Font Size
1 Samuel 6
The Message
1 Samuel 6
The Message
Gold Tumors and Rats
6 1-2 After the Chest of God had been among the Philistine people for seven months, the Philistine leaders called together their religious professionals, the priests, and experts on the supernatural for consultation: “How can we get rid of this Chest of God, get it off our hands without making things worse? Tell us!”
3 They said, “If you’re going to send the Chest of the God of Israel back, don’t just dump it on them. Pay compensation. Then you will be healed. After you’re in the clear again, God will let up on you. Why wouldn’t he?”
4-6 “And what exactly would make for adequate compensation?”
“Five gold tumors and five gold rats,” they said, “to match the number of Philistine leaders. Since all of you—leaders and people—suffered the same plague, make replicas of the tumors and rats that are devastating the country and present them as an offering to the glory of the God of Israel. Then maybe he’ll ease up and not be so hard on you and your gods, and on your country. Why be stubborn like the Egyptians and Pharaoh? God didn’t quit pounding on them until they let the people go. Only then did he let up.
7-9 “So here’s what you do: Take a brand-new oxcart and two cows that have never been in harness. Hitch the cows to the oxcart and send their calves back to the barn. Put the Chest of God on the cart. Secure the gold replicas of the tumors and rats that you are offering as compensation in a sack and set them next to the Chest. Then send it off. But keep your eyes on it. If it heads straight back home to where it came from, toward Beth Shemesh, it is clear that this catastrophe is a divine judgment, but if not, we’ll know that God had nothing to do with it—it was just an accident.”
10-12 So that’s what they did: They hitched two cows to the cart, put their calves in the barn, and placed the Chest of God and the sack of gold rats and tumors on the cart. The cows headed straight for home, down the road to Beth Shemesh, straying neither right nor left, mooing all the way. The Philistine leaders followed them to the outskirts of Beth Shemesh.
13-15 The people of Beth Shemesh were harvesting wheat in the valley. They looked up and saw the Chest. Elated, they ran to meet it. The cart came into the field of Joshua, a Beth Shemeshite, and stopped there beside a huge boulder. The harvesters tore the cart to pieces, then chopped up the wood and sacrificed the cows as a burnt offering to God. The Levites took charge of the Chest of God and the sack containing the gold offerings, placing them on the boulder. Offering the sacrifices, everyone in Beth Shemesh worshiped God most heartily that day.
16 When the five Philistine leaders saw what they came to see, they returned the same day to Ekron.
17-18 The five gold replicas of the tumors were offered by the Philistines in compensation for the cities of Ashdod, Gaza, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron. The five gold rats matched the number of Philistine towns, both large and small, ruled by the five leaders. The big boulder on which they placed the Chest of God is still there in the field of Joshua of Beth Shemesh, a landmark.
If You Are Serious About Coming Back to God
19-20 God struck some of the men of Beth Shemesh who, out of curiosity, irreverently peeked into the Chest of God. Seventy died. The whole town was in mourning, reeling under the hard blow from God, and questioning, “Who can stand before God, this holy God? And who can we get to take this Chest off our hands?”
21 They sent emissaries to Kiriath Jearim, saying, “The Philistines have returned the Chest of God. Come down and get it.”
1 Samuel 6
New King James Version
1 Samuel 6
New King James Version
The Ark Returned to Israel
6 Now the ark of the Lord was in the country of the Philistines seven months. 2 And the Philistines (A)called for the priests and the diviners, saying, “What shall we do with the ark of the Lord? Tell us how we should send it to its place.”
3 So they said, “If you send away the ark of the God of Israel, do not send it (B)empty; but by all means return it to Him with (C)a trespass offering. Then you will be healed, and it will be known to you why His hand is not removed from you.”
4 Then they said, “What is the trespass offering which we shall return to Him?”
They answered, (D)“Five golden tumors and five golden rats, according to the number of the lords of the Philistines. For the same plague was on all of [a]you and on your lords. 5 Therefore you shall make images of your tumors and images of your rats that (E)ravage the land, and you shall (F)give glory to the God of Israel; perhaps He will (G)lighten[b] His hand from you, from (H)your gods, and from your land. 6 Why then do you harden your hearts (I)as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? When He did mighty things among them, (J)did they not let the people go, that they might depart? 7 Now therefore, make (K)a new cart, take two milk cows (L)which have never been yoked, and hitch the cows to the cart; and take their calves home, away from them. 8 Then take the ark of the Lord and set it on the cart; and put (M)the articles of gold which you are returning to Him as a trespass offering in a chest by its side. Then send it away, and let it go. 9 And watch: if it goes up the road to its own territory, to (N)Beth Shemesh, then He has done [c]us this great evil. But if not, then (O)we shall know that it is not His hand that struck us—it happened to us by chance.”
10 Then the men did so; they took two milk cows and hitched them to the cart, and shut up their calves at home. 11 And they set the ark of the Lord on the cart, and the chest with the gold rats and the images of their tumors. 12 Then the cows headed straight for the road to Beth Shemesh, and went along the (P)highway, lowing as they went, and did not turn aside to the right hand or the left. And the lords of the Philistines went after them to the border of Beth Shemesh.
13 Now the people of Beth Shemesh were reaping their (Q)wheat harvest in the valley; and they lifted their eyes and saw the ark, and rejoiced to see it. 14 Then the cart came into the field of Joshua of Beth Shemesh, and stood there; a large stone was there. So they split the wood of the cart and offered the cows as a burnt offering to the Lord. 15 The Levites took down the ark of the Lord and the chest that was with it, in which were the articles of gold, and put them on the large stone. Then the men of Beth Shemesh offered burnt offerings and made sacrifices the same day to the Lord. 16 So when (R)the five lords of the Philistines had seen it, they returned to Ekron the same day.
17 (S)These are the golden tumors which the Philistines returned as a trespass offering to the Lord: one for Ashdod, one for Gaza, one for Ashkelon, one for (T)Gath, one for Ekron; 18 and the golden rats, according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five lords, both fortified cities and country villages, even as far as the large stone of Abel on which they set the ark of the Lord, which stone remains to this day in the field of Joshua of Beth Shemesh.
19 Then (U)He struck the men of Beth Shemesh, because they had looked into the ark of the Lord. [d]He (V)struck fifty thousand and seventy men of the people, and the people lamented because the Lord had struck the people with a great slaughter.
The Ark at Kirjath Jearim
20 And the men of Beth Shemesh said, (W)“Who is able to stand before this holy Lord God? And to whom shall it go up from us?” 21 So they sent messengers to the inhabitants of (X)Kirjath Jearim, saying, “The Philistines have brought back the ark of the Lord; come down and take it up with you.”
Footnotes
- 1 Samuel 6:4 Lit. them
- 1 Samuel 6:5 ease
- 1 Samuel 6:9 this calamity to us
- 1 Samuel 6:19 Or He struck seventy men of the people and fifty oxen of a man
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
1 Samuelsboken 6
Svenska Folkbibeln 2015
1 Samuelsboken 6
Svenska Folkbibeln 2015
Arken återförs till Israels land
6 När Herrens ark hade varit i filisteernas land i sju månader, 2 kallade filisteerna till sig präster och spåmän och sade: ”Vad ska vi göra med Herrens ark? Säg oss hur vi ska sända den tillbaka till dess plats.” 3 De svarade: ”Om ni vill sända i väg Israels Guds ark ska ni inte sända bort den utan gåvor. Ni måste i varje fall ge honom ett skuldoffer. Då ska ni bli botade, och ni ska förstå varför hans hand inte drar sig tillbaka från er.”
4 De frågade: ”Vad för slags skuldoffer ska vi sända honom?” De svarade: ”Fem bölder av guld och fem råttor av guld, lika många som filisteernas furstar, för samma plåga har drabbat er alla och era furstar. 5 (A) Ni ska göra avbildningar av era bölder och avbildningar av råttorna som fördärvar ert land. Ge så ära åt Israels Gud. Kanske lättar han då sin hand över er och era gudar och ert land. 6 (B) Varför förhärdar ni era hjärtan så som farao och egyptierna gjorde? När han visade sin makt mot dem, släppte de då inte israeliterna och lät dem gå?
7 Så gör nu en ny vagn och ta två kor som ger di och som inte har burit något ok. Spänn korna för vagnen, men ta hem deras kalvar från dem. 8 Sätt Herrens ark på vagnen och lägg ner guldföremålen som ni ger honom som skuldoffer[a] i ett skrin vid sidan av den. Sänd sedan i väg vagnen. 9 Se efter om den tar vägen till sitt eget land, till Bet-Shemesh. Då var det han som vållade oss den stora olyckan. Men annars vet vi att det inte var hans hand som slog oss utan att det drabbade oss av en slump.”
10 Männen gjorde så. De tog två kor som gav di och spände dem för vagnen. Men kornas kalvar stängde de in hemma. 11 Och de satte Herrens ark på vagnen och även skrinet med guldråttorna och med avbildningarna av deras bölder. 12 Korna gick raka vägen mot Bet-Shemesh[b]. De gick hela tiden samma väg. De gick där och råmade utan att vika av vare sig till höger eller till vänster. Filisteernas furstar följde efter dem ända till gränsen mot Bet-Shemesh.
13 Folket i Bet-Shemesh höll på med veteskörd[c] i dalen. De lyfte sin blick och fick syn på arken, och de blev mycket glada när de såg den. 14 När vagnen nådde åkern hos Josua från Bet-Shemesh stannade den där, och där låg en stor sten. Då högg de upp trävirket från vagnen och offrade korna till brännoffer åt Herren. 15 Leviterna lyfte ner Herrens ark, tillsammans med skrinet med guldföremålen som stod där bredvid, och satte det på den stora stenen. Invånarna i Bet-Shemesh offrade på den dagen brännoffer och slaktoffer åt Herren. 16 När filisteernas fem furstar hade sett detta, vände de samma dag tillbaka till Ekron.
17 De bölder av guld som filisteerna gav som skuldoffer åt Herren var: en för Ashdod, en för Gaza, en för Ashkelon, en för Gat, en för Ekron. 18 Men guldråttorna var lika många som filisteernas alla städer under de fem furstarna, och då medräknades både befästa städer och landsbygdens byar. Den stora stenen där de satte ner Herrens ark är ett vittne, och den finns kvar än i dag på betshemeshiten Josuas åker.
19 (C) Av invånarna i Bet-Shemesh blev några slagna för att de hade sett in i Herrens ark.[d] Herren dödade sjuttio man bland folket, femtio var hövdingar.[e] Och folket sörjde över att Herren hade slagit så många bland dem.
Arken i Kirjat-Jearim
20 Invånarna i Bet-Shemesh sade: ”Vem kan bestå inför Herren, denne helige Gud? Till vem ska han dra vidare härifrån oss?” 21 De skickade sändebud till dem som bodde i Kirjat-Jearim[f] och sade: ”Filisteerna har sänt tillbaka Herrens ark. Kom ner hit och hämta upp den till er.”
Footnotes
- 6:8 skuldoffer Ett ödmjukt erkännande att en synd har begåtts (jfr Israels offerregler i 3 Mos 6).
- 6:12 Bet-Shemesh Stad vid gränsen, ca 3 mil från Ashdod och lika långt från Jerusalem. Byggnader från Samuels tid på 1000-talet har grävts ut.
- 6:13 höll på med veteskörd Vetet skördas vid pingst i maj-juni.
- 6:19 sett in i HERRENS ark Endast de utvalda leviterna fick hantera den heliga arken (jfr 2 Sam 6:6f, 3 Mos 16:2, 4 Mos 4:5, 15).
- 6:19 hövdingar Grundtextens ord betyder både ”tusen” och ”hövding” (över tusen). Jfr Mika 5:2, Matt 2:6.
- 6:21 Kirjat-Jearim Betyder ”skogsstaden”, ca en mil nordost om Bet-Shemesh. Se Jos 9:17, Ps 132:6.
The Message (MSG)
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson
New King James Version (NKJV) 
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.
Svenska Folkbibeln 2015 (SFB15)
Svenska Folkbibeln 2015, Copyright © 2015 by Svenska Folkbibeln Foundation