1 Samuel 6

The Ark Returned to Israel

1The ark of the Lord was in the country of the Philistines seven months. 2And the Philistines called for the priests and athe diviners and said, “What shall we do with the ark of the Lord? Tell us with what we shall send it to its place.” 3They said, “If you send away the ark of the God of Israel, do not send it empty, but by all means return him ba guilt offering. Then you will be healed, and it will be known to you why chis hand does not turn away from you.” 4And they said, “What is the guilt offering that we shall return to him?” They answered, “Five golden dtumors and five golden mice, eaccording to the number of the lords of the Philistines, for the same plague was on all of you and on your lords. 5So you must make images of your ftumors and images of your mice that ravage the land, gand give glory to the God of Israel. Perhaps hhe will lighten his hand from off you iand your gods and your land. 6Why should you harden your hearts as jthe Egyptians and kPharaoh hardened their hearts? After he had dealt severely with them, ldid they not send the people away, and they departed? 7Now then, take and prepare ma new cart and two milk cows non which there has never come a yoke, and yoke the cows to the cart, but take their calves home, away from them. 8And take the ark of the Lord and place it on the cart and put in a box at its side othe figures of gold, which you are returning to him as pa guilt offering. Then send it off and let it go its way 9and watch. If it goes up on the way to its own land, to qBeth-shemesh, then it is he who has done us this great harm, but if not, then we shall know that it is not rhis hand that struck us; it happened to us by coincidence.”

10The men did so, and took two milk cows and yoked them to the cart and shut up their calves at home. 11And they put the ark of the Lord on the cart and the box with the golden mice and the images of their tumors. 12And the cows went straight in the direction of sBeth-shemesh along tone highway, lowing as they went. They turned neither to the right nor to the left, and the lords of the Philistines went after them as far as the border of uBeth-shemesh. 13Now the people of vBeth-shemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley. And when they lifted up their eyes and saw the ark, they rejoiced to see it. 14The cart came into the field of Joshua of Beth-shemesh and stopped there. wA great stone was there. And they split up the wood of the cart and offered the cows as a burnt offering to the Lord. 15And the Levites took down the ark of the Lord and the box that was beside it, in which were the golden figures, and set them upon xthe great stone. And the men of yBeth-shemesh offered burnt offerings and sacrificed sacrifices on that day to the Lord. 16And when zthe five lords of the Philistines saw it, they returned that day to Ekron.

17These are the golden tumors that the Philistines returned as a aaguilt offering to the Lord: one for Ashdod, one for Gaza, one for Ashkelon, one for Gath, one for Ekron, 18and the golden mice, according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five lords, abboth fortified cities and unwalled villages. acThe great stone beside which they set down the ark of the Lord is a witness to this day in the field of Joshua of Beth-shemesh.

19 adAnd he struck some of the men of Beth-shemesh, because they looked upon the ark of the Lord. He struck seventy men of them,
Most Hebrew manuscripts  struck of the people seventy men, fifty thousand men
and the people mourned because the Lord had struck the people with a great blow.
20Then the men of Beth-shemesh said, afWho is able to stand before the Lord, this holy God? And to whom shall he go up away from us?” 21So they sent messengers to the inhabitants of agKiriath-jearim, saying, “The Philistines have returned the ark of the Lord. Come down and take it up to you.”

1 Samuel 13

Saul Fights the Philistines

1Saul lived for one year and then became king, and when he had reigned for two years over Israel,
Hebrew Saul was one year old when he became king, and he reigned two years over Israel (see 1 Samuel 10:6); some Greek manuscripts give Saul’s age when he began to reign as thirty years
2Saul chose three thousand men of Israel. Two thousand were with Saul in aiMichmash and the hill country of Bethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan in ajGibeah of Benjamin. The rest of the people he sent home, every man to his tent. 3Jonathan defeated akthe garrison of the Philistines that was alat Geba, and the Philistines heard of it. And Saul amblew the trumpet throughout all the land, saying, “Let the Hebrews hear.” 4And all Israel heard it said that Saul had defeated the garrison of the Philistines, and also that Israel had become a stench to the Philistines. And the people were called out to join Saul at Gilgal.

5And the Philistines mustered to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots and six thousand horsemen and troops anlike the sand on the seashore in multitude. They came up and encamped in Michmash, to the east of aoBeth-aven. 6When the men of Israel saw that they were in trouble (for the people were hard pressed), the people hid themselves apin caves and in holes and in rocks and in tombs and in cisterns, 7and some Hebrews crossed the fords of the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. Saul was still at Gilgal, and all the people followed him trembling.

Saul’s Unlawful Sacrifice

8 aqHe waited seven days, the time appointed by Samuel. But Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and the people were scattering from him. 9So Saul said, “Bring the burnt offering here to me, and the peace offerings.” And he offered the burnt offering. 10As soon as he had finished offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came. And Saul went out to meet him and greet him. 11Samuel said, “What have you done?” And Saul said, “When I saw that the people were scattering from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines had mustered at Michmash, 12I said, ‘Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the favor of the Lord.’ So I forced myself, and offered the burnt offering.” 13And Samuel said to Saul, ar“You have done foolishly. asYou have not kept the command of the Lord your God, with which he commanded you. For then the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. 14But now atyour kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought out a man auafter his own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be prince
Or leader
over his people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.”
15And Samuel arose and went up from Gilgal. The rest of the people went up after Saul to meet the army; they went up from Gilgal
Septuagint; Hebrew lacks  The rest of the people . . . from Gilgal
to axGibeah of Benjamin.

And Saul numbered the people who were present with him, ayabout six hundred men.
16And Saul and Jonathan his son and the people who were present with them stayed in azGeba of Benjamin, but the Philistines encamped in Michmash. 17And baraiders came out of the camp of the Philistines in three companies. One company turned toward Ophrah, to the land of Shual; 18another company turned toward bbBeth-horon; and another company turned toward the border that looks down on the Valley of bcZeboim toward the wilderness.

19 bdNow there was no blacksmith to be found throughout all the land of Israel, for the Philistines said, “Lest the Hebrews make themselves swords or spears.” 20But every one of the Israelites went down to the Philistines to sharpen his plowshare, his mattock, his axe, or his sickle,
Septuagint; Hebrew plowshare
21and the charge was two-thirds of a shekel
Hebrew  was a pim
for the plowshares and for the mattocks, and a third of a shekel
A  shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams
for sharpening the axes and for setting the goads.
The meaning of the Hebrew verse is uncertain
22So on the day of the battle bithere was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people with Saul and Jonathan, but Saul and Jonathan his son had them. 23And bjthe garrison of the Philistines went out to the bkpass of blMichmash.

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