I Samuel 6

vayehi aron-Adonai bisdeh felishtim shivah khodashim

The Ark of GOD remained in the territory of the Philistines seven months.

vayyiqre'u felishtim lakkohanim velaqqosemim lemor mah-nna'aseh la'aron Adonai hodi'unu bammeh neshallekhennu limqomo

Then the Philistines summoned the priests and the diviners and asked, “What shall we do about the Ark of GOD? Tell us with what we shall send it off to its own place.”

vayyomeru im-meshallekhim et-aron elohe yisra'el al-teshallekhu oto reqam ki-hashev tashivu lo asham az terafe'u venoda lakhem lammah lo-tasur yado mikkem

They answered, “If you are going to send the Ark of the God of Israel away, do not send it away without anything; you must also pay an indemnity. Then you will be healed, and he will be made known to you; otherwise his hand will not turn away from you.”

vayyomeru mah ha'asham asher nashiv lo vayyomeru mispar sarne felishtim khamisha (fly) [tekhore] zahav vakhamisha akhbere zahav ki-maggefah akhat lekhullam ulesarnekhem

They asked, “What is the indemnity that we should pay?” They answered, “Five golden hemorrhoids and five golden mice, corresponding to the number of lords of the Philistines; for the same plague struck all of you and your lords.

va'asitem tsalme (flykhm) [tekhorekhem] vetsalme akhberekhem hammashkhitim et-ha'arets unetattem lelohe yisra'el kavod ulay yaqel et-yado me'alekhem ume'al elohekhem ume'al artsekhem

You shall make figures of your hemorrhoids and of the mice that are ravaging your land; thus you shall honor the God of Israel, and perhaps the burden upon you and your gods and your land will be lightened.

velammah tekhabbedu et-levavkhem ka'asher kibbedu mitsrayim ufaroh et-libbam halo ka'asher hitallel bahem vayeshallekhum vayyelekhu

Don’t harden your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts. As you know, when he made a mockery of them, they had to let Israel go, and they departed.

ve'attah qekhu va'asu agalah khadashah ekhat ushete farot alot asher lo-alah alehem ol va'asartem et-happarot ba'agalah vahashevotem benehem me'akharehem habbayetah

Therefore, get a new cart ready and two milch cows that have not borne a yoke; harness the cows to the cart, but take back indoors the calves that follow them.

uleqakhtem et-aron Adonai unetattem oto el-ha'agalah ve'et kele hazzahav asher hashevotem lo asham tasimu va'argaz mitsiddo veshillakhtem oto vehalakh

Take the Ark of GOD and place it on the cart; and put next to it in a chest the gold objects you are paying as indemnity. Send it off, and let it go its own way.

ure'item im-derekh gevulo ya'aleh bet shemesh hu asah lanu et-hara'ah haggedolah hazzot ve'im-lo veyadanu ki lo yado nage'ah banu miqreh hu hayah lanu

Then watch: If it goes up the road to Beth-shemesh, to this territory, we will know that he has inflicted this great harm on us. But if not, we shall know that it was not his hand that struck us; it just happened to us by chance.”

vayya'asu ha'anashim ken vayyiqkhu shete farot alot vayya'asrum ba'agalah ve'et-benehem kalu vabbayit

The Philistines did so. They took two milch cows and harnessed them to the cart, and shut up their calves indoors.

vayyasimu et-aron Adonai el-ha'agalah ve'et ha'argaz ve'et akhbere hazzahav ve'et tsalme tekhorehem

They placed the Ark of GOD on the cart together with the chest, the golden mice, and the figures of their hemorrhoids.

vayyisharnah happarot badderekh al-derekh bet shemesh bimsillah akhat halekhu halokh vega'o velo-saru yamin usemovl vesarne felishtim holekhim akharehem ad-gevul bet shamesh

The cows went straight ahead along the road to Beth-shemesh. They went along a single highroad, lowing as they went, and turning off neither to the right nor to the left; and the lords of the Philistines walked behind them as far as the border of Beth-shemesh.

uvet shemesh qotserim qetsir-khittim ba'emeq vayyisu et-enehem vayyiru et-ha'aron vayyismekhu lirot

The people of Beth-shemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley. They looked up and saw the Ark, and they rejoiced when they saw it.

veha'agalah ba'ah el-sedeh yehoshua bet-hashimshi vatta'amod sham vesham even gedolah vayevaqqe'u et-atse ha'agalah ve'et-happarot he'elu olah la-Adonai

The cart came into the field of Joshua of Beth-shemesh and it stopped there. They split up the wood of the cart and presented the cows as a burnt offering to GOD. A large stone was there;

vehaleviyyim horidu et-aron Adonai ve'et-ha'argaz asher-itto asher-bo khele-zahav vayyasimu el-ha'even haggedolah ve'anshe vet-shemesh he'elu olot vayyizbekhu zevakhim bayyom hahu la-Adonai

and the Levites took down the Ark of GOD and the chest beside it containing the gold objects and placed them on the large stone. Then the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh presented burnt offerings and other sacrifices to GOD that day.

vakhamisha sarne-felishtim ra'u vayyashuvu eqron bayyom hahu

The five lords of the Philistines saw this and returned the same day to Ekron.

ve'elleh tekhore hazzahav asher heshivu felishtim asham la-Adonai le'ashdod ekhad le'azzah ekhad le'ashqelon ekhad legat ekhad le'eqron ekhad

The following were the golden hemorrhoids that the Philistines paid as an indemnity to GOD: For Ashdod, one; for Gaza, one; for Ashkelon, one; for Gath, one; for Ekron, one.

ve'akhbere hazzahav mispar kol-are felishtim lakhameshet hasseranim me'ir mivtsar ve'ad kofer happerazi ve'ad avel haggedolah asher hinnikhu aleha et aron Adonai ad hayyom hazzeh bisdeh yehoshua bet hashimshi

As for the golden mice, their number accorded with all the Philistine towns that belonged to the five lords—both fortified towns and unwalled villages, as far as the great stone on which the Ark of GOD was set down, to this day, in the field of Joshua of Beth-shemesh.

vayyakh be'anshe vet-shemesh ki ra'u ba'aron Adonai vayyakh ba'am shivim ish khamishim elef ish vayyitabbelu ha'am ki-hikkah Adonai ba'am makkah gedolah

[GOD] struck at the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh because they looked into the Ark of GOD—striking down seventy from among the people [and] fifty thousand. The people mourned, for a great slaughter had been inflicted upon the population.

vayyomeru anshe vet-shemesh mi yukhal la'amod lifne Adonai ha'elohim haqqadosh hazzeh ve'el-mi ya'aleh me'alenu

And the people of Beth-shemesh asked, “Who can stand in attendance on the ETERNAL, this holy God? And to whom shall this go up from us?”

vayyishlekhu malakhim el-yosheve qiryat-ye'arim lemor heshivu felishtim et-aron Adonai redu ha'alu oto alekhem

They sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kiriath-jearim to say, “The Philistines have sent back the Ark of GOD. Come down and take it into your keeping.”