1. The Philistines kept the Lord’S Holy Box in their land for seven months.
2. The Philistines called their priests and magicians and said, “What must we do with the Lord’S Box? Tell us how to send it back home.”
3. The priests and magicians answered, “If you send back the Holy Box of the God of Israel, don’t send it away empty. You must offer gifts to the God of Israel. Then you will be healed. You must do this so that God will stop punishing you.”
4. The Philistines asked, “What kind of gifts should we send for Israel’s God to forgive us?” The priests and magicians answered, “There are five Philistine leaders, one leader for each city. All of you and your leaders had the same problems. So you must make five gold models to look like five tumors. And you must make five gold models to look like five mice.
5. So make models of the tumors and models of the mice that are ruining the country. Give these gold models to the God of Israel as payment. Then maybe the God of Israel will stop punishing you, your gods, and your land.
6. Don’t be stubborn like Pharaoh and the Egyptians. God punished the Egyptians. That is why the Egyptians let the Israelites leave Egypt.
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.