They put the ark of the Lord on the cart, along with the chest, the gold mice, and the images of the sores.

“‘Now this is what is unclean to you among the swarming things that swarm on the land: ¹  the rat, the mouse, the large lizard of any kind,

You should make images of the sores and images of the mice ¹  that are destroying the land. You should honor the God of Israel. Perhaps he will release his grip on you, your gods, and your land. ² 

They inquired, “What is the guilt offering that we should send to him?” They replied, “The Philistine leaders number five. So send five gold sores and five gold mice, for it is the same plague that has afflicted both you and your leaders.

The gold mice corresponded in number to all the Philistine cities of the five leaders, from the fortified cities to hamlet villages, to greater Abel, ¹  where they positioned the ark of the Lord until this very day in the field of Joshua who was from Beth Shemesh.

The Lord attacked ¹  the residents of Ashdod severely, bringing devastation on them. He struck the people of ²  both Ashdod and the surrounding area with sores. ³ 

Then take the ark of the Lord and place it on the cart, and put in a chest beside it the gold objects you are sending to him as a guilt offering. You should then send it on its way.

“As for those who consecrate and ritually purify themselves so they can follow their leader and worship in the sacred orchards, ¹  those who eat the flesh of pigs and other disgusting creatures, like mice ²  – they will all be destroyed together,” ³  says the Lord.

Daughter Zion ¹  is left isolated, like a hut in a vineyard, or a shelter in a cucumber field; she is a besieged city. ² 

The Levites took down the ark of the Lord and the chest that was with it, which contained the gold objects. They placed them near the big stone. At that time the people of Beth Shemesh offered burnt offerings and made sacrifices to the Lord.