1 Samuel 5

1 Now the Philistines, having taken the ark of God, took it with them from Eben-ezer to Ashdod.

Now the Philistines had captured the ark of God, and they brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod.

2 They took the ark of God into the house of Dagon and put it by the side of Dagon.

The Philistines took the ark of God, brought it into the house of Dagon, and set it up beside Dagon.

3 And when the people of Ashdod got up early on the morning after, they saw that Dagon had come down to the earth on his face before the ark of the Lord. And they took Dagon up and put him in his place again.

When the people of Ashdod got up early the next day, behold, Dagon had fallen facedown on the ground before the ark of Yahweh. So they took Dagon and set him up in his place again.

4 And when they got up early on the morning after, Dagon had come down to the earth on his face before the ark of the Lord; and his head and his hands were broken off on the doorstep; only the base was in its place.

But when they got up early the next morning, behold, Dagon had fallen facedown on the ground before the ark of Yahweh. The head of Dagon and both of his hands were lying cut off in the doorway. Only the trunk of Dagon remained.

5 So to this day no priest of Dagon, or any who come into Dagon's house, will put his foot on the doorstep of the house of Dagon in Ashdod.

This is why, even today, the priests of Dagon and anyone who comes into Dagon's house does not step on the doorway of Dagon in Ashdod.

6 But the hand of the Lord was hard on the people of Ashdod and he sent disease on them through all the country of Ashdod.

Yahweh's hand was heavy upon the people of Ashdod. He destroyed them and afflicted them with tumors, both Ashdod and its territories.

7 And when the men of Ashdod saw how it was, they said, Let not the ark of the God of Israel be with us, for his hand is hard on us and on Dagon our god.

When the men of Ashdod realized what was happening, they said, “The ark of the God of Israel must not stay with us, because his hand is hard against us and against Dagon our god.”

8 So they sent for all the lords of the Philistines to come together there, and said, What are we to do with the ark of the God of Israel? And their answer was, Let the ark of the God of Israel be taken away to Gath. So they took the ark of the God of Israel away.

So they sent for and gathered together all of the rulers of the Philistines; they said to them, “What should we do with the ark of the God of Israel?” They answered, “Let the ark of the God of Israel be brought around to Gath.” So they carried the ark of the God of Israel there.

9 But after they had taken it away, the hand of the Lord was stretched out against the town for its destruction: and the signs of disease came out on all the men of the town, small and great.

But after they brought it around, Yahweh's hand was against the city, causing a very great confusion. He afflicted the men of the city, both small and great; and tumors broke out on them.

10 So they sent the ark of God to Ekron. And when the ark of God came to Ekron, the people of the town made an outcry, saying, They have sent the ark of the God of Israel to us for the destruction of us and of our people.

So they sent the ark of God to Ekron. But as soon as the ark of God came into Ekron, the Ekronites cried out, saying, “They have brought to us the ark of the God of Israel to kill us and our people.”

11 So they sent and got together all the lords of the Philistines, and they said, Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it go back to its place, so that it may not be the cause of death to us and to our people: for there was a great fear of death through all the town; the hand of God was very hard on them there.

So they sent for and gathered together all of the rulers of the Philistines; they said to them, “Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it return to its own place, so that it does not kill us and our people.” For there was a deathly panic throughout the city; the hand of God was very heavy there.

12 And those men who were not overtaken by death were cruelly diseased: and the cry of the town went up to heaven.

The men who did not die were afflicted with the tumors, and the cry of the city went up to the heavens.