1 Samuel 5
1 After the army of the Philistia people-group captured God’s sacred chest in Ebenezer [town], they took it to Ashdod [which is one of their biggest cities].
And [the] Philistines they took [the] ark of God and they brought it from Eben-ezer Ashdod towards.
2 They carried it into the temple of [their god] Dagon, and placed it alongside a statue of Dagon.
And they took [the] Philistines [the] ark of God and they brought it [the] house of Dagon and they placed it beside Dagon.
3 But early the next morning, when the people of Ashdod [went to see it, they saw that] the statue had fallen on its face in front of Yahweh’s sacred chest! So they set the statue up in its place again.
And they rose early [the] Ashdodites from [the] next day and there! Dagon [was] fallen to face its [the] ground towards before [the] ark of Yahweh and they took Dagon and they returned it to place its.
4 But the following morning, [they saw that] it had fallen down in front of the sacred chest again. But this time, the statue’s head and hands had broken off, and were lying in the doorway. Only its body remained intact/unbroken.
And they rose early in the morning from [the] next day and there! Dagon [was] fallen to face its [the] ground towards before [the] ark of Yahweh and [the] head of Dagon and [the] two - [the] palms of hands its were cut off to the threshold only Dagon it remained on it.
5 That is the reason that since that time, the priests of Dagon and everyone else who enters the temple of Dagon in Ashdod do not step on the doorsill [where the hands and head of Dagon fell].
There-fore not they tread [the] priests of Dagon and all those [who] go [the] house of Dagon on [the] threshold of Dagon in Ashdod until the day this.
6 Then Yahweh [SYN] powerfully caused the people of Ashdod and the people who lived in nearby villages to have (a very great plague/serious illness) of tumors.
And it was heavy [the] hand of Yahweh against the Ashdodites and he devastated them and he struck them (with tumors *Q(K)*) Ashdod and territories its.
7 The men of Ashdod realized why this was happening, and they cried out, “The god of the Israeli people is punishing us and is also punishing our god Dagon. So we cannot allow the sacred chest of the god of the Israelis to remain here!”
And they saw [the] people of Ashdod that so and they said not it will remain [the] ark of [the] God of Israel with us for it is hard hand his on us and on Dagon God our.
8 They summoned the five kings of the Philistia people-group, and asked them, “What should we do with the sacred chest of the god of the Israelis?” The kings replied, “Take the sacred chest to Gath [city].” So they moved it to Gath.
And they sent and they gathered all [the] rulers of [the] Philistines to them and they said what? will we do to [the] ark of [the] God of Israel and they said Gath let it go round [the] ark of [the] God of Israel and they brought round [the] ark of [the] God of Israel.
9 But after they took it to Gath, Yahweh powerfully struck the people of that city also, with the result that many men, including young men and old men, got tumors on their skin. Then the people became very afraid.
And it was after - they had brought round it and it was [the] hand of Yahweh - on the city panic great exceedingly and he struck [the] men of the city from young and unto [the] old and they broke out to them (tumors. *Q(K)*)
10 So they took the sacred chest to Ekron [city]. But when the men carried the sacred chest into Ekron, the people there cried out, “Why are you bringing the sacred chest of the God of the Israelis into our city [RHQ]? [By doing that] you will cause us and the rest of our people to die!”
And they sent [the] ark of God Ekron and it was when went [the] ark of God Ekron and they cried out the Ekronites saying they have brought round to me [the] ark of [the] God of Israel to kill me and people my.
11 The people were terrified/in panic because [they knew that] God was starting to punish them severely. So they summoned the [five] kings of the Philistia people-group again, and [pleaded with them], saying, “Take this sacred chest of the god of the Israelis back to its own place! If you do not do that quickly, we will all die!”
And they sent and they gathered all [the] rulers of [the] Philistines and they said send away [the] ark of [the] God of Israel so may it return to own place its and not it will kill me and people my for it was panic of death in all the city it was heavy exceedingly [the] hand of God there.
12 Some of the people in Ekron had already died, and the rest of the people were suffering because of tumors on their skin. So they all cried out to their gods [MTY] [to help them].
And the men who not they died they were struck (with the tumors *Q(K)*) and it went up [the] cry for help of the city the heavens.
