gởi kèm theo khi chúng tôi trả rương về chỗ cũ?” 3 Các thầy cúng tế và các thầy bói đáp: “Nếu anh chị em muốn gởi Rương Giao Ước của Đức Chúa Trời của dân Y-sơ-ra-ên về trả cho họ, xin đừng gởi rương về không. Anh chị em nên nhớ gởi cho Đức Chúa Trời của dân Y-sơ-ra-ên một lễ vật chuộc tội. Bấy giờ anh chị em sẽ được chữa lành và sẽ biết tại sao Ngài đã không ngừng trừng phạt anh chị em.” 4 Người Phi-li-tin hỏi: “Chúng tôi phải gửi lễ vật gì cho Ngài?” Các thầy cúng tế và các thầy bói đáp: “Anh chị em hãy gởi, tùy theo số các nhà lãnh đạo Phi-li-tin, năm hình mụt hạch bằng vàng và năm con chuột bằng vàng, vì toàn dân và các nhà lãnh đạo đều chịu cùng một tai họa. 5 Anh chị em nên làm hình các mụt hạch và hình các con chuột phá hoại đất đai, và anh chi em phải dâng vinh quang lên Đức Chúa Trời của dân Y-sơ-ra-ên. Biết đâu Ngài sẽ nương tay, không trừng phạt anh chị em, các thần và đất đai của anh chị em nữa. 6 Xin anh chị em đừng cứng lòng như dân Ai-cập và Pha-ra-ôn. Anh chị em nhớ Ngài hành hạ chúng thế nào, đến nỗi chúng phải để dân Y-sơ-ra-ên ra đi.
7 Bây giờ, anh chị em hãy đóng một chiếc xe mới, bắt hai con bò mẹ đang cho bú, chưa hề mang ách, thắng vào xe, nhưng phải dẫn bò con về chuồng, không cho chúng lẽo đẽo theo mẹ. 8 Rồi anh chị em khiên Rương Giao Ước của CHÚA đặt lên xe. Bên cạnh rương, anh chị em đặt chiếc hộp đựng các lễ vật bằng vàng mà anh chị em dâng lên Ngài để xin tạ lỗi. Đoạn, anh chị em thả cho bò tự kéo xe đi. 9 Anh chị em theo dõi sẽ thấy: nếu bò đi về biên giới, theo hướng Bết Se-mét, thì chính Đức Chúa Trời của Y-sơ-ra-ên đã giáng tai họa lớn lao này xuống chúng ta; còn nếu bò đi hướng khác, chúng ta sẽ biết là không phải Ngài trừng phạt chúng ta, nhưng tai họa ngẫu nhiên xảy ra.”
10 Người Phi-li-tin làm theo lời chỉ dẫn. Họ bắt hai con bò mẹ đang cho bú thắng vào xe, và nhốt bò con trong chuồng. 11 Họ đặt Rương Giao Ước của CHÚA lên xe, cùng với chiếc hộp đựng mấy con chuột bằng vàng và hình các mụt hạch.[a] 12 Hai con bò đi thẳng một đường về hướng Bết Se-mét, đi trên đường cái duy nhất vừa đi vừa rống, không quay sang bên phải hoặc bên trái. Các nhà lãnh đạo Phi-li-tin đi theo sau xe cho đến biên giới Bết Se-mét.
13 Dân thành Bết Se-mét đang gặt lúa mì trong thung lũng, bỗng họ ngước mắt lên, thấy Rương Giao Ước, liền vui mừng quá đỗi. 14 Chiếc xe vào đến ruộng của ông Giô-suê, người Bết Se-mét, và dừng lại. Tại đó, có một tảng đá lớn. Dân chúng bửa xe làm củi và dâng hai con bò cái làm tế lễ toàn thiêu lên cho CHÚA, 15 vì người Lê-vi đã khiêng Rương Giao Ước của CHÚA cùng với chiếc hộp cạnh bên đựng các lễ vật bằng vàng xuống khỏi xe, đặt trên tảng đá lớn. Người Bết Se-mét dâng tế lễ toàn thiêu cùng với các sinh tế khác lên CHÚA trong ngày hôm đó. 16 Năm nhà lãnh đạo Phi-li-tin nhìn thấy mọi việc, rồi trở về Éc-rôn nội ngày hôm đó.
17 Sau đây là năm mụt hạch bằng vàng người Phi-li-tin dâng lên CHÚA làm lễ vật chuộc tội: một cho thành Ách-đốt, một cho thành Ga-xa, một cho thành Ách-ca-lôn, một cho thành Gát, và một cho thành Éc-rôn. 18 Số các con chuột bằng vàng cũng theo tổng số các thành thuộc quyền năm nhà lãnh đạo Phi-li-tin, từ thành trì kiên cố đến các làng bỏ ngỏ ở miền quê. Tảng đá lớn, nơi người ta đặt Rương Giao Ước của CHÚA, hiện nay vẫn còn trong ruộng của ông Giô-suê người Bết Se-mét.
19 CHÚA phạt dân thành Bết Se-mét vì họ nhìn vào bên trong Rương Giao Ước của CHÚA. Ngài diệt bảy mươi người trong số họ.[b] Dân chúng than khóc vì CHÚA trừng phạt họ nặng nề. 20 Dân thành Bết Se-mét bàn tán: “Ai có thể đứng chầu trước mặt CHÚA là Đức Chúa Trời thánh khiết này? Chúng ta sẽ đem Rương Giao Ước của Ngài đi khỏi chúng ta đến với ai?” 21 Họ sai sứ đến nói với dân thành Ki-ri-át Giê-a-rim: “Người Phi-li-tin đã trả Rương Giao Ước của CHÚA về đây rồi. Xin anh chị em xuống khiêng rương về.”
1 Samuel 6
King James Version
1 Samuel 6
King James Version
6 And the ark of the Lord was in the country of the Philistines seven months.
2 And the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners, saying, What shall we do to the ark of the Lord? tell us wherewith we shall send it to his place.
3 And they said, If ye send away the ark of the God of Israel, send it not empty; but in any wise return him a trespass offering: then ye shall be healed, and it shall be known to you why his hand is not removed from you.
4 Then said they, What shall be the trespass offering which we shall return to him? They answered, Five golden emerods, and five golden mice, according to the number of the lords of the Philistines: for one plague was on you all, and on your lords.
5 Wherefore ye shall make images of your emerods, and images of your mice that mar the land; and ye shall give glory unto the God of Israel: peradventure he will lighten his hand from off you, and from off your gods, and from off your land.
6 Wherefore then do ye harden your hearts, as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? when he had wrought wonderfully among them, did they not let the people go, and they departed?
7 Now therefore make a new cart, and take two milch kine, on which there hath come no yoke, and tie the kine to the cart, and bring their calves home from them:
8 And take the ark of the Lord, and lay it upon the cart; and put the jewels of gold, which ye return him for a trespass offering, in a coffer by the side thereof; and send it away, that it may go.
9 And see, if it goeth up by the way of his own coast to Bethshemesh, then he hath done us this great evil: but if not, then we shall know that it is not his hand that smote us: it was a chance that happened to us.
10 And the men did so; and took two milch kine, and tied them to the cart, and shut up their calves at home:
11 And they laid the ark of the Lord upon the cart, and the coffer with the mice of gold and the images of their emerods.
12 And the kine took the straight way to the way of Bethshemesh, and went along the highway, lowing as they went, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left; and the lords of the Philistines went after them unto the border of Bethshemesh.
13 And they of Bethshemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley: and they lifted up their eyes, and saw the ark, and rejoiced to see it.
14 And the cart came into the field of Joshua, a Bethshemite, and stood there, where there was a great stone: and they clave the wood of the cart, and offered the kine a burnt offering unto the Lord.
15 And the Levites took down the ark of the Lord, and the coffer that was with it, wherein the jewels of gold were, and put them on the great stone: and the men of Bethshemesh offered burnt offerings and sacrificed sacrifices the same day unto the Lord.
16 And when the five lords of the Philistines had seen it, they returned to Ekron the same day.
17 And these are the golden emerods which the Philistines returned for a trespass offering unto the Lord; for Ashdod one, for Gaza one, for Askelon one, for Gath one, for Ekron one;
18 And the golden mice, according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five lords, both of fenced cities, and of country villages, even unto the great stone of Abel, whereon they set down the ark of the Lord: which stone remaineth unto this day in the field of Joshua, the Bethshemite.
19 And he smote the men of Bethshemesh, because they had looked into the ark of the Lord, even he smote of the people fifty thousand and threescore and ten men: and the people lamented, because the Lord had smitten many of the people with a great slaughter.
20 And the men of Bethshemesh said, Who is able to stand before this holy Lord God? and to whom shall he go up from us?
21 And they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kirjathjearim, saying, The Philistines have brought again the ark of the Lord; come ye down, and fetch it up to you.
1 Samuel 6
New International Version
1 Samuel 6
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.”
Footnotes
- 1 Samuel 6:19 A few Hebrew manuscripts; most Hebrew manuscripts and Septuagint 50,070
Common English Bible (CEB)
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible
New Vietnamese Bible (NVB)
New Vietnamese Bible. Used by permission of VBI (www.nvbible.org)
New International Version (NIV) 
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.