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 into 3the house of Dagon, and placed it beside Dagon. 3When the Ashdodites got up early the next day, behold, 4Dagon had fallen on his face to the ground before the ark of the Lord. So they took Dagon and 5set him back in his place. 4But when they got up 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 palms of his hands were cut off on the threshold; 7only the torso of Dagon was left. 5For that reason neither the priests of Dagon nor any who enter Dagon’s house 8step on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod to this day.

6Now 9the hand of the Lord was heavy on the Ashdodites, and 10He made them feel devastated and struck 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, because His hand is severe on us and on Dagon our god.” 8So they sent word and 12gathered all the governors of the Philistines to them, and said, “What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel?” And they said, “Have the ark of the God of Israel 13brought to Gath.” So they took the ark of the God of Israel away. 9After they had taken it away, 14the hand of the Lord was against the city, creating a very great panic; and He struck the people of the city, from the young to the old, so that 15tumors 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 to 16us, to kill 17us and 18our people!” 11Therefore they 19sent word and gathered all the governors 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 20us and 21our people!” For there was a deadly panic throughout the city; 22the hand of God was very heavy there. 12And the people who did not die were struck with tumors, and 23the outcry of the city went up to heaven.