1 Samuel 5:9-11

Living Bible

⁹ But when the Ark arrived at Gath, the Lord began destroying its people, young and old, with the plague, and there was a great panic. ¹⁰ So they sent the Ark to Ekron, but when the people of Ekron saw it coming they cried out, “They are bringing the Ark of the God of Israel here to kill us too!”

¹¹ So they summoned the mayors again and begged them to send the Ark back to its own country, lest the entire city die. For the plague had already begun, and great fear was sweeping across the city.