1 Samuel 6

1 When the ark [a sacred chest, the Ark of the Covenant] of the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God] had been in the land [field, country] of the Philistines [inhabitants of Philistia] seven months [lunar cycles, based on the new moon], word study 2 the Philistines [inhabitants of Philistia, a non-Israelite people] summoned [called out to, invited] the priests [spiritual leaders, mediators between God and people] and diviners [those who practice magic or fortune-telling, to discern the future], saying, “What [in what way, how] shall we do [take action, make a decision] with the ark [a chest, a box, especially the Ark of the Covenant] of the LORD [Yehovah, the covenant God of Israel]? Tell us [inform us, guide us] how [by what means, in what manner] to send [to dispatch, to return] it back to its place [its original location, its rightful position].” word study 3 They replied, “If [on the condition that] you return the ark [a sacred chest] of the God [Elohim, the supreme Creator] of Israel, do not send it away [deport, remove] empty [without an offering, vainly], but by all means [certainly, without fail] return it to Him with a guilt offering [a trespass-offering, a sin-offering, to atone for wrongdoing]. Then you will be healed [restored to health, made whole], and you will understand [know, perceive, discern] why His hand [an open hand; strength, a side or share] has not been lifted [removed, turned aside] from you [away from your midst].” word study 4 “What [in what way, how] guilt offering [sin-offering, trespass] should we send back to Him?” asked the Philistines. “Five gold [valuable, precious] tumors [emerods, painful ulcers] and five gold [valuable, precious] rats [mice, rodents],” they said, “according to the number [quantity, amount] of rulers [lords, princes] of the Philistines, since the same [one and only] plague [divine judgment, pestilence] has struck both you and your rulers [lords, leaders]. word study 5 Make images [representations, likenesses] of your tumors [ulcers, emerods] and of the rats [mice, rodents] that are ravaging [destroying, corrupting] the land [earth, territory]. Give glory [honor, praise] to the God [Elohim, the supreme Ruler] of Israel [the chosen people, Jacob’s descendants], and perhaps [if not, peradventure] He will lift [lighten, remove] His hand [power, authority] from you and your gods [idols, false deities] and your land [country, region]. word study 6 Why harden [make stubborn, be obstinate] your hearts [innermost being, mind and will] as the Egyptians [people of Egypt] and Pharaoh [the king of Egypt] hardened [made heavy, stubborn] theirs? When He [God, the Almighty] afflicted [punished, disciplined] them, did they not [certainly not] send [let go, release] the people on their way [allow them to depart, set them free] as they departed [left, went away]? word study 7 Now [at this time], therefore, prepare [make, get ready] one [single, unique] new [recently created, fresh] cart [wheeled vehicle, wagon] with two [a pair, double] milk cows [heifers, female cattle] that have never [not, none] been yoked [under a burden, with a load]. Hitch [tie, bind] the cows [heifers, female cattle] to the cart [wheeled vehicle, wagon], but take [get, remove] their calves [young ones, offspring] away [from their mothers, to a separate place] and pen [enclose, shut up] them up [in a safe place, at home]. word study 8 Take the ark [sacred chest, box of covenant] of the LORD [Yehovah, God of the covenant], set it on the cart [wheeled vehicle, wagon], and in a chest [coffer, box] beside it put the gold [valuable, precious] objects you are sending Him as a guilt [sin, trespass] offering [atonement, payment for offense]. Then send the ark on its way [let it go, release it to travel], word study 9 but keep watching it [closely, with attention]. If it goes up the road [way, path] to its homeland [own border, territory], toward Beth-shemesh [Heliopolis, house of the sun], it is the LORD [Yehovah] who has brought on us this great [large, severe] disaster [evil, calamity]. But if it does not, then we will know [understand, perceive] that it was not His hand [power, direction] that punished us [smote, afflicted] and that it happened by chance [accident, unexpected event].” word study 10 So the men [as instructed by the priests] did as instructed [in obedience to God’s will]. They took [got, acquired] two milk cows [heifers, female cattle], hitched [tied, bound] them to the cart [wheeled vehicle, transportation], and penned up [shut up, restrained] their calves [young ones, offspring]. word study 11 Then they put the ark [a box or chest, like the Ark of the Covenant] of the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God] on the cart [a wheeled vehicle, such as a wagon], along with the chest [coffer, a container used to store things] containing the gold [a valuable metal] rats [or mice, small rodents] and the images [or likenesses, models] of the tumors [painful ulcers, emerods]. word study 12 And the cows [heifers, young female cows] headed straight up the road [on the main highway, by the way] toward Beth-shemesh [Heliopolis, the house of the sun], staying on that one [single, unified] highway and lowing [making a loud, mournful sound] as they went, never straying [turning aside, removing] to the right [the direction of the right hand] or to the left [the north side]. The rulers [lords, leaders] of the Philistines [inhabitants of Philistia, a region] followed behind them to the border [boundary, limit] of Beth-shemesh [the city of the sun]. word study 13 Now the people [inhabitants, residents] of Beth-shemesh [Heliopolis, house of the sun] were harvesting [reaping, cutting down] wheat [grain, crop] in the valley [lowland area, plain], and when they looked up [lifted their eyes] and saw [beheld, gazed at] the ark [box, chest, sacred container], they were overjoyed [rejoiced greatly, delighted] at the sight [to see it, with great pleasure]. word study 14 The cart [wheeled vehicle, a means of transportation] came to the field [open land, a place for cultivation] of Joshua [a leader, a successor of Moses] of Beth-shemesh [house of the sun, a city in Israel] and stopped there [came to a standstill, remained] near a large [great, immense] rock [stone]. The people chopped up the cart [broke it into pieces, destroyed it] and offered the cows [heifers, young female cattle] as a burnt offering [a sacrifice, a gift to God] to the LORD [Yehovah, the supreme God]. word study 15 And the Levites [descendants of Levi, a tribe of Israel] took down the ark [a box or chest, the Ark of the Covenant] of the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God] and the chest [a box, coffer] containing the gold objects [jewels, vessels], and they placed them on the large rock [the great stone]. That day the men of Beth-shemesh [a town in ancient Palestine, Heliopolis] offered burnt offerings [sacrifices, ascending to God] and made sacrifices [to slaughter an animal, for a religious offering] to the LORD [Yehovah, the supreme God]. word study 16 And when the [lords] five rulers of the Philistines [a person from the region of Philistia] saw [to see or look after, perceived] this, they returned [to turn back, came back] to Ekron [one of the five major cities of the Philistines] that same [very, identical] day [a 24-hour period, a figurative space of time]. word study 17 As a guilt offering [a trespass or sin offering, to atone for wrongdoing] to the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God], the Philistines [inhabitants of Philistia, a region of immigrants] had sent back one gold [valuable, brilliant] tumor [a painful swelling, emerod] for each city: Ashdod [a powerful Philistine city], Gaza [Azzah, the strong city], Ashkelon [a major Philistine city], Gath [a city of the Philistines, meaning winepress], and Ekron [one of the five major cities of the Philistines]. word study 18 The number of gold [precious, highly valued] rats also corresponded to the number of Philistine [immigrant, non-Hebrew] cities belonging to the five rulers [lords, leaders]—the fortified [strongly protected, walled] cities and their outlying [rural, country] villages. And the large [great, impressive] rock on which they placed the ark [sacred chest, covenant box] of the LORD [Yehovah, the supreme God] stands to this day in the field [open land, countryside] of Joshua [God is salvation, a leader] of Beth-shemesh [house of the sun, a city]. word study 19 But God [the Lord] struck down [slew, smote] some of the people of Beth-shemesh [Heliopolis, house of the sun] because they looked [gazed, saw] inside the ark [a box or chest, the Ark of the Covenant] of the LORD [Yehovah, the supreme God]. He struck down [slew, smote] seventy men [seventy individuals], and the people [the nation, the community] mourned [lamented, were sorrowful] because the LORD [Yehovah, the supreme God] had struck them with a great [large, severe] slaughter [a wound, carnage, defeat]. word study 20 The men [inhabitants, people] of Beth-shemesh asked, “Who [what person, which one] can stand [remain, endure] in the presence [face, before] of the LORD [Yehovah, the holy One], this [specific, unique] holy [set apart, sacred] God? To whom [which person, what group] should the ark [covenant chest] go up [ascend, be taken] from here [this place, our location]?” word study 21 So they sent messengers [representatives] to the people of Kiriath-jearim [city of forests], saying, “The Philistines [immigrants from other places] have returned [brought back, turned back] the ark [a box or chest, the Ark of the Covenant] of the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God]. Come down [descend, go to a lower place] and take it up [ascend, go up] with you [to your city, to your country].” word study