Βασιλειῶν Αʹ 5

1 καὶ ἀλλόφυλοι ἔλαβον τὴν κιβωτὸν τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ εἰσήνεγκαν αὐτὴν ἐξ Αβεννεζερ εἰς Ἄζωτον

After the Philistines captured the Ark of God, they took it from Ebenezer to Ashdod.

2 καὶ ἔλαβον ἀλλόφυλοι τὴν κιβωτὸν κυρίου καὶ εἰσήνεγκαν αὐτὴν εἰς οἶκον Δαγων καὶ παρέστησαν αὐτὴν παρὰ Δαγων

They brought the Ark of God into the Temple of Dagon and placed it next to 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

When the people of Ashdod got up early the next day, they saw Dagon had fallen on his face in front of the Ark of the Lord. So they took Dagon and set him back up.

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

When they got up early the next morning, they saw Dagon had fallen on his face in front of the Ark of the Lord, with his head and hands broken off lying on the doorstep. Only his body remained intact.

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

(That's why the priests of Dagon, and all who enter the temple of Dagon in Ashdod, don't tread on the doorstep, even up to now.)

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

The Lord punished the people of Ashdod and its surrounding area, devastating them and plaguing them with swellings.

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

When the people of Ashdod saw what was going on, they said, “We can't let the Ark of the God of Israel remain here with us, because he is punishing us and 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

So they sent for all the Philistine rulers and asked them, “What should we do with the Ark of the God of Israel?” “Take the Ark of the God of Israel to Gath,” they replied. So they moved it to Gath.

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

But once they'd moved the Ark to Gath, the Lord also took action against that town, throwing it into great confusion and attacking the people of the town, young and old, with a plague of swellings.

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

So they sent the Ark of God to Ekron, but as soon as it arrived, the leaders of Ekron shouted, “They've moved the Ark of the God of Israel here to 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

So they sent for all the Philistine rulers and said, “Send the Ark of the God of Israel away, back to where it came from, otherwise it's going to kill us and our people.” People were dying throughout the town, creating terrible panic, for God's punishment was very hard.

12 καὶ οἱ ζῶντες καὶ οὐκ ἀποθανόντες ἐπλήγησαν εἰς τὰς ἕδρας καὶ ἀνέβη ἡ κραυγὴ τῆς πόλεως εἰς τὸν οὐρανόν

Those who didn't die were plagued with swellings, and the cry for help from the town reached up to heaven.