The Philistines Return the Ark

61 And the ark of Jehovah is in the field of the Philistines seven months, 2 and the Philistines call for priests and for diviners, saying, 'What do we do to the ark of Jehovah? let us know wherewith we send it to its place?' 3 And they say, 'If ye are sending away the ark of the God of Israel, ye do not send it away empty; for ye do certainly send back to Him a guilt-offering; then ye are healed, and it hath been known to you why His hand doth not turn aside from you.' 4 And they say, 'What 'is' the guilt-offering which we send back to Him?' and they say, 'The number of the princes of the Philistines—five golden emerods, and five golden mice—for one plague 'is' to you all, and to your princes, 5 and ye have made images of your emerods, and images of your mice that are corrupting the land, and have given honour to the God of Israel; it may be He doth lighten His hand from off you, and from off your gods, and from off your land; 6 and why do ye harden your heart as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their heart? do they not—when He hath rolled Himself upon them—send them away, and they go? 7 'And now, take and make one new cart, and two suckling kine, on which a yoke hath not gone up, and ye have bound the kine in the cart, and caused their young ones to turn back from after them to the house, 8 and ye have taken the ark of Jehovah, and put it on the cart, and the vessels of gold which ye have returned to Him—a guilt-offering—ye put in a coffer on its side, and have sent it away, and it hath gone; 9 and ye have seen, if the way of its own border it goeth up to Beth-Shemesh—He hath done to us this great evil; and if not, then we have known that His hand hath not come against us; an accident it hath been to us.'

10 And the men do so, and take two suckling kine, and bind them in the cart, and their young ones they have shut up in the house; 11 and they place the ark of Jehovah upon the cart, and the coffer, and the golden mice, and the images of their emerods. 12 And the kine go straight in the way, on the way to Beth-Shemesh, in one highway they have gone, going and lowing, and have not turned aside right or left; and the princes of the Philistines are going after them unto the border of Beth-Shemesh. 13 And the Beth-Shemeshites are reaping their wheat-harvest in the valley, and they lift up their eyes, and see the ark, and rejoice to see 'it'. 14 And the cart hath come in unto the field of Joshua the Beth-Shemeshite, and standeth there, and there 'is' a great stone, and they cleave the wood of the cart, and the kine they have caused to ascend—a burnt-offering to Jehovah. 15 And the Levites have taken down the ark of Jehovah, and the coffer which 'is' with it, in which 'are' the vessels of gold, and place 'them' on the great stone; and the men of Beth-Shemesh have caused to ascend burnt-offerings and sacrifice sacrifices in that day to Jehovah; 16 and the five princes of the Philistines have seen 'it', and turn back 'to' Ekron, on that day. 17 And these 'are' the golden emerods which the Philistines have sent back—a guilt-offering to Jehovah: for Ashdod one, for Gaza one, for Ashkelon one, for Gath one, for Ekron one; 18 and the golden mice—the number of all the cities of the Philistines—for the five princes, from the fenced city even unto the hamlet of the villages, even unto the great meadow on which they placed the ark of Jehovah—'are' unto this day in the field of Joshua the Beth-Shemeshite.

19 And He smiteth among the men of Beth-Shemesh, for they looked into the ark of Jehovah, yea, He smiteth among the people seventy men—fifty chief men; and the people mourn, because Jehovah smote among the people—a great smiting. 20 And the men of Beth-Shemesh say, 'Who is able to stand before Jehovah, this holy God? and unto whom doth He go up from us?' 21 And they send messengers unto the inhabitants of Kirjath-Jearim, saying, 'The Philistines have sent back the ark of Jehovah; come down, take it up unto you.'

The LORD Calls Samuel

31 And the youth Samuel is serving Jehovah before Eli, and the word of Jehovah hath been precious in those days—there is no vision broken forth. 2 And it cometh to pass, at that time, that Eli is lying down in his place, and his eyes have begun to be dim—he is not able to see. 3 And the lamp of God is not yet extinguished, and Samuel is lying down in the temple of Jehovah, where the ark of God 'is', 4 and Jehovah calleth unto Samuel, and he saith, 'Here 'am' I.' 5 And he runneth unto Eli, and saith, 'Here 'am' I, for thou hast called for me;' and he saith, 'I called not; turn back, lie down;' and he goeth and lieth down. 6 And Jehovah addeth to call again Samuel, and Samuel riseth and goeth unto Eli, and saith, 'Here 'am' I, for thou hast called for me;' and he saith, 'I have not called, my son, turn back, lie down.' 7 And Samuel hath not yet known Jehovah, and the word of Jehovah is not yet revealed unto him. 8 And Jehovah addeth to call Samuel the third time, and he riseth and goeth unto Eli, and saith, 'Here 'am' I, for thou hast called for me;' and Eli understandeth that Jehovah is calling to the youth. 9 And Eli saith to Samuel, 'Go, lie down, and it hath been, if He doth call unto thee, that thou hast said, Speak, Jehovah, for Thy servant is hearing;' and Samuel goeth and lieth down in his place. 10 And Jehovah cometh, and stationeth Himself, and calleth as time by time, 'Samuel, Samuel;' and Samuel saith, 'Speak, for Thy servant if hearing.'

11 And Jehovah saith unto Samuel, 'Lo, I am doing a thing in Israel, at which the two ears of every one hearing it do tingle. 12 In that day I establish unto Eli all that I have spoken unto his house, beginning and completing; 13 and I have declared to him that I am judging his house—to the age, for the iniquity which he hath known, for his sons are making themselves vile, and he hath not restrained them, 14 and therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli: the iniquity of the house of Eli is not atoned for, by sacrifice, and by offering—unto the age.' 15 And Samuel lieth till the morning, and openeth the doors of the house of Jehovah, and Samuel is afraid of declaring the vision unto Eli. 16 And Eli calleth Samuel, and saith, 'Samuel, my son;' and he saith, 'Here 'am' I.' 17 And he saith, 'What 'is' the word which He hath spoken unto thee? I pray thee, hide it not from me; so doth God do to thee, and so doth He add, if thou hidest from me a word of all the words that He hath spoken unto thee.' 18 And Samuel declareth to him the whole of the words, and hath not hid from him; and he saith, 'It 'is' Jehovah; that which is good in His eyes He doth.'

19 And Samuel groweth up, and Jehovah hath been with him, and hath not let fall any of his words to the earth; 20 and all Israel know, from Dan even unto Beer-Sheba, that Samuel is established for a prophet to Jehovah. 21 And Jehovah addeth to appear in Shiloh, for Jehovah hath been revealed unto Samuel, in Shiloh, by the word of Jehovah.