Βασιλειῶν Αʹ 5
1 καὶ ἀλλόφυλοι ἔλαβον τὴν κιβωτὸν τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ εἰσήνεγκαν αὐτὴν ἐξ Αβεννεζερ εἰς Ἄζωτον
Then the Philistines took the ark of God, and they transported it from the Stone of Assistance into Ashdod.
2 καὶ ἔλαβον ἀλλόφυλοι τὴν κιβωτὸν κυρίου καὶ εἰσήνεγκαν αὐτὴν εἰς οἶκον Δαγων καὶ παρέστησαν αὐτὴν παρὰ Δαγων
And the Philistines took the ark of God, and carried it into the temple of Dagon. And they stationed it beside Dagon.
3 καὶ ὤρθρισαν οἱ Ἀζώτιοι καὶ εἰσῆλθον εἰς οἶκον Δαγων καὶ εἶδον καὶ ἰδοὺ Δαγων πεπτωκὼς ἐπὶ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ ἐνώπιον κιβωτοῦ τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ ἤγειραν τὸν Δαγων καὶ κατέστησαν εἰς τὸν τόπον αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐβαρύνθη χεὶρ κυρίου ἐπὶ τοὺς Ἀζωτίους καὶ ἐβασάνισεν αὐτοὺς καὶ ἐπάταξεν αὐτοὺς εἰς τὰς ἕδρας αὐτῶν τὴν Ἄζωτον καὶ τὰ ὅρια αὐτῆς
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 καὶ ἐγένετο ὅτε ὤρθρισαν τὸ πρωί καὶ ἰδοὺ Δαγων πεπτωκὼς ἐπὶ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ ἐνώπιον κιβωτοῦ διαθήκης κυρίου καὶ ἡ κεφαλὴ Δαγων καὶ ἀμφότερα τὰ ἴχνη χειρῶν αὐτοῦ ἀφῃρημένα ἐπὶ τὰ ἐμπρόσθια αμαφεθ ἕκαστον καὶ ἀμφότεροι οἱ καρποὶ τῶν χειρῶν αὐτοῦ πεπτωκότες ἐπὶ τὸ πρόθυρον πλὴν ἡ ῥάχις Δαγων ὑπελείφθη
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 διὰ τοῦτο οὐκ ἐπιβαίνουσιν οἱ ἱερεῖς Δαγων καὶ πᾶς ὁ εἰσπορευόμενος εἰς οἶκον Δαγων ἐπὶ βαθμὸν οἴκου Δαγων ἐν Ἀζώτῳ ἕως τῆς ἡμέρας ταύτης ὅτι ὑπερβαίνοντες ὑπερβαίνουσιν
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 καὶ ἐβαρύνθη χεὶρ κυρίου ἐπὶ Ἄζωτον καὶ ἐπήγαγεν αὐτοῖς καὶ ἐξέζεσεν αὐτοῖς εἰς τὰς ναῦς καὶ μέσον τῆς χώρας αὐτῆς ἀνεφύησαν μύες καὶ ἐγένετο σύγχυσις θανάτου μεγάλη ἐν τῇ πόλει
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 καὶ εἶδον οἱ ἄνδρες Ἀζώτου ὅτι οὕτως καὶ λέγουσιν ὅτι οὐ καθήσεται κιβωτὸς τοῦ θεοῦ Ισραηλ μεθ’ ἡμῶν ὅτι σκληρὰ χεὶρ αὐτοῦ ἐφ’ ἡμᾶς καὶ ἐπὶ Δαγων θεὸν ἡμῶν
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 καὶ ἀποστέλλουσιν καὶ συνάγουσιν τοὺς σατράπας τῶν ἀλλοφύλων πρὸς αὐτοὺς καὶ λέγουσιν τί ποιήσωμεν κιβωτῷ θεοῦ Ισραηλ καὶ λέγουσιν οἱ Γεθθαῖοι μετελθέτω κιβωτὸς τοῦ θεοῦ πρὸς ἡμᾶς καὶ μετῆλθεν κιβωτὸς τοῦ θεοῦ εἰς Γεθθα
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 καὶ ἐγενήθη μετὰ τὸ μετελθεῖν αὐτὴν καὶ γίνεται χεὶρ κυρίου ἐν τῇ πόλει τάραχος μέγας σφόδρα καὶ ἐπάταξεν τοὺς ἄνδρας τῆς πόλεως ἀπὸ μικροῦ ἕως μεγάλου καὶ ἐπάταξεν αὐτοὺς εἰς τὰς ἕδρας αὐτῶν καὶ ἐποίησαν ἑαυτοῖς οἱ Γεθθαῖοι ἕδρας
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 καὶ ἐξαποστέλλουσιν τὴν κιβωτὸν τοῦ θεοῦ εἰς Ἀσκαλῶνα καὶ ἐγενήθη ὡς εἰσῆλθεν κιβωτὸς θεοῦ εἰς Ἀσκαλῶνα καὶ ἐβόησαν οἱ Ἀσκαλωνῖται λέγοντες τί ἀπεστρέψατε πρὸς ἡμᾶς τὴν κιβωτὸν τοῦ θεοῦ Ισραηλ θανατῶσαι ἡμᾶς καὶ τὸν λαὸν ἡμῶν
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 καὶ ἐξαποστέλλουσιν καὶ συνάγουσιν τοὺς σατράπας τῶν ἀλλοφύλων καὶ εἶπον ἐξαποστείλατε τὴν κιβωτὸν τοῦ θεοῦ Ισραηλ καὶ καθισάτω εἰς τὸν τόπον αὐτῆς καὶ οὐ μὴ θανατώσῃ ἡμᾶς καὶ τὸν λαὸν ἡμῶν ὅτι ἐγενήθη σύγχυσις θανάτου ἐν ὅλῃ τῇ πόλει βαρεῖα σφόδρα ὡς εἰσῆλθεν κιβωτὸς θεοῦ Ισραηλ ἐκεῖ
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 καὶ οἱ ζῶντες καὶ οὐκ ἀποθανόντες ἐπλήγησαν εἰς τὰς ἕδρας καὶ ἀνέβη ἡ κραυγὴ τῆς πόλεως εἰς τὸν οὐρανόν
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.
