The Ark Among the Philistines
1The Philistines took the ark of God and carried it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. 2Then they took the ark of God into the temple of Dagon and set it beside Dagon. 3When the people of Ashdod got up early the next day, there was Dagon, fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of Yahweh. They picked Dagon up and put him back in his place. 4But when they rose early the following morning, there was Dagon again, fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of Yahweh — his head and both hands broken off, lying on the threshold. Only the trunk of Dagon was left. 5That is why to this day the priests of Dagon, and everyone else who enters Dagon’s temple in Ashdod, do not step on the threshold of Dagon. 6The hand of Yahweh was heavy on the people of Ashdod, and he devastated them, striking them with tumors, both Ashdod itself and its territory. 7When the men of Ashdod saw what was happening, they said, “The ark of the God of Israel must not stay with us, for his hand is heavy on us and on Dagon our god.” 8So they sent word and gathered all the rulers of the Philistines and asked, “What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel?” They answered, “Let the ark of the God of Israel be moved to Gath.” So they moved the ark of the God of Israel there. 9But after they had moved it, the hand of Yahweh came against that city too, causing a very great panic. He struck the people of the city, both young and old, and tumors broke out on them. 10So they sent the ark of God to Ekron. But as the ark of God came into Ekron, the people of Ekron cried out, “They have moved the ark of the God of Israel to us, to kill us and our people!” 11They sent word and gathered all the rulers of the Philistines and said, “Send the ark of the God of Israel away — let it go back to its own place, so that it will not kill us and our people.” For a deadly panic had spread through the whole city; the hand of God was very heavy there. 12Those who did not die were afflicted with tumors, and the outcry of the city went up to heaven.
