1And the Philistines took the ark of God, and brought it from Ebenezer unto Ashdod.2When the Philistines took the ark of God, they brought it into the house of Dagon, and set it by Dagon.3And when they of Ashdod arose early on the morrow, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the earth before the ark of the LORD. And they took Dagon, and set him in his place again.4And when they arose early on the morrow morning, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the ground before the ark of the LORD; and the head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands were cut off upon the threshold; only the stump of Dagon was left to him.5Therefore neither the priests of Dagon, nor any that come into Dagon' house, tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod unto this day.6But the hand of the LORD was heavy upon them of Ashdod, and he destroyed them, and smote them with emerods, even Ashdod and the coasts thereof.7And when the men of Ashdod saw that it was so, they said, The ark of the God of Israel shall not abide with us: for his hand is sore upon us, and upon Dagon our god.8They sent therefore and gathered all the lords of the Philistines unto them, and said, What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel? And they answered, Let the ark of the God of Israel be carried about unto Gath. And they carried the ark of the God of Israel about thither .9And it was so , that, after they had carried it about, the hand of the LORD was against the city with a very great destruction: and he smote the men of the city, both small and great, and they had emerods in their secret parts.10Therefore they sent the ark of God to Ekron. And it came to pass, as the ark of God came to Ekron, that the Ekronites cried out, saying, They have brought about the ark of the God of Israel to us, to slay us and our people.11So they sent and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines, and said, Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it go again to his own place, that it slay us not, and our people: for there was a deadly destruction throughout all the city; the hand of God was very heavy there.12And the men that died not were smitten with the emerods: and the cry of the city went up to heaven.
1 Samuel 5
New International Reader’s Version
The ark in Ashdod and Ekron
1The Philistines had captured the ark of God. They took it from Ebenezer to Ashdod.2They carried the ark into the temple of their god Dagon. They set it down beside the statue of Dagon.3The people of Ashdod got up early the next day. They saw the statue of Dagon. There it was, lying on the ground! It had fallen on its face in front of the ark of the LORD. So they picked up the statue of Dagon. They put it back in its place.4But the following morning when they got up, they saw the statue of Dagon. There it was, lying on the ground again! It had fallen on its face in front of the ark of the LORD. Its head and hands had been broken off. Only the body of the statue was left. Its head and hands were lying in the doorway of the temple.5That’s why to this day no one steps on the bottom part of the doorway of Dagon’s temple at Ashdod. Not even the priests of Dagon step there.6The LORD’s power was against the people of Ashdod and the settlements near it. He destroyed them. He made them suffer with growths in their bodies.7The people of Ashdod saw what was happening. They said, ‘The ark of the god of Israel must not stay here with us. His power is against us and against our god Dagon.’8So they called together all the rulers of the Philistines. They asked them, ‘What should we do with the ark of the god of Israel?’ The rulers answered, ‘Let the ark be moved to Gath.’ So they moved it.9But after the people of Ashdod had moved the ark, the LORD’s power was against Gath. That threw its people into a great panic. The LORD made them break out with growths in their bodies. It happened to young people and old people alike.10So the ark of God was sent to Ekron. As the ark was entering Ekron, the people of the city cried out. They shouted, ‘They’ve brought the ark of the god of Israel to us. They want to kill us and our people.’11So they called together all the rulers of the Philistines. They said, ‘Send the ark of the god of Israel away. Let it go back to its own place. If you don’t, it will kill us and our people.’ The death of so many people had filled the city with panic. God’s power was against the city.12Those who didn’t die suffered with growths in their bodies. The people of Ekron cried out to heaven for help.