Samuel & King Saul

Now take and prepare yourselves a new cart and two milk-cows that have never been under a yoke. Harness the cows to the cart, but put their calves back in the shed.

Then take the ark of ADONAI and lay it on the cart. In a box next to it, put the gold objects you are sending back to him as a guilt offering. Then send it away to go off by itself,

but watch to see if it goes up the road to Beit-Shemesh in its own territory. If it does, he is responsible for this great tragedy; if not, we will know that it is not his oppression which has been over us, but that what has been happening to us has been only by chance."

The men did it. They took two milk-cows, harnessed them to the cart and confined their calves to the shed.

Then they put the ark on the cart, along with the box containing the gold rats and the models of their tumors.

The cows made straight for the road to Beit-Shemesh and took that route, mooing as they went and turning off neither to the right nor to the left. The leaders of the P'lishtim followed them as far as the border of Beit-Shemesh.

The people of Beit-Shemesh were harvesting their wheat in the valley when they looked up and saw the ark. They were so happy to see it!

The cart entered the field of Y'hoshua the Beit-Shimshi and stood there by a big rock. They cut up the wood of the cart and offered up the cows as a burnt offering to ADONAI.

Then the L'vi'im removed the ark of ADONAI and the box that was with it, which contained the gold objects, and put them on the big rock. That same day the men of Beit-Shemesh offered burnt offerings and sacrifices to ADONAI.

Upon seeing this, the five leaders of the P'lishtim returned that day to 'Ekron.

The gold tumors which the P'lishtim sent back as a guilt offering for ADONAI were one each for Ashdod, 'Azah, Ashkelon, Gat and 'Ekron;

and the gold rats also corresponded to the number of all the cities of the P'lishtim that belonged to the five leaders - fortified cities and country villages. [The rock] is a witness to this day of the great mourning [which resulted from] putting the ark of ADONAI on it in the field of Y'hoshua the Beit-Shimshi;

for [ADONAI] struck the people of Beit-Shemesh for looking at the ark of ADONAI. He killed 50,070 of the people; the people mourned because ADONAI had struck them with such a terrible slaughter.

The people of Beit-Shemesh asked, "Who can stand before ADONAI, this holy God? To whom can we send it, to get it away from us?"

They sent messengers to the people living in Kiryat-Ye'arim with this message: "The P'lishtim have returned the ark of ADONAI. Come down and bring it back up with you."

So the men of Kiryat-Ye'arim came and brought back the ark of ADONAI. They took it to the home of Avinadav on the hill and appointed his son El'azar to guard the ark of ADONAI.

From the day that the ark arrived in Kiryat-Ye'arim a long time elapsed, twenty years; and all the people of Isra'el yearned for ADONAI.

Sh'mu'el addressed all the people of Isra'el; he said: "If you are returning to ADONAI with all your heart, then be done with the foreign gods and 'ashtarot that you have with you, and direct your hearts to ADONAI. If you will serve only him, he will rescue you from the power of the P'lishtim."

So the people of Isra'el banished the ba'alim and the 'ashtarot and served only ADONAI.

Sh'mu'el said, "Gather all Isra'el to Mitzpah, and I will pray for you to ADONAI."

So they gathered together at Mitzpah, drew water and poured it out before ADONAI, fasted that day, and said there, "We have sinned against ADONAI." Sh'mu'el began serving as judge over the people of Isra'el at Mitzpah.

When the P'lishtim heard that the people of Isra'el had gathered together at Mitzpah, the leaders of the P'lishtim marched up against Isra'el; and when the people of Isra'el heard about this, they were afraid of the P'lishtim.

The people of Isra'el said to Sh'mu'el, "Don't stop crying out to ADONAI our God for us, to save us from the power of the P'lishtim."

Sh'mu'el took a baby lamb and offered it as a whole burnt offering to ADONAI. Then Sh'mu'el cried to ADONAI for Isra'el, and ADONAI answered him.

As Sh'mu'el was presenting the burnt offering, the P'lishtim advanced to attack Isra'el. But this time, ADONAI thundered violently over the P'lishtim, throwing them into such confusion that they were struck down before Isra'el.