I Samuel - Ferrar Fenton Bible Translation page 281

THE PERIOD OF SAMUEL.—I. SAM. 5--8

6-14

I0 II I2 ‘ The Ark of the GOD of Israel shall not remain with us, for His hand is hard upon us, and upon Dagon our They therefore sent and assembled

all the lords of the Philistines, and What shall we do with the Ark ofthe GOD of Israel Gath shall hold the

Ark of the GOD of Israel, and have the custody of the Ark of the GoD of myc §rl2 islam in ®ully. But afterthey received it, the hand

of the EvER—L1v1NG brought very great confusion, and afllicced the inhabitants of that city from the least to the greatest, and they broke out in tumours. Glbc $1:k taken tu Narun. Then they sent the Ark of Gon to

Akron. But when the Ark of GOD arrived at Akron, the Akronites cried Why do you send the Ark of the GOD of Israel to us, to So they sent and assembled all the lords of Send away the Ark of the GOD of Israel, and return it to its place, and do not kill us and our people; for there has been deadly suffering in all the city ;~·~·the hand of that GOD has been very heavy here. Even the people who are not killed are afflicted with tumours, and the shrieks of the city have ascended to the Heavens! ®l32 Qhlyilisiinzs salt their §ri2ats what in hn 6 The Ark of the Even-L1v1Nc. was in the country of the Philistines

2 seven months. Then the Philistines summoned their priests and diviners What must we do with the Ark ofthe EvER—L1v1NG ? Inform us how we must send it back to its Gllmg nhtrizz in return the Ark in Email with a Mich ihrzzcnt in (MD. If you send back the Ark of the GOD of Israel you should not send it back empty, but you must return to Him an offering so that He may cure you, and inform you why He did not turn His hand from you.’ What is the

offering that we must return to Five tumours of gold, the same as the number of the lords ofthe Philistines; and Eve mice of gold, for the same plague was upon you and your lords. Make also representations of the tumours, and of the mice that have ravaged the country, and pay honour to the GOD of Israel. Perhaps then He will lift His hand from upon you, and from your gods and from your country. For why should you stupefy your hearts as the Mitzerites and Pharoh stupened their hearts so that they would not allow them to go up from them? Yet, when He had afflicted them, they sent them away and they went-. So now set to work and prepare a new cart, and select two heifers, who are suckling calves, who have not had yokes upon them, and harness the heifers to the cart, but put their young back to the stable. Then take the Ark of the EVER- L1v1N_G and put it upon the cart, with the things of gold which you send to Him as an offering. Put them in abox beside it, and send it away, and let it go. But watch, if it goes up the road to Beth-shemsh then HE has sent these great sufferings to us: but if not, then we shall know that His hand has not struck us. It will have been an accidentf (ac. 1139.) lush: the QZ\rk inns tizturuzh. Those men consequently did so,

and took two nursing heifers, and harnessed them to the cart, but kept their young in the stable. They also placed the Ark of the Even-1,1v1Nc; upon the cart, with the chest, and the mice of gold, and the representations of their tumours, and the heifers went straight in a track for the road to Beth—shemsh by the highway from the first, going along they bellowed, but did not turn to the right or the left, and the lords of the Philistines followed after them to the borders of Beth—shemsh. Now the harvesters of Beth-shemsh

were reaping wheat on the plain, and they looked up and saw the Ark, and were glad of the sight. Then the cart came to the farm of joshua the IO II I2