1 Samuel 6:11-18 ETR

11 Then the Philistines put the Lord’S Holy Box on the wagon along with the bag with the golden models of the tumors and mice.

12 The cows went straight to Beth Shemesh. The cows stayed on the road, mooing all the way. They did not turn right or left. The Philistine rulers followed the cows as far as the city limits of Beth Shemesh.

13 The people of Beth Shemesh were harvesting their wheat in the valley. They looked up and saw the Holy Box. They were very happy to see it again. They ran to get it.

14-15 The wagon came to the field that belonged to Joshua of Beth Shemesh and stopped there near a large rock. Some Levites took down the Lord’S Holy Box and the bag that had the golden models. The Levites put the Lord’S Box and the bag that was with it on the large rock. The people of Beth Shemesh cut up the wagon and killed the cows. That day, they sacrificed the cows as burnt offerings to the Lord.

16 The five Philistine rulers watched the people of Beth Shemesh do this and then went back to Ekron that same day.

17 In this way the Philistines sent golden models of tumors as gifts for their sins to the Lord. They sent one golden model of a tumor for each of the Philistine towns of Ashdod, Gaza, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron.

18 The Philistines also sent golden models of mice. The number of these golden mice was the same number as the towns that belonged to the five Philistine rulers. These towns had walls around them, and each town had villages around it. The people of Beth Shemesh put the Lord’S Holy Box on a rock. That rock is still in the field of Joshua from Beth Shemesh.