1 Samuel 5
King James Version
5 And the Philistines took the ark of God, and brought it from Ebenezer unto Ashdod.
2 When the Philistines took the ark of God, they brought it into the house of Dagon, and set it by Dagon.
3 And when they of Ashdod arose early on the morrow, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the earth before the ark of the Lord. And they took Dagon, and set him in his place again.
4 And when they arose early on the morrow morning, behold, Dagon was fallen upon 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 upon the threshold; only the stump of Dagon was left to him.
5 Therefore neither the priests of Dagon, nor any that come into Dagon's house, tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod unto this day.
6 But the hand of the Lord was heavy upon them of Ashdod, and he destroyed them, and smote them with emerods, even Ashdod and the coasts thereof.
7 And when the men of Ashdod saw that it was so, they said, The ark of the God of Israel shall not abide with us: for his hand is sore upon us, and upon Dagon our god.
8 They sent therefore and gathered all the lords of the Philistines unto them, and said, What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel? And they answered, Let the ark of the God of Israel be carried about unto Gath. And they carried the ark of the God of Israel about thither.
9 And it was so, that, after they had carried it about, the hand of the Lord was against the city with a very great destruction: and he smote the men of the city, both small and great, and they had emerods in their secret parts.
10 Therefore they sent the ark of God to Ekron. And it came to pass, as the ark of God came to Ekron, that the Ekronites cried out, saying, They have brought about the ark of the God of Israel to us, to slay us and our people.
11 So they sent and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines, and said, Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it go again to his own place, that it slay us not, and our people: for there was a deadly destruction throughout all the city; the hand of God was very heavy there.
12 And the men that died not were smitten with the emerods: and the cry of the city went up to heaven.
1 Samuel 5
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The Philistines and the Ark
5 When the Philistines captured the ark of God, they brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod;(A) 2 then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it into the house of Dagon and placed it beside Dagon.(B) 3 When the people of Ashdod rose early the next day, there was Dagon, fallen on his face to the ground before the ark of the Lord. So they took Dagon and put him back in his place.(C) 4 But when they rose early on the next morning, Dagon had fallen on his face to the ground before the ark of the Lord, and the head of Dagon and both his hands were lying cut off upon the threshold; only the trunk of[a] Dagon was left to him.(D) 5 This is why the priests of Dagon and all who enter the house of Dagon do not step on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod to this day.
6 The hand of the Lord was heavy upon the people of Ashdod, and he terrified and struck them with tumors, both in Ashdod and in its territory.(E) 7 And when the inhabitants of Ashdod saw how things were, they said, “The ark of the God of Israel must not remain with us, for his hand is heavy on us and on our god Dagon.” 8 So they sent and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines and said, “What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel?” The inhabitants of Gath replied, “Let the ark of God be moved on to us.”[b] So they moved the ark of the God of Israel to Gath.[c](F) 9 But after they had brought it to Gath,[d] the hand of the Lord was against the city, causing a very great panic; he struck the inhabitants of the city, both young and old, so that tumors broke out on them.(G) 10 So they sent the ark of the God of Israel[e] to Ekron. But when the ark of God came to Ekron, the people of Ekron cried out, “Why[f] have they brought around to us[g] the ark of the God of Israel to kill us and our[h] people?” 11 They sent therefore and gathered together 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, that it may not kill us and our[i] people.” For there was a deathly panic throughout the whole city. The hand of God was very heavy there;(H) 12 those who did not die were stricken with tumors, and the cry of the city went up to heaven.
Footnotes
- 5.4 Gk Syr Tg Vg: Heb lacks the trunk of
- 5.8 Gk Compare Q ms: MT They replied, “Let the ark of the God of Israel be brought around to Gath.”
- 5.8 Gk: Heb lacks to Gath
- 5.9 Q ms: MT lacks to Gath
- 5.10 Q ms Gk mss: MT lacks of Israel
- 5.10 Q ms Gk: MT lacks Why
- 5.10 Heb me
- 5.10 Heb me and my
- 5.11 Heb me and my
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.