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1 And the ark of the LORD was in the country of the Philistines seven months. 2 And the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners, saying, What shall we do to the ark of the LORD? tell us wherewith we shall send it to his place. 3 And they said, If ye send away the ark of the God of Israel, send it not empty; but in any wise return him a trespass offering: then ye shall be healed, and it shall be known to you why his hand is not removed from you. 4 Then said they, What shall be the trespass offering which we shall return to him? They answered, Five golden emerods, and five golden mice, according to the number of the lords of the Philistines: for one plague was on you all, and on your lords. 5 Wherefore ye shall make images of your emerods, and images of your mice that mar the land; and ye shall give glory unto the God of Israel: peradventure he will lighten his hand from off you, and from off your gods, and from off your land. 6 Wherefore then do ye harden your hearts, as the Egyptians and Pharoah hardened their hearts? when he had wrought wonderfully among them, did they not let the people go, and they departed? 7 Now therefore make a new cart, and take two milch kine, on which there hath come no yoke, and tie the kine to the cart, and bring their calves home from them: 8 And take the ark of the LORD, and lay it upon the cart; and put the jewels of gold, which ye return him for a trespass offering, in a coffer by the side thereof; and send it away, that it may go. 9 And see, if it goeth up by the way of his own coast to Beth-shemesh, then he hath done us this great evil: but if not, then we shall know that is not his hand that smote us; it was a chance that happened to us. 10 And the men did so; and took two milch kine, and tied them to the cart, and shut up their calves at home: 11 And they laid the ark of the LORD upon the cart, and the coffer with the mice of gold and the images of their emerods. 12 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. 13 And they of Beth-shemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley: and they lifted up their eyes, and saw the ark, and rejoiced to see it. 14 And the cart came into the field of Joshua, a Beth-shemite, and stood there, where there was a great stone: and they clave the wood of the cart, and offered the kine a burnt offering unto the LORD. 15 And the Levites took down the ark of the LORD, and the coffer that was with it, wherein the jewels of gold were, and put them on the great stone: and the men of Beth-shemesh offered burnt offerings and sacrificed sacrifices the same day unto the LORD. 16 And when the five lords of the Philistines had seen it, they returned to Ekron the same day. 17 And these are the golden emerods which the Philistines returned for a trespass offering unto the LORD; for Ashdod one, for Gaza one, for Askelon one, for Gath one, for Ekron one; 18 And the golden mice, according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five lords, both of fenced cities, and of country villages, even unto the great stone of Abel, whereon they set down the ark of the LORD: which stone remaineth unto this day in the field of Joshua, the Beth-shemite. 19 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. 20 And the men of Beth-shemesh said, Who is able to stand before this holy LORD God? and to whom shall he go up from us? 21 And they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kirjath-jearim, saying, The Philistines have brought again the ark of the LORD; come ye down, and fetch it up to you.
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[AD 735] Bede on 1 Samuel 6:1
Therefore the ark of the Lord was in the region of the Philistines for seven months. Seven often expresses the universality of any matter, either of time, or number, or surely the fullness of spiritual grace. But the month, which is varied by the increase and decrease of the lunar light, insinuates the state of the Church laboring between good and bad times, but never failing from the Sun of righteousness. Therefore, the ark of the Lord's faith has been and will be among the nations for the entire time of the age, in which the grace of the sevenfold Holy Spirit will fill the Church and be worthy to illuminate lands, as if they were weak and subject to itself. But according to the literal present reading, which narrates that the Philistines were struck by the proximity of the ark of the Lord, it teaches that no unclean person should presume to approach the holy things; but whoever wishes to receive the Lord's body, or handle His most sacred words, let him prove himself, and so let him eat of that bread and drink of that cup, discipline his body, and bring it into subjection, lest preaching to others, he himself should become a castaway (1 Corinthians XI, 9).

Source: Commentary on Samuel
[AD 735] Bede on 1 Samuel 6:3
But they said: If you send back, they said, the ark of the God of Israel to its place, etc. And we, seeing the vengeance of the impious, and washing our hands in the blood of sinners, if we decide to send back the ark of heavenly grace to its place, that is, into the hearts of those neighbors who once had it and lost it by straying, advising them to repent, it must be done with utmost care that we do not seek to do this void of virtues. But according to the one who said: And his grace towards me was not in vain (1 Cor. XV), let us hasten first to act rightly ourselves and then instruct others. In this way, we will be able to escape the plagues of those who, having received the gift of knowledge, do not know how to repay the bestower for the sins they have committed. Also, it is universally advisable for the Church that the grace of faith, which is, the fruit of virtues among the nations, should not be found empty at the end of the world, and thus return to Israel for salvation; but as it came, so it should return, given to us through great teachers and return to them by means of great teachers.

Source: Commentary on Samuel
[AD 585] Cassiodorus on 1 Samuel 6:4-5
We read in the first book of Kings [Samuel] that because of the damage done to the consecrated ark the foreigners were smitten on their hinder parts, so that they even suffered the dreadful fate of being gnawed alive by mice. This remains a perennial reproach on them, because no other was punished in this way. Similarly he afflicts sinners in the afterlife … they are so devoured by mice when the devil’s hostile troop surrounds them.

Source: EXPOSITION OF THE PSALMS 77.66
[AD 735] Bede on 1 Samuel 6:4
According to the number of the provinces of the Philistines, etc. According to the number of the five senses of the body, which you contaminated by looking back, whose fruits you all lost by poorly handling faith, now in all that you do by seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling, or touching, offer to Christ the most illustrious virtues due to him, such as patience, compunction, humility, and others.

Source: Commentary on Samuel
[AD 735] Bede on 1 Samuel 6:5
And you will give glory to the God of Israel, etc. And confess that God alone is true, but every man is a liar (Rom. III; Psalm CXV); perhaps He may turn His face away from your sins and wipe out all your iniquities, and, while the merciful Compassionate One imposes on you a very light burden.

Source: Commentary on Samuel
[AD 735] Bede on 1 Samuel 6:7
Now, therefore, seize and make a new cart, etc. Now, they say, hasten, and either in your hearts or in the hearts of your brethren, putting off the old man with his deeds, put on the new one, which is created according to God in righteousness and holiness and truth (Ephes. IV); and this in the unity of Catholic peace, in which it is so beneficial to salvation to perform whatever good one can, and as noble teachers in the twin, that is, the love of God and neighbor, free from the yoke of sin, rejoicing in the offspring of spiritual faithful children, whether for the burden of preaching the faith or bearing the necessity of the brethren, submit. But hold back any little ones and infants still in Christ within the small scope of your counsel until they grow into a perfect man.

Source: Commentary on Samuel
[AD 735] Bede on 1 Samuel 6:8
And you will take the Ark of the Lord and place it on the cart, etc. Place the more secret parts of the heavenly mysteries, imbued with the new commandment of Christ, upon it, and also set forth for all together as an example to be observed and followed, in such a way that the Church, adorned with both the mysteries of faith and examples of virtues, may be sent to seek the remnants of the Israelite people, and never let your mind's eyes turn away from observing its steps.

Source: Commentary on Samuel
[AD 407] John Chrysostom on 1 Samuel 6:9
For this reason he [Paul] says, “To the Jews I became as a Jew, to those without law, as one without law, to those that are under the law, as under the law.” Thus God does too, as in the case of the wise men, he does not conduct them by an angel, nor a prophet, nor an apostle, nor an evangelist, but how? By a star. For as their art made them conversant with these, he made use of such means to guide them. So [he does] in the case of the oxen that drew the ark. “If it goes up by the way of his own coast, then he has done this great evil to us,” as their prophets suggested. Do these prophets then speak the truth? No; but he refutes and confounds them out of their own mouths.

Source: HOMILIES ON TITUS 3
[AD 165] Justin Martyr on 1 Samuel 6:10-14
One of these, I think, I must now mention, because it will help to give you a better understanding of Jesus, whom we acknowledge as Christ the Son of God, who was crucified, arose from the dead, ascended into heaven and will come to judge every person who ever lived, even back to Adam himself. You certainly know that when the tabernacle of testimony was carried off by the enemies who inhabited the region of Ashdod, and a dreadfully incurable plague had broken out among them, they decided to place the tabernacle upon a cart to which they yoked cows that had recently borne calves, in order to determine whether they had been plagued by God’s power because of the tabernacle, and whether it was God’s will that it be returned to the place from which they had taken it. In the execution of this plan, the cows, without any human guidance, proceeded not to the place from where the tabernacle had been taken but to the farm of a man named Hoshea (the same name as his whose name was changed to Jesus [Joshua], as was said above, and who led your people into the promised land and distributed it among them by lot). When the cows came to this farm, they halted. Thus it was shown to you that they were guided by the powerful name [of Jesus], just as the survivors among your people who fled Egypt were guided into the promised land by him whose name was changed from Hoshea to Jesus [Joshua].

Source: Dialogue with Trypho 132
[AD 604] Gregory the Dialogist on 1 Samuel 6:10-14
We know that when the ark of the Lord was returned from the land of the Philistines to the land of the Israelites, it was placed on a cart. They yoked cows that had recently borne young to the cart, and shut up their calves at home. “And the cows went straight on over the way that leads to Beth-shemesh, keeping to the one road, lowing as they went; they turned neither to the right nor to the left.” What do these cows represent but the faithful of the church? When they ponder the sacred precepts, it is as if they are carrying the ark of the Lord placed upon them. We should also notice that they are described as having recently borne young. Many who are inwardly set on the way toward God are externally bound by their unspiritual feelings, but they do not turn aside from the right road because they are carrying the ark of God in their hearts.The cows were going to Beth-shemesh, a name meaning “house of the sun.” The prophet says, “For you who fear the Lord, the sun of righteousness shall rise.” If we are moving on toward the dwelling place of the everlasting sun, we do right not to turn aside from the route toward God on account of our unspiritual feelings. We must consider with all our energy that the cows yoked to God’s cart moan as they go, lowing from their depths, but do not turn aside from their road. So surely must God’s preachers, so must all believers within holy church do. They must be compassionate toward their neighbors through their love, while not deviating from God’s way through their compassion.

Source: FORTY GOSPEL HOMILIES 37
[AD 604] Gregory the Dialogist on 1 Samuel 6:10-14
For it is not that holy people do not love their fleshly kin, to give them all things necessary, but they subdue this very fondness within themselves from love of spiritual things, in order so to temper it by the control of discretion, that they may be never led by it, even in a small measure and in the very least degree, to deviate from the straight path. And these are well conveyed to us by the representation of the cows, which going along towards the hilly lands under the ark of the Lord, proceed at one and the same time with fondness and with hardened feeling; as it is written, “And the men did so: and took two milk cows and tied them to the cart and shut up their calves at home; and they laid the ark of the Lord upon the cart.” And soon after: “And the cows took the straight way to the way of Beth-shemesh, and they went along by one way, lowing as they went, and did not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.” For observe, when the calves were shut up at home, the cows, which are fastened to the wagon bearing the ark of the Lord, moan and go their way, they give forth lowings from deep within, and yet [they] never alter their steps from following the path. They feel love indeed shown by compassion but never bend their necks behind. Thus, they must go on their way, who, being placed under the yoke of the sacred law, henceforth carry the Lord’s ark in interior knowledge, so as never to deviate from the course of righteousness which they have entered upon, in order to take compassion on the necessities of relatives. For Beth-shemesh is rendered “the house of the sun.” Thus to go to Beth-shemesh with the ark of the Lord placed on them is in company with heavenly knowledge to draw near to the seat of light eternal. But we are then really going on toward Beth-shemesh when, in walking the path of righteousness, we never turn aside onto the adjoining side-paths of error, not even for the sake of the affection we bear for our offspring.

Source: MORALS ON THE BOOK OF JOB 7.30
[AD 735] Bede on 1 Samuel 6:10
They therefore did this in this way, and took two cows, etc. The Philistines made the ark according to the advice of their priests and diviners. And the faithful stewards of it will also act in accordance with the predictions or future instructions of previous priests and prophets; let us also make corrections either of our own, or of a neighbor, namely the members of the Church according to the command of spiritual teachers. No one should think it absurd that we say the deeds of unbelieving diviners and priests overflow to the interpreting prophets and teachers of the Church with spiritual mystery; but rather, recognizing the use of allegorical speech, let the one who reads see that even those things that not only unbelievers but also those openly hostile to God have done are typologically related by distinguished expositors for the observance of most wholesome piety. No less sacred or full of mystical piety is it that the impious persecutor of the Lord in His passion clothed Him in a purple or white robe, crowned Him with thorns, gave Him vinegar to drink, hung Him on the cross, wrote "King" in Latin, Greek, and Hebrew, than that His devout and inviolate mother wrapped Him in swaddling clothes at His birth, laid Him in a manger, shepherds praised Him, magi worshipped Him; that when He was killed, His chosen disciples anointed Him with spices, wrapped Him in linen clothes, laid Him in a stone tomb, closed it with a large stone, and do not doubt to learn useful things from people of any kind, your fellow human beings. Hear what Solomon says: "Go to the ant, O sluggard, consider her ways, and be wise" (Prov. VI).

Source: Commentary on Samuel
[AD 735] Bede on 1 Samuel 6:12
But the cows went straight, etc. The teachers went straight through Christ, leading to the kingdom of heaven. Indeed, the way to Beth-shemesh, that is, the house of the sun, is the very same that says: "I am the way, the truth, and the life" (John XIV). And elsewhere: "I am the light of the world; whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life" (John VIII).

Source: Commentary on Samuel
[AD 735] Bede on 1 Samuel 6:12
They journeyed on the same path, progressing and groaning, etc. They walked on the same path of faith and truth, indeed groaning, as people, being separated from those they love; yet they were more willing, when necessity arose, to hasten eagerly to the sacrifice of passion for the ark of the Lord rather than agreeing to lay down the ark out of the weeping of their children. Do you want proof of what we say? When Paul was staying in Caesarea, a prophet coming from Judea declared that he was to be bound by the Jews in Jerusalem and handed over to the Gentiles (Acts 21). Behold, the cow bearing the ark of the Lord is prophesied to be sacrificed; and whatever concerns these calves, whether they, with dry eyes, expect the departure and death of their parent, let the noblest calf, distinguished by this name among the four great animals, recount what they did. When we heard this, he said, we and those from that place pleaded with him not to go up to Jerusalem; but because he could not be swayed to the right or to the left by the love or tears of the children through the insistence of the mother, see what he, about to leave, says to the weeping ones: What are you doing, weeping and disturbing my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus. Truly, mourning for the weak, as if confined at home like calves, which they conceive from the carnal loss of spiritual parents, gradually ceases as they also make progress. Luke says the same: And when we could not persuade him, we ceased, saying: The will of the Lord be done.

Source: Commentary on Samuel
[AD 735] Bede on 1 Samuel 6:13
Moreover, the Bethshemites were reaping wheat in the valley, etc. Furthermore, the citizens of eternal light, desirous to store the ripe fruits of virtues, which they produced with humble hearts, into the joys of the heavenly homeland; and with the eyes of their hearts lifted, they rejoiced wherever on earth they saw the heavenly things.

Source: Commentary on Samuel
[AD 735] Bede on 1 Samuel 6:14
And the cart came into the field of Joshua of Beth Shemesh, etc. And wherever the Church sees hearts bringing forth fruit for Jesus Christ, the Lord of eternal clarity and the inventor of perpetual light, it prepares to make a dwelling there, as if finding rest after the labor of seeking. Such was always the progress of the Church; such was its coming into the nations; such will be its return to Israel.

Source: Commentary on Samuel
[AD 735] Bede on 1 Samuel 6:14
Now there was a great stone there, etc. There was in the field of the Church that exceptionally great stone, which was cut out of the mountain without hands and grew into a great mountain and filled the whole earth. And concerning which the Psalmist says: "The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone" (Psalm 118); that is to say, to make both one. And the persecutors of the Church cut down the structure, which, erected in the likeness of the Lord's cross, rejoiced in the firm state of new grace. Moreover, they slaughtered as a most pleasing victim to the Lord, even though unknowingly, the teachers and those who were able to bear the burdens of the weak, consumed in the flame of martyrdom. For the wood of the new cart, which had carried the ark of the Lord, was cut down when, persecution arising in the Church of Jerusalem, all were scattered through the regions of Samaria and Judea, except the apostles. The cows were made a burnt offering to the Lord upon it when all were pricked by the ardor of intimate love and dissolved into mourning and tears. Stephen was stoned, and James, the brother of John, was killed by the sword; and reading the church history, you will find innumerable such events, and infinite acts of martyrs. Among all these, the greater cutting down of this cart, that is the perturbation of the Church in the times of Antichrist, is not doubted to come. Nor is there anything preventing these two cows, which bearing the ark of the Lord were given as a burnt offering to the Israelites, from being interpreted as Enoch and Elijah, who will then reveal the grace of faith to the Jews and are believed to receive death from Antichrist without delay. Nor should you marvel that the good deeds of the Beth Shemites are interpreted by us in the opposite manner, because it is the custom of Holy Scripture to sometimes delineate evil through good and good through evil. Indeed, how many kinds of sacrificial victims in the law, which by command of the Lord were offered with devoted minds, typologically foretell the death of the Savior, which He received at the hands of the wicked.

Source: Commentary on Samuel
[AD 735] Bede on 1 Samuel 6:15
The Levites, however, laid down the Ark of God, etc. Ministers of the word, receiving faith and examples of the lives of saints from those who have preceded in Christ, did not place these things in some base and lowly earthly breast, but in those which they saw as firm in Christ. That great stone can be not inappropriately referred to the people who glory in the law (for the law is written on stone); and the ark placed upon the stone may be understood, when the people emulating the law have received the faith of grace.

Source: Commentary on Samuel
[AD 735] Bede on 1 Samuel 6:15
But the men of Beth-shemesh offered burnt offerings, etc. Whosoever belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its vices and desires (Gal. V). And elsewhere: I beseech you, he says, brethren, by the mercy of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God (Rom. XII).

Source: Commentary on Samuel
[AD 735] Bede on 1 Samuel 6:16
And the five lords of the Philistines saw, etc. All who have preceded in Christ, so long contemplate the faith and deeds of those succeeding them in Him as in a mirror, until they recognize them also as firm in faith and progressing well; and thus, becoming more assured of their salvation, they return to the homes of their own conversation to be cared for. It can also be understood of hypocrites, who, although they seem for a time to imitate the way of life, yet do not merit to enter the gates of Beth-shemesh, that is, of the Sun of righteousness, because of the instability of their left-leaning mind.

Source: Commentary on Samuel
[AD 735] Bede on 1 Samuel 6:18
Here are the golden mice, etc. All, both small and great, strong and weak, must repay the Lord with golden vessels for their sins, that is, with the splendid gifts of contrition and humility, gentleness and chastity, and the other spiritual fruits. For who is clean from impurities? Not even if his life on earth be but a single day. And if we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves (Job XVIII; 1 John I; Job XX). For who will boast of having a pure heart, who has not in some way deviated from the path of truth in one of the five well-known senses, or whose thoughts or good actions have not occasionally been gnawed at by the bite of the ancient adversary, so that he must rightly ask for the remedies of penance for these, and from the memory of the vices he committed or the temptations he endured, he has to insist more sharply on practicing virtues? For it is to repay the Lord corrected with golden five-fold for the mice and corruptors and corrupted ones in which he was punished for erring. And it is beautifully said that the metropolis of any province, with its adjoining cities and villages, returned one golden mouse and anus each, because we duly pay the debt for sin when the rich and poor, the learned and unlearned, signified by the difference of a walled city and a village deprived of a wall, all made one in Christ, strive to see the one and the same will of God, perceive the same good fragrance of Christ, taste together how sweet the Lord is, and equally hear and do His words. But those who refuse to repent and pay the debt of penance for sin will not escape the hand of the stringent Judge, but driven into outer darkness, will not come out until they have paid the last farthing. To whom the wise of the Philistines above, suggesting better things, said: "Why do you harden your hearts, as Egypt and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? Did they not, after being struck, then let them go, and they departed? Which is to say openly about the reprobates: Did they not, after receiving the sentence of eternal death, then first cease to sin and do harm to the good?"

Source: Commentary on Samuel
[AD 735] Bede on 1 Samuel 6:18
And up to Abel the great stone, etc. Even the strong ones in faith, and those who are sufficient in devotion to support and govern the wavering Church, conscious of their own fragility, say: For in many things we all offend (James 3). Indeed, the very highest cornerstone himself, who did not commit sin, nor was deceit found in his mouth (1 Peter 2), having suffered humanly for us, speaks: What I did not seize, I then restored (Psalm 68). And that great stone, upon which the ark of God was placed, aptly signifies him, which was the border between Israel and the Philistines. For the border is shown, from where both these demand their dues, and upon which those place the ark of the Lord as their own. For he bears the burden of the Church with his singular piety of virtue, who is our peace, and made both one.

Source: Commentary on Samuel
[AD 735] Bede on 1 Samuel 6:18
Which was until that day in the field of Joshua of Beth Shemesh. The same Joshua, who above is Jesus, and signifies the same Lord. For both names interpret as Savior.

Source: Commentary on Samuel
[AD 735] Bede on 1 Samuel 6:19
"And he struck down from the people seventy men, and fifty thousand of the common people." [1 Samuel 6:19] This was said of those who dared to see the Ark of the Lord returned from the land of the Philistines, although they were not of the Levitical lineage: "And he struck down from the people seventy men, and fifty thousand of the common people." The terms "people" and "common people" are used interchangeably to signify the same thing. For both are commonly translated from the Greek term "laos." However, there seems to be a distinction here, as the word "men" is added in the first phrase of the verse. For what your Codex reads, "seventy-two," is entirely erroneous; for "men" refers to elders, implying that seventy of the dignitaries of the people were struck down, while fifty thousand were from the general crowd of common men; thus, to prevent this in Exodus, the people stood far off, and prayed, with only Moses ascending to the Lord (Exod. 20).

Source: Questions on the Book of Kings #3
[AD 735] Bede on 1 Samuel 6:19
But he smote certain men of Beth-shemesh, etc. Not the priests and Levites, whose office it was to carry the ark; but the ignoble common people, to whom it was not even lawful to look upon it, he smote. To prevent this, in Exodus the people stood afar off and prayed, and Moses alone went up to the Lord. For only those perfect in knowledge and action know how to direct their mind to the contemplation of heavenly things in this life. But if anyone less perfect should presume to handle divine matters among human, it must be cautioned lest his unconsidered rashness be struck down either by heresy, or despair, or any other danger. But perhaps it is better to take this smiting of the people who had seen the ark of the Lord in a good sense; for the more anyone begins to look upon the secrets of divine majesty, the more soon, feeling humble about himself, he trembles and faints from all his confidence in his own virtues. With this most salutary wound he trembled who said: I will speak to my Lord, though I am but dust and ashes (Exod. XVIII). And also the Psalmist, when he said: My eyes fail looking for your salvation (Psalm CXVIII). Which means to say: the higher I contemplate the most sacred mysteries of your salvation, that is, Jesus, the more quickly I, struck by a vital wound, despise my own deeds which I thought were strong. In this wound, not only struck but also dead, he rejoices who said: For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God: I have been crucified with Christ (Gal. II). To this same sense the number of the slain, fifty or seventy, which principally regards signifying rest and the grace of the Holy Spirit, also agrees. For both the seventh day and the fiftieth year were consecrated by law for rest. And the Holy Spirit, whose sevenfold grace Isaiah writes about, descended on the Church on the fiftieth day of the Lord’s resurrection. For while now having eternal years in mind they console their soul, and are delighted by the sole memory of God, and their spirit fails for a while, then, exalted by the Spirit of God, they strive towards perpetual rest. To both senses fits aptly what follows:

Source: Commentary on Samuel
[AD 735] Bede on 1 Samuel 6:19
And the people lamented, for the Lord had struck them, etc. Because the Church laments with tears over its infirm or faltering members to restore them to their former state; and enkindled with zeal for the well-being of its flourishing members, who it sees have desired and failed in the court of the Lord, it pours forth sweet tears of salutary compunction and says, wounded by love: I am love-sick, and my soul has melted, as he has spoken (Songs 5); and other such things, with which countless places of Scripture and the entire text of the forty-first psalm are filled.

Source: Commentary on Samuel
[AD 1781] Richard Challoner on 1 Samuel 6:19
Seen: And curiously looked into. It is likely this plague reached to all the neighbouring country, as well as the city of Bethsames.
[AD 735] Bede on 1 Samuel 6:20
And the men of Beth-shemesh said: Who can stand, etc. The men of the house of the sun, that is, the citizens of the heavenly homeland, wandering on earth; and if they taste even a little, and that by snatching, of the eternal light which they thirst for, they immediately realize how much they are nothing of their own, rightly fearing they say: For no living being will be justified in your sight (Psalm 142). Because even if someone seems to stand by human judgment, yet in the sight of the Divine Majesty, they are proven to be lying low; and with modest and kind advice, after that sublime ardor of love known only to themselves and to God, they impart to their lesser neighbors the gifts of spiritual knowledge that are sufficient for them. As the great citizen of Beth-shemesh said: For whether we are out of our mind, it is for God; if we are of sound mind, it is for you (2 Corinthians 5). And this is what follows, with the men of Beth-shemesh speaking about the ark of the Lord:

Source: Commentary on Samuel
[AD 735] Bede on 1 Samuel 6:20
And to whom will it ascend from us? etc. Cariathiarim, indeed, which is called the city of forests, signifies the great perfection of life, but certainly less than Bethsames, that is, the house of the sun. For this, namely, signifies the sublimity of contemplation, because the pure in heart will see God (Matt. 5); that one shows the community of active conversation, by which also all the trees of the forests bearing their fruits will rejoice before the face of the Lord, because He comes, and makes His abode with them. And from Bethsamis the ark is sent to Cariathiarim, because divine grace now kindles the hearts of the great, so that they contemplate the summit through faith, now helps the humble hearts of beginners, so that they, like fruits, produce varieties of good works.

Source: Commentary on Samuel