Charles Ellicott Commentary 1 Samuel 6:8

"and take the ark of Jehovah, 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." — 1 Samuel 6:8 (ASV)

In a coffer by the side thereof. —The reverent awe with which these Philistines treated the Ark, which had, they supposed, caused them such great evil, presents a strong contrast to the careless curiosity of the men of Beth-shemesh with regard to the same sacred object—a careless curiosity, which was punished, as we so often find in the case of acts of sacrilege, with extreme severity.