1 SAMUEL 6:19 — KING JAMES VERSION 1
“And he smote the men of Beth–shemesh, because they had looked into the ark of the Lord, even he smote of the people fifty thousand and threescore and ten men: and the people lamented, because the Lord had smitten many of the people with a great slaughter.”
The sons of Jeconiah did not rejoice with the people of Beth-shemesh when they saw the ark of the LORD; and he struck down some of the people of the city, seventy men; and fifty thousand men—the text is textually problematic here (the numbers vary), but the essential point is clear: the *baale Beth-shemesh* (men of Beth-shemesh) who look into the ark ('el-aron YHWH') are struck down (*nakah YHWH* — the LORD struck). The holiness of the ark is not diminished by its captivity; irreverent gazing upon it brings judgment.
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