1 Samuel 5

1 Then the Philistims tooke the Arke of God and caried it from Eben-ezer vnto Ashdod,

Then the Philistines took the ark of God, and they transported it from the Stone of Assistance into Ashdod.

2 Euen the Philistims tooke ye Arke of God, and brought it into the house of Dagon, and set it by Dagon.

And the Philistines took the ark of God, and carried it into the temple of Dagon. And they stationed it beside Dagon.

3 And when they of Ashdod rose the next day in the morning, beholde, Dagon was fallen vpon his face on the ground before the Arke of the Lord, and they tooke vp Dagon, and set him in his place againe.

And when the Ashdodites had risen up at first light on the next day, behold, Dagon was lying prone on the ground before the ark of the Lord. And they took Dagon, and they set him again in his place.

4 Also they rose vp earely in the morning the next day, and beholde, Dagon was fallen vpon his face on the ground before the Arke of the Lord, and the head of Dagon and the two palmes of his hands were cut off vpon the thresholde: onely the stumpe of Dagon was left to him.

And again, on the next day, rising up in the morning, they found Dagon lying on his face upon the ground, before the ark of the Lord. But the head of Dagon, and both palms of his hands had been cut off upon the threshold.

5 Therefore the Priests of Dagon, and all that come into Dagons house tread not on the thresholde of Dagon in Ashdod, vnto this day.

Moreover, only the trunk of Dagon remained in its place. For this reason, the priests of Dagon, and all who enter his temple, do not tread upon the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod, even to this day.

6 But the hand of the Lord was heauie vpon them of Ashdod, and destroyed them, and smote them with the emerods, both Ashdod, and the coastes thereof.

Now the hand of the Lord weighed heavily upon the Ashdodites, and he destroyed them. And he struck Ashdod and its borders at the inner part of the buttocks. And in the villages and fields, in the midst of that region, mice rose up and burst forth. And this caused a great tumult unto death in the city.

7 And when the men of Ashdod sawe this, they sayd, Let not the Arke of the God of Israel abide with vs: for his hand is sore vpon vs and vpon Dagon our god.

Then the men of Ashdod, seeing this kind of plague, said: “The ark of the God of Israel shall not remain with us. For his hand is harsh, over us and over Dagon, our god.”

8 They sent therefore and gathered all the princes of the Philistims vnto them, and sayde, What shall we doe with the Arke of the God of Israel? And they answered, Let the Arke of the God of Israel be caried about vnto Gath: and they caried the Arke of the God of Israel about.

And sending, they gathered together all the princes of the Philistines to them, and they said, “What shall we do about the ark of the God of Israel?” And the Gathites responded, “Let the ark of the God of Israel be led around.” And they led the ark of the God of Israel around.

9 And when they had caried it about, the hand of the Lord was against the citie with a very great destruction, and he smote the men of the citie both small and great, and they had emerods in their secret partes.

And as they were carrying it around, the hand of the Lord fell upon every single city with an exceedingly great slaughter. And he struck down the men of each and every city, from the small even to the great. And cysts were festering at their buttocks. And the Gathites took counsel, and they made for themselves seat covers from pelts.

10 Therefore they sent the Arke of God to Ekron: and assoone as the Arke of God came to Ekron, the Ekronites cryed out, saying, They haue brought the Arke of the God of Israel to vs to slay vs and our people.

Therefore, they sent the ark of God into Ekron. And when the ark of God had arrived at Ekron, the Ekronites cried out, saying, “They have brought the ark of the God of Israel to us, so that it may kill us and our people!”

11 Therefore they sent, and gathered together all the princes of the Philistims and sayd, Sende away the Arke of the God of Israel, and let it returne to his owne place, that it slay vs not and our people: for there was a destruction and death throughout all the citie, and the hand of God was very sore there.

And so they sent and gathered together all the princes of the Philistines, and they said: “Release the ark of the God of Israel, and return it to its own place. And let it not kill us, with our people.”

12 And the men that dyed not, were smitten with the emerods: and the cry of the citie went vp to heauen.

For the fear of death fell upon every single city, and the hand of God was very heavy. Also, the men who did not die were being afflicted in the inner part of the buttocks. And the wailing of each city was ascending to heaven.