1. The Lord’s chest was in Philistine territory for seven months.
2. The Philistines called for the priests and the diviners. "What should we do with the Lord’s chest?" they asked. "Tell us how we should send it back to its own home."
3. They replied, "If you are returning the chest of Israel’s God, don’t send it back empty, but be sure to return a guilt offering to him. Then you will be healed, and it will become clear to you why God’s hand hasn’t left you alone."
4. "What compensation offering should we return to him?" they asked.The priests and diviners replied: "Five gold tumors and five gold mice, matching the number of the Philistine rulers, because the same plague came on all of you and your rulers.
5. You must make images of your tumors and the mice that have devastated the land. Honor Israel’s God. Perhaps he will lighten the weight of his hand on you, your gods, and your land.
6. Why be stubborn like the Egyptians and Pharaoh? After God had dealt harshly with them, didn’t they send the Israelites on their way?
7. So get a new cart ready along with two nursing cows that have never been yoked before. Harness the cows to the cart, but take any of their calves that are following back home.
8. Next, take the Lord’s chest and put it in the cart. Set the gold items that you are giving God as a compensation offering in a box next to the chest. Then send it on its way.
9. Then watch what happens: If the cart goes up the road to its own territory toward Beth-shemesh, then Israel’s God has brought this great disaster on us. If the cart goes another way, then we’ll know that it wasn’t God’s hand that struck us. It happened to us randomly."
10. The rulers did just that. They took two nursing cows and harnessed them to the cart, penning their calves up at home.
11. They put the Lord’s chest on the cart along with the box containing the gold mice and the images of their tumors.
12. The cows went straight ahead, following the road to Beth-shemesh. They kept to one route, mooing as they went, without turning right or left. The Philistine rulers followed them as far as the territory of Beth-shemesh.
13. Now the people of Beth-shemesh were harvesting wheat in the valley. When they looked up and saw the chest, they were overjoyed at the sight.