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 will be healed, and it will 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 to the God of Israel: it may be he will lighten his hand from off you, and from off your gods, and from off your land.
6
Why 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-cows on which there hath come no yoke, and tie the cows 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 to him [for] a trespass-offering, in a coffer by its side; and send it away, that it may go.
9
And see, if it goeth up by the way of his own coast to Beth-shemesh, [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 cows, 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 cows took the straight way to the way of Beth-shemesh, [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 to the border of Beth-shemesh.
13
And [they of] Beth-shemesh [were] reaping their wheat harvest in the valley: and they lifted up their eyes, and saw the ark, and rejoiced to see [it].