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1 Samuel Chapter 6

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lxxbrent (lxxbrent) - Septuagint (Brenton 1851) eBible USFM

1 And the ark was seven months in the country of the Philistines, and their land brought forth swarms of mice.
2 And the Philistines call their priests, and their prophets, and their enchanters, saying, What shall we do to the ark of the Lord? teach us wherewith we shall send it away to its place.
3 And they said, If ye send away the ark of the covenant of the Lord God of Israel, do not on any account send it away empty, but by all means render to it an offering for the plague; and then shall ye be healed, and an atonement shall be made for you: should not his hand be [thus] stayed from off you?
4 And they say, What [is] the offering for the plague [which] we shall return to it? and they said,
5 According to the number of the lords of the Philistines, five golden emerods, for the plague was on you, and on your rulers, and on the people; and golden mice, the likeness of the mice that destroy your land: and ye shall give glory to the Lord, that he may lighten his hand from off you, and from off your gods, and from off your land.
6 And why do ye harden your hearts, as Egypt and Pharao hardened their hearts? [was it] not [so] when he mocked them, [that] they let the people go, and they departed?
7 And now take wood and make a new waggon, and take two cows, that have calved for the first time, without their calves; and do ye yoke the cows to the waggon, and lead away the calves from behind them home.
8 And ye shall take the ark and put it on the waggon; and ye shall restore to it the golden articles for the trespass-offering in a coffer by the side of it: and ye shall let it go, and send it away, and ye shall depart.
9 And ye shall see, if it shall go the way of its coasts along by Bæthsamys, he has brought upon us this great affliction; and if not, then shall we know that his hand has not touched us, but this [is a] chance [which] has happened to us.
10 And the Philistines did so; and they took two cows that had calved for the first time, and yoked them to the waggon, and shut up their calves at home.
11 And they set the ark of the Lord, and the coffer, and the golden mice, on the waggon.
12 And the cows went straight on the way to the way of Bæthsamys, they went along one track; and laboured, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left, and the lords of the Philistines went after it as far as the coasts of Bæthsamys.
13 And the men of Bæthsamys were reaping the wheat harvest in the valley; and they lifted up their eyes, and saw the ark of the Lord, and rejoiced to meet it.
14 And the waggon entered into the field of Osee, which was in Bæthsamys, and they set there by it a great stone; and they split the wood of the waggon, and offered up the cows for a whole-burnt-offering to the Lord.
15 And the Levites brought up the ark of the Lord, and the coffer with it, and the golden articles upon it, and placed them on the great stone, and the men of Bæthsamys offered whole-burnt-offerings and meat-offerings on that day to the Lord.
16 And the five lords of the Philistines saw, and returned to Ascalon in that day.
17 And these [are] the golden emerods which the lords of the Philistines gave as a trespass-offering to the Lord; for Azotus one, for Gaza one, for Ascalon one, for Geth one, for Accaron one.
18 And the golden mice according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines, belonging to the five lords, from the fenced city to the village of the Pherezite, and to the great stone, on which they placed the ark of the covenant of the Lord, that was in the field of Osee the Bæthsamysite.
19 And the sons of Jechonias were not pleased with the men of Bæthsamys, because they saw the ark of the Lord; and [the Lord] smote among them seventy men, and fifty thousand men: and the people mourned, because the Lord had inflicted on the people a very great plague.
20 And the men of Bæthsamys said, Who shall be able to pass before this holy Lord God? and to whom shall the ark of the Lord go up from us?
21 And they send messengers to the inhabitants of Cariathiarim, saying, The Philistines have brought back the ark of the Lord, go down and take it home to yourselves.

web (web) - WorldEnglish.Bible — CC0 modern update of ASV

1 The LORD’s ark was in the country of the Philistines seven months.
2 The Philistines called for the priests and the diviners, saying, “What shall we do with the LORD’s ark? Show us how we should send it to its place.”
3 They said, “If you send away the ark of the God of Israel, don’t send it empty; but by all means return a trespass offering to him. Then you will be healed, and it will be known to you why his hand is not removed from you.”
4 Then they said, “What should the trespass offering be which we shall return to him?” They said, “Five golden tumors and five golden mice, for the number of the lords of the Philistines; for one plague was on you all, and on your lords.
5 Therefore you shall make images of your tumors and images of your mice that mar the land; and you shall give glory to the God of Israel. Perhaps he will release his hand from you, from your gods, and from your land.
6 Why then do you harden your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? When he had worked wonderfully among them, didn’t they let the people go, and they departed?
7 “Now therefore take and prepare yourselves a new cart and two milk cows on which there has come no yoke; and tie the cows to the cart, and bring their calves home from them;
8 and take the LORD’s ark and lay it on the cart. Put the jewels of gold, which you return him for a trespass offering, in a box by its side; and send it away, that it may go.
9 Behold, if it goes up by the way of its own border to Beth Shemesh, then he has done us this great evil; but if not, then we shall know that it is not his hand that struck us. It was a chance that happened to us.”
10 The men did so, and took two milk cows and tied them to the cart, and shut up their calves at home.
11 They put the LORD’s ark on the cart, and the box with the golden mice and the images of their tumors.
12 The cows took the straight way by the way to Beth Shemesh. They went along the highway, lowing as they went, and didn’t turn away to the right hand or to the left; and the lords of the Philistines went after them to the border of Beth Shemesh.
13 The people of Beth Shemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley; and they lifted up their eyes and saw the ark, and rejoiced to see it.
14 The cart came into the field of Joshua of Beth Shemesh, and stood there, where there was a great stone. Then they split the wood of the cart and offered up the cows for a burnt offering to the LORD.
15 The Levites took down the LORD’s ark and the box that was with it, in which the jewels of gold were, and put them on the great stone; and the men of Beth Shemesh offered burnt offerings and sacrificed sacrifices the same day to the LORD.
16 When the five lords of the Philistines had seen it, they returned to Ekron the same day.
17 These are the golden tumors which the Philistines returned for a trespass offering to the LORD: for Ashdod one, for Gaza one, for Ashkelon one, for Gath one, for Ekron one;
18 and the golden mice, according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five lords, both of fortified cities and of country villages, even to the great stone on which they set down the LORD’s ark. That stone remains to this day in the field of Joshua of Beth Shemesh.
19 He struck of the men of Beth Shemesh, because they had looked into the LORD’s ark, he struck fifty thousand seventy of the men. Then the people mourned, because the LORD had struck the people with a great slaughter.
20 The men of Beth Shemesh said, “Who is able to stand before the LORD, this holy God? To whom shall he go up from us?”
21 They sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kiriath Jearim, saying, “The Philistines have brought back the LORD’s ark. Come down and bring it up to yourselves.”

Explanations by Age Level

Explain Like I'm 5

A long, long time ago, there was nothing at all - no earth, no sky, no animals, no people. It was all dark and empty. But God was there! God is so powerful that He can make anything just by speaking. So God said "Let there be light!" and BOOM! There was light everywhere! God saw that the light was beautiful and good. He called the light "day" and the darkness "night." This was the very first day when God started making our wonderful world!

Explain Like I'm 10

Before anything existed - no planets, stars, or life - God decided to create the universe. The earth started out as a dark, empty place covered with water. But God's Spirit was there, ready to bring order and beauty to everything. When God spoke and said "Let there be light," light immediately appeared because God's words have incredible power. God looked at the light and was pleased with what He had made. He organized time by separating light (day) from darkness (night), creating the first 24-hour period. This shows us that God is organized and purposeful in everything He does.

Explain Like I'm 15

Genesis 1:1-5 establishes fundamental theological truths about God and creation. The Hebrew word "bara" (created) indicates creation from nothing (ex nihilo), demonstrating God's absolute sovereignty and power. The phrase "without form and void" (tohu wa-bohu) describes a state of chaos that God transforms into order. The Spirit of God "hovering" or "brooding" over the waters suggests active, caring involvement in creation. The creation of light before the sun (created on day 4) indicates that God Himself is the ultimate source of light and energy. The establishment of day and night creates the framework of time, showing that God operates within orderly patterns while transcending them. This passage refutes both atheistic materialism and pantheism, establishing that God is both transcendent (separate from creation) and immanent (actively involved in it).