1 Samuel 5

Capture of the Ark Provokes God

1Now the Philistines took the ark of God and 1brought it from Ebenezer to 2Ashdod. 2Then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it to 3the house of Dagon and set it by Dagon. 3When the Ashdodites arose early the next morning, behold, 4Dagon had fallen on his face to the ground before the ark of the Lord. So they took Dagon and 5set him in his place again. 4But when they arose early the next morning, behold, 6Dagon had fallen on his face to the ground before the ark of the Lord. And the head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands were cut off on the threshold; 7only the trunk of Dagon was left to him. 5Therefore neither the priests of Dagon nor all who enter Dagon’s house 8tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod to this day.

6Now 9the hand of the Lord was heavy on the Ashdodites, and 10He ravaged them and smote them with 11tumors, both Ashdod and its territories. 7When the men of Ashdod saw that it was so, they said, “The ark of the God of Israel must not remain with us, for His hand is severe on us and on Dagon our god.” 8So they sent and 12gathered all the lords of the Philistines to them and said, “What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel?” And they said, “Let the ark of the God of Israel be brought around to Gath.” And they brought the ark of the God of Israel around. 9After they had brought it around, 13the hand of the Lord was against the city with very great confusion; and He smote the men of the city, both young and old, so that 14tumors broke out on them. 10So they sent the ark of God to Ekron. And as the ark of God came to Ekron the Ekronites cried out, saying, “They have brought the ark of the God of Israel around to 15us, to kill 16us and 17our people.” 11They 18sent therefore and gathered all the lords of the Philistines and said, “Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it return to its own place, so that it will not kill 19us and 20our people.” For there was a deadly confusion throughout the city; 21the hand of God was very heavy there. 12And the men who did not die were smitten with tumors and 22the cry of the city went up to heaven.