God, you made life harder and harder on me, day and night.\par I became like a dry, dry land in the hot summertime.\par \i (SELAH {\cf2\super [199]})\i0 \par
My mouth {\cf2\super [127]} is as dry\par as a piece of broken pottery.\par My tongue is sticking\par to the top of my mouth.\par You have put me in the “dust of death.”\par
But now their faces are blacker than soot.\par No one even recognizes them in the streets.\par Their skin is wrinkled over their bones.\par Their skin is like wood.\par
You would have to wait until they grew to become men before you could marry them. I can’t make you wait that long for husbands. That would make me very sad! {And I am already sad enough}—the Lord has done many things to me!”
The people of Ekron called all the Philistine rulers together. The people of Ekron said to the rulers, “Send the Box of the God of Israel back to its place before it kills us and our people!”
But after the Philistines had moved God’s Holy Box [66] to Gath, the Lord punished that city. The people became very scared. God caused many troubles for all the people—young and old. God caused the people in Gath to have tumors. [67]
Watch the wagon. If the wagon goes toward Beth Shemesh in Israel’s own land, then the Lord has given us this great sickness. But if the cows do not go straight to Beth Shemesh, then we will know that Israel’s God has not punished us. We will know that our sickness just happened.”