The Ark Returned to Israel
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Now the ark of the LORD was in the country of the Philistines seven months.
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And the Philistines a called for the priests and the diviners, saying, "What shall we do with the ark of the LORD? Tell us how we should send it to its place."
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So they said, "If you send away the ark of the God of Israel, do not send it b empty; but by all means return it to Him with c a trespass offering. Then you will be healed, and it will be known to you why His hand is not removed from you."
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Then they said, "What is the trespass offering which we shall return to Him?" They answered, d "Five golden tumors and five golden rats, according to the number of the lords of the Philistines. For the same plague was on all of you and on your lords.
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"Therefore you shall make images of your tumors and images of your rats that e ravage the land, and you shall f give glory to the God of Israel; perhaps He will g lighten His hand from you, from h your gods, and from your land.
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"Why then do you harden your hearts i as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? When He did mighty things among them, j did they not let the people go, that they might depart?
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"Now therefore, make k a new cart, take two milk cows l which have never been yoked, and hitch the cows to the cart; and take their calves home, away from them.
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"Then take the ark of the LORD and set it on the cart; and put m the articles of gold which you are returning to Him as a trespass offering in a chest by its side. Then send it away, and let it go.
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"And watch: if it goes up the road to its own territory, to n Beth Shemesh, then He has done us this great evil. But if not, then o we shall know that it is not His hand that struck us - it happened to us by chance."
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Then the men did so; they took two milk cows and hitched them to the cart, and shut up their calves at home.
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And they set the ark of the LORD on the cart, and the chest with the gold rats and the images of their tumors.
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Then the cows headed straight for the road to Beth Shemesh, and went along the p highway, lowing as they went, and did not turn aside to the right hand or the left. And the lords of the Philistines went after them to the border of Beth Shemesh.
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Now the people of Beth Shemesh were reaping their q wheat harvest in the valley; and they lifted their eyes and saw the ark, and rejoiced to see it.
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Then the cart came into the field of Joshua of Beth Shemesh, and stood there; a large stone was there. So they split the wood of the cart and offered the cows as a burnt offering to the LORD.
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The Levites took down the ark of the LORD and the chest that was with it, in which were the articles of gold, and put them on the large stone. Then the men of Beth Shemesh offered burnt offerings and made sacrifices the same day to the LORD.
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So when r the five lords of the Philistines had seen it, they returned to Ekron the same day.
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s These are the golden tumors which the Philistines returned as a trespass offering to the LORD: one for Ashdod, one for Gaza, one for Ashkelon, one for t Gath, one for Ekron;
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and the golden rats, according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five lords, both fortified cities and country villages, even as far as the large stone of Abel on which they set the ark of the LORD, which stone remains to this day in the field of Joshua of Beth Shemesh.
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Then u He struck the men of Beth Shemesh, because they had looked into the ark of the LORD. He v struck fifty thousand and seventy men of the people, and the people lamented because the LORD had struck the people with a great slaughter.
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And the men of Beth Shemesh said, w "Who is able to stand before this holy LORD God? And to whom shall it go up from us?"
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So they sent messengers to the inhabitants of x Kirjath Jearim, saying, "The Philistines have brought back the ark of the LORD; come down and take it up with you."
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Then the men of a Kirjath Jearim came and took the ark of the LORD, and brought it into the house of b Abinadab on the hill, and c consecrated Eleazar his son to keep the ark of the LORD.
2
So it was that the ark remained in Kirjath Jearim a long time; it was there twenty years. And all the house of Israel lamented after the LORD.
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Cross References
1 Samuel 9:16
"Tomorrow about this time I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin, and you shall anoint him commander over My people Israel, that he may save My people from the hand of the Philistines; for I have looked upon My people, because their cry has come to Me."
Jeremiah 14:2
Judah mourns, And her gates languish; They mourn for the land, And the cry of Jerusalem has gone up.
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Cross References
Genesis 41:8
Now it came to pass in the morning that his spi...
Exodus 7:11
But Pharaoh also called the wise men and the so...
Isaiah 2:6
For You have forsaken Your people, the house of...
Isaiah 47:13
You are wearied in the multitude of your counse...
Daniel 2:2
Then the king gave the command to call the magi...
Daniel 5:7
The king cried aloud to bring in the astrologer...
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Cross References
Exodus 23:15
You shall keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread (you shall eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded you, at the time appointed in the month of Abib, for in it you came out of Egypt; none shall appear before Me empty).
Deuteronomy 16:16
Three times a year all your males shall appear before the LORD your God in the place which He chooses: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, at the Feast of Weeks, and at the Feast of Tabernacles; and they shall not appear before the LORD empty-handed.
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Cross References
Leviticus 5:15
If a person commits a trespass, and sins unintentionally in regard to the holy things of the LORD, then he shall bring to the LORD as his trespass offering a ram without blemish from the flocks, with your valuation in shekels of silver according to the shekel of the sanctuary, as a trespass offering.
Leviticus 5:16
And he shall make restitution for the harm that he has done in regard to the holy thing, and shall add one-fifth to it and give it to the priest. So the priest shall make atonement for him with the ram of the trespass offering, and it shall be forgiven him.
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Cross References
1 Samuel 5:6
But the hand of the LORD was heavy on the people of Ashdod, and He ravaged them and struck them with tumors, both Ashdod and its territory.
1 Samuel 5:9
So it was, after they had carried it away, that the hand of the LORD was against the city with a very great destruction; and He struck the men of the city, both small and great, and tumors broke out on them.
1 Samuel 5:12
And the men who did not die were stricken with the tumors, and the cry of the city went up to heaven.
1 Samuel 6:17
These are the golden tumors which the Philistines returned as a trespass offering to the LORD: one for Ashdod, one for Gaza, one for Ashkelon, one for Gath, one for Ekron.
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Cross References
1 Samuel 5:6
But the hand of the LORD was heavy on the people of Ashdod, and He ravaged them and struck them with tumors, both Ashdod and its territory.
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Cross References
Joshua 7:19
Now Joshua said to Achan, "My son, I beg you, g...
1 Chronicles 16:28
Give to the LORD, O families of the peoples, Gi...
1 Chronicles 16:29
Give to the LORD the glory due His name; Bring ...
Isaiah 42:12
Let them give glory to the LORD, And declare Hi...
Jeremiah 13:16
Give glory to the LORD your God Before He cause...
Malachi 2:2
If you will not hear, And if you will not take ...
Revelation 14:7
Saying with a loud voice, "Fear God and give gl...
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Cross References
1 Samuel 5:6
But the hand of the LORD was heavy on the people of Ashdod, and He ravaged them and struck them with tumors, both Ashdod and its territory.
1 Samuel 5:11
So they sent and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines, and said, "Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it go back to its own place, so that it does not kill us and our people." For there was a deadly destruction throughout all the city; the hand of God was very heavy there.
Psalms 39:10
Remove Your plague from me; I am consumed by the blow of Your hand.
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Cross References
1 Samuel 5:3
And when the people of Ashdod arose early in the morning, there was Dagon, fallen on its face to the earth before the ark of the LORD. So they took Dagon and set it in its place again.
1 Samuel 5:4
And when they arose early the next morning, there was Dagon, fallen on its face to the ground before the ark of the LORD. The head of Dagon and both the palms of its hands were broken off on the threshold; only Dagon's torso was left of it.
1 Samuel 5:7
And when the men of Ashdod saw how it was, they said, "The ark of the God of Israel must not remain with us, for His hand is harsh toward us and Dagon our god.
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Cross References
Exodus 7:13
And Pharaoh's heart grew hard, and he did not heed them, as the LORD had said.
Exodus 8:15
But when Pharaoh saw that there was relief, he hardened his heart and did not heed them, as the LORD had said.
Exodus 9:34
And when Pharaoh saw that the rain, the hail, and the thunder had ceased, he sinned yet more; and he hardened his heart, he and his servants.
Exodus 14:17
And I indeed will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them. So I will gain honor over Pharaoh and over all his army, his chariots, and his horsemen.
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Cross References
Exodus 12:31
Then he called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, "Rise, go out from among my people, both you and the children of Israel. And go, serve the LORD as you have said.
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Cross References
2 Samuel 6:3
So they set the ark of God on a new cart, and brought it out of the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill; and Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, drove the new cart.
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Cross References
Numbers 19:2
This is the ordinance of the law which the LORD has commanded, saying: 'Speak to the children of Israel, that they bring you a red heifer without blemish, in which there is no defect and on which a yoke has never come.
Deuteronomy 21:3
And it shall be that the elders of the city nearest to the slain man will take a heifer which has not been worked and which has not pulled with a yoke.
Deuteronomy 21:4
The elders of that city shall bring the heifer down to a valley with flowing water, which is neither plowed nor sown, and they shall break the heifer's neck there in the valley.
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Cross References
1 Samuel 6:4
Then they said, "What is the trespass offering which we shall return to Him?" They answered, "Five golden tumors and five golden rats, according to the number of the lords of the Philistines. For the same plague was on all of you and on your lords.
1 Samuel 6:5
Therefore you shall make images of your tumors and images of your rats that ravage the land, and you shall give glory to the God of Israel; perhaps He will lighten His hand from you, from your gods, and from your land.
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Cross References
Joshua 15:10
Then the border turned westward from Baalah to Mount Seir, passed along to the side of Mount Jearim on the north (which is Chesalon), went down to Beth Shemesh, and passed on to Timnah.
Joshua 21:16
Ain with its common-land, Juttah with its common-land, and Beth Shemesh with its common-land: nine cities from those two tribes.
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Cross References
1 Samuel 6:3
So they said, "If you send away the ark of the God of Israel, do not send it empty; but by all means return it to Him with a trespass offering. Then you will be healed, and it will be known to you why His hand is not removed from you.
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Cross References
Numbers 20:19
So the children of Israel said to him, "We will go by the Highway, and if I or my livestock drink any of your water, then I will pay for it; let me only pass through on foot, nothing more.
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Cross References
1 Samuel 12:17
" Is today not the wheat harvest? I will call to the LORD, and He will send thunder and rain, that you may perceive and see that your wickedness is great, which you have done in the sight of the LORD, in asking a king for yourselves."
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Cross References
Joshua 13:3
From Sihor, which is east of Egypt, as far as the border of Ekron northward ( which is counted as Canaanite); the five lords of the Philistines - the Gazites, the Ashdodites, the Ashkelonites, the Gittites, and the Ekronites; also the Avites.
Judges 3:3
Namely, five lords of the Philistines, all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites who dwelt in Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal Hermon to the entrance of Hamath.
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Cross References
1 Samuel 6:4
Then they said, "What is the trespass offering which we shall return to Him?" They answered, "Five golden tumors and five golden rats, according to the number of the lords of the Philistines. For the same plague was on all of you and on your lords.
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Cross References
1 Samuel 5:8
Therefore they sent and gathered to themselves all the lords of the Philistines, and said, "What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel?" And they answered, "Let the ark of the God of Israel be carried away to Gath." So they carried the ark of the God of Israel away.
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Cross References
Exodus 19:21
And the LORD said to Moses, "Go down and warn the people, lest they break through to gaze at the LORD, and many of them perish.
Numbers 4:5
When the camp prepares to journey, Aaron and his sons shall come, and they shall take down the covering veil and cover the ark of the Testimony with it.
Numbers 4:15
And when Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all the furnishings of the sanctuary, when the camp is set to go, then the sons of Kohath shall come to carry them; but they shall not touch any holy thing, lest they die. These are the things in the tabernacle of meeting which the sons of Kohath are to carry.
Numbers 4:16
"The appointed duty of Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest is the oil for the light, the sweet incense, the daily grain offering, the anointing oil, the oversight of all the tabernacle, of all that is in it, with the sanctuary and its furnishings."
Numbers 4:20
"But they shall not go in to watch while the holy things are being covered, lest they die."
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Cross References
2 Samuel 6:7
Then the anger of the LORD was aroused against Uzzah, and God struck him there for his error; and he died there by the ark of God.
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Cross References
Leviticus 11:44
For I am the LORD your God. You shall therefore...
Leviticus 11:45
For I am the LORD who brings you up out of the ...
Psalms 24:3
Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD? Or wh...
Psalms 24:4
He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who ha...
Malachi 3:2
But who can endure the day of His coming? And w...
Revelation 6:17
"For the great day of His wrath has come, and w...
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Cross References
Joshua 9:17
Then the children of Israel journeyed and came ...
Joshua 15:9
Then the border went around from the top of the...
Joshua 15:60
Kirjath Baal (which is Kirjath Jearim) and Rabb...
Joshua 18:14
Then the border extended around the west side t...
Judges 18:12
Then they went up and encamped in Kirjath Jeari...
1 Chronicles 13:5
So David gathered all Israel together, from Shi...
1 Chronicles 13:6
And David and all Israel went up to Baalah, to ...
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Cross References
1 Samuel 6:21
So they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kirjath Jearim, saying, "The Philistines have brought back the ark of the LORD; come down and take it up with you.
Psalms 132:6
Behold, we heard of it in Ephrathah; We found it in the fields of the woods.
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Cross References
2 Samuel 6:3
So they set the ark of God on a new cart, and brought it out of the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill; and Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, drove the new cart.
2 Samuel 6:4
And they brought it out of the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill, accompanying the ark of God; and Ahio went before the ark.
New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.