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1 Samuel 6:12
ESV And the cows went straight in the direction of Beth-shemesh along one highway, lowing as they went. They turned neither to the right nor to the left, and the lords of the Philistines went after them as far as the border of Beth-shemesh.
NIV Then the cows went straight up toward Beth Shemesh, keeping on the road and lowing all the way; they did not turn to the right or to the left. The rulers of the Philistines followed them as far as the border of Beth Shemesh.
NASB Now the cows went straight in the direction of Beth-shemesh; they went on the same road, bellowing as they went, and did not turn off to the right or to the left. And the governors of the Philistines followed them to the border of Beth-shemesh.
CSB The cows went straight up the road to Beth-shemesh. They stayed on that one highway, lowing as they went; they never strayed to the right or to the left. The Philistine rulers were walking behind them to the territory of Beth-shemesh.
NLT And sure enough, without veering off in other directions, the cows went straight along the road toward Beth-shemesh, lowing as they went. The Philistine rulers followed them as far as the border of Beth-shemesh.
KJV And the kine took the straight way to the way of Bethshemesh, 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 Bethshemesh.

What does 1 Samuel 6:12 mean?

The test devised by the Philistine priests proved conclusive (1 Samuel 6:7–9). It was truly the Lord God of Israel that had afflicted the Philistines with the plague because they held His ark captive.

Instead of heading back to their own homes and calves, as would be expected, the untrained milk cows carrying the ark of the Lord went straight down the highway toward the Israelite city of Beth-shemesh (1 Samuel 6:10–11). The cows did not hesitate, wander, or even hint that they were thinking about going in a different direction. They simply started walking, mooing as they went.

Just to be sure, the Philistine leaders follow the cows all the way to the Israelite border. They would be able to tell the citizens of their five cities they had successfully escorted the ark of the Lord entirely out of Philistine territory. They could only hope the Lord would now relent and remove the plague from them (1 Samuel 5:6–12; 6:3–5).
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