1 Samuel 6:3-13

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].

1 Samuel 6:3-13 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO FIRST SAMUEL 6

In this chapter we are told the Philistines advised with their priests what to do with the ark, and wherewith to send it home, 1Sa 6:1,2 whose advice was to send with it a trespass offering, golden images of emerods and mice, and to put it on a new cart, and the images in a coffer on the side of the ark, and draw it with two cows, 1Sa 6:3-8, and gave them a token whereby they might know whether they had been smitten by the God of Israel or not, 1Sa 6:9 which advice they took, and acted in all things according to it; and the lords of the Philistines accompanied the ark to the border of Bethshemesh, 1Sa 6:10-12, where they of Bethshemesh received it with joy, and offered the kine for a burnt offering to the Lord, and the Levites took care of the ark and presents in it, and the lords of the Philistines returned home, 1Sa 6:13-18, but they of Bethshemesh looking into the ark were smitten of God, upon which they sent to the men of Kirjathjearim to fetch it from them, 1Sa 6:19-21.