1 Samuel
Chapter 5
1 The Philistines captured God’s chest and moved it from Ebenezer to Ashdod.
2 When the Philistines captured the ark of God, they brought it into Dagon’s temple and placed it next to Dagon.
3 When the people of Ashdod got up the next morning, they saw Dagon had fallen face down on the ground before God’s ark. They put Dagon back in his spot.
4 When they got up the next morning, they saw that Dagon had fallen face down on the ground before God’s ark; Dagon’s head and both hands were cut off and lying on the doorstep, leaving only his body.
5 So the priests of Dagon and anyone who enters Dagon’s temple in Ashdod do not step on Dagon’s doorway even now.
6 God’s hand was heavy on the people of Ashdod; he ruined them and struck them with tumors, both in Ashdod and its surrounding areas.
7 When the people of Ashdod noticed this, they said, “The ark of Israel’s God can’t stay with us because his power is too much for us and for Dagon, our god.”
8 So they called together all the Philistine rulers and asked, “What should we do with the ark of the God of Israel?” They decided, “Take the ark of the God of Israel to Gath.” Then they moved the ark of the God of Israel there.
9 And it happened that after they moved it, God brought a terrible disaster upon the city. He struck the people, young and old, and they developed tumors in their private areas.
10 So they sent God’s ark to Ekron. When God’s ark arrived in Ekron, the people of Ekron shouted, “They have brought the ark of Israel’s God to us to kill us and our people.”
11 So they called all the leaders of the Philistines and said, “Send back the ark of the God of Israel, so it can return to where it belongs and not kill us and our people.” There was fatal trouble all over the city; God’s power was very strong there.
12 The men who did not die were struck with tumors, and the city’s cry reached up to heaven.