1 Samuel 6:12
10 So the men did as instructed. They took two milk cows, hitched them to the cart, and penned up their calves.
11 Then they put the ark of the LORD on the cart, along with the chest containing the gold rats and the images of the tumors.
And the cows headed straight up the road toward Beth-shemesh, staying on that one highway and lowing as they went, never straying to the right or to the left. The rulers of the Philistines followed behind them to the border of Beth-shemesh.
13 Now the people of Beth-shemesh were harvesting wheat in the valley, and when they looked up and saw the ark, they were overjoyed at the sight.
14 The cart came to the field of Joshua of Beth-shemesh and stopped there near a large rock. The people chopped up the cart and offered the cows as a burnt offering to the LORD.
Here the Bible tells a story about someone else. Ask yourself what it can say to us today. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.
Compare
- BSB
- And the cows headed straight up the road toward Beth-shemesh, staying on that one highway and lowing as they went, never straying to the right or to the left. The rulers of the Philistines followed behind them to the border of Beth-shemesh.
- KJV
- And the kine took the straight way to the way of Beth-shemesh, and went along the highway, lowing as they went, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left; and the lords of the Philistines went after them unto the border of Beth-shemesh.
- WEB
- The cows took the straight way by the way to Beth Shemesh. They went along the highway, lowing as they went, and didn’t turn away to the right hand or to the left; and the lords of the Philistines went after them to the border of Beth Shemesh.
- ASV
- And the kine took the straight way by the way to Beth-shemesh; they went along the highway, lowing as they went, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left; and the lords of the Philistines went after them unto the border of Beth-shemesh.
- DARBY
- And the kine went straight forward on the way to Beth-shemesh; they went by the one high way, lowing as they went; and they turned not aside to the right hand or to the left; and the lords of the Philistines went after them as far as the border of Beth-shemesh.
- BLB
- And the cows [went] in the way, on the way to Beth-shemesh, along one highway as they went, going and lowing, and they did not turn aside to the right hand or the left. And the lords of the Philistines went after them to the border of Beth-shemesh.
- ÅB
- Og kyrne gikk rett fram etter veien som førte til Betsemes; de holdt stadig samme vei og rautet alt i ett og bøyde ikke av hverken til høyre eller til venstre, og filistrenes høvdinger gikk etter dem like til Betsemes-bygden.
- OTB
- Så gikk kyrne rett mot Bet-Semes, holdt seg til veien og rautet mens de gikk. De svingte ikke til høyre eller venstre. Filisternes herskere fulgte dem helt til grensen av Bet-Semes.
- B1930
- Og kyrne gikk rett frem efter veien som førte til Betsemes; de holdt stadig samme vei og rautet alt i ett og bøide ikke av hverken til høire eller til venstre, og filistrenes høvdinger gikk efter dem like til Betsemes-bygden.
Study notes (Tyndale)
Original text and word study
Cross references
Numbers 20:19
“We will stay on the main road,” the Israelites replied, “and if we or our herds drink your water, we will pay for it. There will be no problem; only let us pass through on foot.”
Read in context