God

Then the Philistims tooke the Arke of God and caried it from Eben-ezer vnto Ashdod,

Euen the Philistims tooke ye Arke of God, and brought it into the house of Dagon, and set it by Dagon.

And when they of Ashdod rose the next day in the morning, beholde, Dagon was fallen vpon his face on the ground before the Arke of the Lord, and they tooke vp Dagon, and set him in his place againe.

Also they rose vp earely in the morning the next day, and beholde, Dagon was fallen vpon his face on the ground before the Arke of the Lord, and the head of Dagon and the two palmes of his hands were cut off vpon the thresholde: onely the stumpe of Dagon was left to him.

But the hand of the Lord was heauie vpon them of Ashdod, and destroyed them, and smote them with the emerods, both Ashdod, and the coastes thereof.

And when the men of Ashdod sawe this, they sayd, Let not the Arke of the God of Israel abide with vs: for his hand is sore vpon vs and vpon Dagon our god.

They sent therefore and gathered all the princes of the Philistims vnto them, and sayde, What shall we doe with the Arke of the God of Israel? And they answered, Let the Arke of the God of Israel be caried about vnto Gath: and they caried the Arke of the God of Israel about.

And when they had caried it about, the hand of the Lord was against the citie with a very great destruction, and he smote the men of the citie both small and great, and they had emerods in their secret partes.

Therefore they sent the Arke of God to Ekron: and assoone as the Arke of God came to Ekron, the Ekronites cryed out, saying, They haue brought the Arke of the God of Israel to vs to slay vs and our people.

Therefore they sent, and gathered together all the princes of the Philistims and sayd, Sende away the Arke of the God of Israel, and let it returne to his owne place, that it slay vs not and our people: for there was a destruction and death throughout all the citie, and the hand of God was very sore there.

So the Arke of the Lord was in the countrey of the Philistims seuen moneths.

And the Philistims called the priests and the soothsayers, saying, What shall we doe with the Arke of the Lord? tell vs wherewith we shall send it home againe.

And they sayd, If you send away the Arke of the God of Israel, send it not away emptie, but giue vnto it a sinne offering: then shall ye be healed, and it shall be knowen to you, why his hand departeth not from you.

Then sayd they, What shalbe the sinne offring, which we shall giue vnto it? And they answered, Fiue golden emerods and fiue golden mise, according to the number of the princes of the Philistims: for one plague was on you all, and on your princes.

Wherefore ye shall make the similitudes of your emerods, and the similitudes of your mise that destroy the land: so ye shall giue glory vnto the God of Israel, that he may take his hand from you, and from your gods, and from your land.

Wherefore then should ye harden your hearts, as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? when he wrought wonderfully among them, did they not let them goe, and they departed?

Then take the Arke of the Lord, and set it vpon the cart, and put the iewels of gold which ye giue it for a sinne offering in a coffer by the side thereof, and send it away, that it may go.

And take heede, if it goe vp by the way of his owne coast to Beth-shemesh, it is he that did vs this great euill: but if not, we shall know then, that it is not his hand that smote vs, but it was a chance that happened vs.

So they set the Arke of the Lord vpon the cart, and the coffer with the mise of golde, and with the similitudes of their emerods.

And the cart came into the fielde of Ioshua a Beth-shemite, and stood still there. There was also a great stone, and they claue the wood of the cart, and offered the kine for a burnt offring vnto the Lord.

And the Leuites tooke downe the Arke of the Lord, and the coffer that was with it, wherein the iewels of golde were, and put them on the great stone, and the men of Beth-shemesh offred burnt offring, and sacrificed sacrifices that same day vnto the Lord.

So these are the golden emerods, which the Philistims gaue for a sinne offering to the Lord: for Ashdod one, for Gaza one, for Askelon one, for Gath one, and for Ekron one,

And golden mise, according to the number of all the cities of the Philistims, belonging to the fiue princes, both of walled townes, and of townes vnwalled, vnto the great stone of Abel, whereon they set the Arke of the Lord: which stone remaineth vnto this day in the fielde of Ioshua the Beth-shemite.

And hee smote of the men of Beth-shemesh, because they had looked in the Arke of the Lord: he slew euen among the people fiftie thousand men and three score and ten men. and the people lamented, because the Lord had slaine the people with so great a slaughter.

Wherefore the men of Beth-shemesh said, Who is able to stand before this holy Lord God? and to whom shall he go from vs?