1 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 and said, "What shall we do with the ark of the LORD? Tell us with what we shall send it to its place."
3 They said, "If you send away the ark of the God of Israel, do not send it empty, but by all means return him a guilt offering. Then you will be healed, and it will be known to you why his hand does not turn away from you."
4 And they said, "What is the guilt offering that we shall return to him?" They answered, "Five golden tumors and five golden mice, according to the number of the lords of the Philistines; for the same plague was upon all of you and upon your lords.
5 So you must make images of your tumors and images of your mice that ravage the land, and give glory to the God of Israel; perhaps he will lighten his hand from off you and your gods and your land.
6 Why should you harden your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? After he had made sport of them, did not they let the people go, and they departed?
7 Now then, take and prepare a new cart and two milch cows upon which there has never come a yoke, and yoke the cows to the cart, but take their calves home, away from them.
8 And take the ark of the LORD and place it on the cart, and put in a box at its side the figures of gold, which you are returning to him as a guilt offering. Then send it off, and let it go its way.
9 And watch; if it goes up on the way to its own land, to Beth-she'mesh, then it is he who has done us this great harm; but if not, then we shall know that it is not his hand that struck us, it happened to us by chance."
10 The men did so, and took two milch cows and yoked them to the cart, and shut up their calves at home.
11 And they put the ark of the LORD on the cart, and the box with the golden mice and the images of their tumors.
12 And the cows went straight in the direction of Beth-she'mesh along one highway, lowing as they went; they turned neither to the right nor to the left, and the lords of the Philistines went after them as far as the border of Beth-she'mesh.
13 Now the people of Beth-she'mesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley; and when they lifted up their eyes and saw the ark, they rejoiced to see it.
14 The cart came into the field of Joshua of Beth-she'mesh, and stopped there. A great stone was there; and they split up the wood of the cart and offered the cows as a burnt offering to the LORD.
15 And the Levites took down the ark of the LORD and the box that was beside it, in which were the golden figures, and set them upon the great stone; and the men of Beth-she'mesh offered burnt offerings and sacrificed sacrifices on that day to the LORD.
16 And when the five lords of the Philistines saw it, they returned that day to Ekron.
17 These are the golden tumors, which the Philistines returned as a guilt offering to the LORD: one for Ashdod, one for Gaza, one for Ash'kelon, one for Gath, one for Ekron;
18 also the golden mice, according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five lords, both fortified cities and unwalled villages. The great stone, beside which they set down the ark of the LORD, is a witness to this day in the field of Joshua of Beth-she'mesh.
19 And he slew some of the men of Beth-she'mesh, because they looked into the ark of the LORD; he slew seventy men of them, and the people mourned because the LORD had made a great slaughter among the people.
20 Then the men of Beth-she'mesh said, "Who is able to stand before the LORD, this holy God? And to whom shall he go up away from us?"
21 So they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kir'iath-je'arim, saying, "The Philistines have returned the ark of the LORD. Come down and take it up to you."
Versículos relacionados com 1 Samuel, 6:
1 Samuel 6 describes the return of the Ark of the Covenant by the Philistines, after suffering several calamities in their cities. The passage talks about how the Philistines planned to return the ark to Israel and how it was received by the people. The verses selected below address topics such as the repentance of the Philistines, the divine presence and the holiness of the ark.
1 Samuel 6:9: "And observe, If climbing the way from its territory to Bete-Semes, it was he who made us this great evil; but if not, we will know that his hand did not touch us; It happened to us. " The Philistines ask for guidance to their priests on how to return the ark and how to know if the pest they had suffered was a divine punishment or a coincidence. This verse shows how they believed in divine intervention in their lives.
1 Samuel 6:13: "Now, those of Bete-Semes were driving the wheat in the valley; they raised their eyes and saw the ark and rejoiced to see it." This verse portrays the joy of the inhabitants of Bete-Semes as they see the ark of the covenant returning to Israel. The ark represented the presence of God, and his return was a sign that God had not abandoned the people of Israel.
1 Samuel 6:19: "But the Lord wounded some men of Bethi-semes, because they had looked into the ark of the Lord; he injured fifty thousand men of the people, and the people mourned, because the Lord had made a great death among the people. " This verse highlights the holiness of the ark of the covenant and the consequences of the desecration of a sacred object. The men of Bete-Semes were punished for looking inside the ark, something that was prohibited by law.
1 Samuel 6:20: "Then the men of Bete-Semes said, Who can subsist before the Lord, this Holy God? To whom will He rise to move away from us?" This verse reflects the perception of the inhabitants of Bete-Semes about God's holiness and the need to remain away from anything that could profane it. The return of the ark was a lesson on the respect and reverence they should have for the divine presence.
1 Samuel 6:21: "They therefore sent messengers to the inhabitants of Quiriate-Jearim, saying, The Philistines returned the ark of the Lord; come, and take it to you." This verse highlights the importance of the ark of the covenant as a symbol of God's presence in Israel. Even after all the problems that had occurred, the inhabitants of Quiriate-Jearim wanted to receive the ark in their city, in order to honor God and keep alive the religious tradition of Israel.
Fejezetek: