1 After the Ark of the Lord had been in the country of the Philistines for seven months, 2 the Philistines summoned the priests and fortune-tellers, and asked, "What should we do with the Ark of the Lord? Explain to us how to send it back to where it came from."

3 "If you’re going to send back the Ark of the God of Israel, do not send it back empty-handedly, but make sure to send along with it a gift of a guilt offering to him," they replied. "Then you will be healed, and you will understand why he has treated you like this."