¹ Now the ark of God was in the land of the Philistines seven months.

² And the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners, saying: What shall we do with the ark of the Lord? tell us how we are to send it back to its place? And they said:

³ If you send back the ark of the God of Israel, send it not away empty, but render unto him what you owe for sin, and then you shall be healed: and you shall know why his hand departeth not from you.

⁴ They answered: What is it we ought to render unto him for sin? and they answered:

⁵ According to the number of the provinces of the Philistines you shall make five golden emerods, and five golden mice: for the same plague hath been upon you all, and upon your lords. And you shall make the likeness of your emerods, and the likeness of the mice that have destroyed the land, and you shall give glory to the God of Israel: to see if he will take off his hand from you, and from your gods, and from your land.

⁶ Why do you harden your hearts, as Egypt and Pharao hardened their hearts? did not he, after he was struck, then let them go, and they departed?

⁷ Now therefore take and make a new cart: and two kine that have calved, on which there hath come no yoke, tie to the cart, and shut up their calves at home.

⁸ And you shall take the ark of the Lord, and lay it on the cart, and the vessels of gold, which you have paid him for sin, you shall put into a little box, at the side thereof: and send it away that it may go.

⁹ And you shall look: and if it go up by the way of his own coasts towards Bethsames, then he hath done us this great evil: but if not, we shall know that it is not his hand hath touched us, but it hath happened by chance.

¹⁰ They did therefore in this manner: and taking two kine, that had suckling calves, they yoked them to the cart, and shut up their calves at home.

¹¹ And they laid the ark of God upon the cart, and the little box that had in it the golden mice and the likeness of the emerods.

¹² And the kine took the straight way that leadeth to Bethsames, and they went along the way, lowing as they went: and turned not aside neither to the right hand nor to the left: and the lords of the Philistines followed them as far as the borders of Bethsames.

¹³ Now the Bethsamites were reaping wheat in the valley: and lifting up their eyes they saw the ark, and rejoiced to see it.

¹⁴ And the cart came into the field of Josue a Bethsamite, and stood there. And there was a great stone, and they cut in pieces the wood of the cart, and laid the kine upon it a holocaust to the Lord.

¹⁵ And the Levites took down the ark of God, and the little box that was at the side of it, wherein were the vessels of gold, and they put them upon the great stone. The men also of Bethsames offered holocausts and sacrificed victims that day to the Lord.

¹⁶ And the five princes of the Philistines saw, and they returned to Accaron the same day.

¹⁷ And these are the golden emerods, which the Philistines returned for sin 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 the cities of the Philistines, of the five provinces, from the fenced city to the village that was without wall, and to the great Abel (the stone) whereon they set down the ark of the Lord, which was till that day in the field of Josue the Bethsamite.

¹⁹ But he slew of the men of Bethsames, because they had seen the ark of the Lord: and he slew of the people seventy men, and fifty thousand of the common people. And the people lamented, because the Lord had smitten the people with a great slaughter.

²⁰ And the men of Bethsames said: Who shall be able to stand before the Lord this holy God? and to whom shall he go up from us?

²¹ And they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Cariathiarim, saying: The Philistines have brought back the ark of the Lord, come ye down and fetch it up to you.

¹ And David again gathered together all the chosen men of Israel, thirty thousand.

² And David arose and went, with all the people that were with him of the men of Juda to fetch the ark of God, upon which the name of the Lord of hosts is invoked, who sitteth over it upon the cherubims.

³ And they laid the ark of God upon a new cart: and took it out of the house of Abinadab, who was in Gabaa: and Oza, and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, drove the new cart.

⁴ And when they had taken it out of the house of Abinadab, who was in Gabaa, Ahio having care of the ark of God went before the ark.

⁵ But David and all Israel played before the Lord on all manner of instruments made of wood, on harps and lutes and timbrels and cornets and cymbals.

⁶ And when they came to the floor of Nachon, Oza put forth his hand to the ark of God, and took hold of it: because the oxen kicked and made it lean aside.

⁷ And the indignation of the Lord was enkindled against Oza, and he struck him for his rashness: and he died there before the ark of God.

⁸ And David was grieved because the Lord had struck Oza, and the name of that place was called: The striking of Oza, to this day.

⁹ And David was afraid of the Lord that day, saying: How shall the ark of the Lord come to me?

¹⁰ And he would not have the ark of the Lord brought in to himself into the city of David: but he caused it to be carried into the house of Obededom the Gethite.

¹¹ And the ark of the Lord abode in the house of Obededom the Gethite three months: and the Lord blessed Obededom, and all his household.

¹² And it was told king David, that the Lord had blessed Obededom, and all that he had, because of the ark of God. So David went, and brought away the ark of God out of the house of Obededom into the city of David with joy. And there were with David seven choirs, and calves for victims.

¹³ And when they that carried the ark of the Lord had gone six paces, he sacrificed an ox and a ram:

¹⁴ And David danced with all his might before the Lord: and David was girded with a linen ephod.

¹⁵ And David and all the house of Israel brought the ark of the covenant of the Lord with joyful shouting, and with sound of trumpet.

¹⁶ And when the ark of the Lord was come into the city of David, Michol the daughter of Saul, looking out through a window, saw king David leaping and dancing before the Lord: and she despised him in her heart.

¹⁷ And they brought the ark of the Lord, and set it in its place in the midst of the tabernacle, which David had pitched for it: and David offered holocausts, and peace offerings before the Lord.

¹⁸ And when he had made an end of offering holocausts and peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord of hosts.

¹⁹ And he distributed to all the multitude of Israel both men and women, to every one, a cake of bread, and a piece of roasted beef, and fine flour fried with oil: and all the people departed every one to his house.

²⁰ And David returned to bless his own house: and Michol the daughter of Saul coming out to meet David, said: How glorious was the king of Israel to day, uncovering himself before the handmaids of his servants, and was naked, as if one of the buffoons should be naked.

²¹ And David said to Michol: Before the Lord, who chose me rather than thy father, and than all his house, and commanded me to be ruler over the people of the Lord in Israel,

²² I will both play and make myself meaner than I have done: and I will be little in my own eyes: and with the handmaid of whom thou speakest, I shall appear more glorious.

²³ Therefore Michol the daughter of Saul had no child to the day of her death.