1 Samuel 5

1Now the Philistines had taken the ark of God, and they brought it from Eben-ezer unto Ashdod.

2And the Philistines took the ark of God, and brought it into the house of Dagon, and set it by Dagon.

3And when they of Ashdod arose early on the morrow, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the ground before the ark of YHWH. And they took Dagon, and set him in his place again.

4And when they arose early on the morrow morning, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the ground before the ark of YHWH; and the head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands lay cut off upon the threshold; only the trunk of Dagon was left to him.

5Therefore neither the priests of Dagon, nor any that come into Dagon’s house, tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod unto this day.

6But the hand of YHWH was heavy upon them of Ashdod, and He destroyed them, and smote them with emerods, even Ashdod and the borders thereof.

7And when the men of Ashdod saw that it was so, they said: ‘The ark of the God of Israel shall not abide with us; for His hand is sore upon us, and upon Dagon our god.’

8They sent therefore and gathered all the lords of the Philistines unto them, and said: ‘What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel?’ And they answered: ‘Let the ark of the God of Israel be carried about unto Gath.’ And they carried the ark of the God of Israel about thither.

9And it was so, that, after they had carried it about, the hand of YHWH was against the city with a very great discomfiture; and He smote the men of the city, both small and great, and emerods broke out upon them.

10So they sent the ark of God to Ekron. And it came to pass, as the ark of God came to Ekron, that the Ekronites cried out, saying: ‘They have brought about the ark of the God of Israel to us, to slay us and our people.’

11They sent therefore and gathered 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 own place, that it slay us not, and our people’; for there was a deadly discomfiture throughout all the city; the hand of God was very heavy there.

12And the men that died not were smitten with the emerods; and the cry of the city went up to heaven.