1 Samuel 5
Evangelical Heritage Version
The Travels of the Ark
5 After the Philistines had captured God’s ark, they brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. 2 The Philistines took God’s ark and brought it into the house of Dagon[a] and set it beside Dagon. 3 When the people of Ashdod got up early the next day, there was Dagon—fallen facedown to the ground in front of the Ark of the Lord! So they took Dagon and set him in his place again. 4 When they got up early the following morning, it had happened again! There was Dagon, fallen facedown in front of the Ark of the Lord. The head of Dagon and both of his hands were broken off and were lying on the threshold. Only Dagon’s torso[b] was intact. 5 That is why the priests of Dagon and any people who enter Dagon’s temple in Ashdod do not step on the threshold of Dagon to this day.
6 Then the Lord’s hand was heavy against the people of Ashdod. He devastated them and struck them with tumors.[c] He struck Ashdod and its surrounding territory. 7 When the men of Ashdod saw what was taking place, they said, “The Ark of the God of Israel must not stay with us, because his hand is heavy on us and on our god Dagon.” 8 They called together a meeting of all the serens[d] 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 carried over to Gath.” So they carried the Ark of the God of Israel there. 9 But after they had carried it there, the Lord’s hand was against that city, and there was great panic. He struck the men of the city, both young and old,[e] so that tumors broke out on them. 10 So they sent God’s ark to Ekron.
When God’s ark came to Ekron, the people of Ekron cried out, “They have brought the Ark of the God of Israel here to kill us and our people.” 11 They called a meeting of all the serens of the Philistines, and they said, “Send the Ark of the God of Israel away. Let it go back to its own place, so that it does not kill us and our people.” Indeed, the threat of death caused panic throughout the whole city. The hand of God was very heavy there. 12 The men who did not die were struck with tumors, and the outcry from the city went up to heaven.
Footnotes
- 1 Samuel 5:2 Dagon was a grain god of the Philistines.
- 1 Samuel 5:4 The word torso is not in the Hebrew text, but it is supported by the ancient versions.
- 1 Samuel 5:6 Or swellings or hemorrhoids. The marginal notes to the Hebrew text suggest a euphemistic substitute. This supports the understanding that the affliction was something like anal tumors or hemorrhoids.
- 1 Samuel 5:8 Seren is a special word used only of the rulers of the five Philistine city states. It seems to be a Philistine term. It may be related to the Greek word tyrant, an autocratic ruler of a city state. Seren is a title like pharaoh or czar, which is applied to one specific class of rulers. Since this is a unique title, the EHV uses the transliteration seren rather than the traditional rendering lord.
- 1 Samuel 5:9 Or small and great or unimportant and important
1 Samuel 5
English Standard Version
The Philistines and the Ark
5 When the Philistines captured the ark of God, they brought it from (A)Ebenezer to (B)Ashdod. 2 Then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it into the house of Dagon and set it up beside (C)Dagon. 3 And when the people of Ashdod rose early the next day, behold, (D)Dagon had fallen face downward on the ground before the ark of the Lord. So they took Dagon and put him back in his place. 4 But when they rose early on the next morning, behold, Dagon had fallen face downward on the ground before the ark of the Lord, (E)and the head of Dagon and both his hands were lying cut off on the threshold. Only the trunk of Dagon was left to him. 5 This is why the priests of Dagon and all who enter the house of Dagon (F)do not tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod to this day.
6 (G)The hand of the Lord was heavy against the people of Ashdod, and he terrified and afflicted them with (H)tumors, both Ashdod and its territory. 7 And when the men of Ashdod saw how things were, they said, “The ark of the God of Israel must not remain with us, for his hand is hard against us and against Dagon our god.” 8 So they sent and gathered together all (I)the lords of the Philistines and said, “What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel?” They answered, “Let the ark of the God of Israel be brought around to Gath.” So they brought the ark of the God of Israel there. 9 But after they had brought it around, (J)the hand of the Lord was against the city, causing a very great panic, and he afflicted the men of the city, both young and old, so that (K)tumors broke out on them. 10 So they sent the ark of God to Ekron. But as soon as the ark of God came to Ekron, the people of Ekron cried out, “They have brought around to us the ark of the God of Israel to kill us and our people.” 11 (L)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 people.” For there was a deathly panic throughout the whole city. (M)The hand of God was very heavy there. 12 The men who did not die were struck with (N)tumors, and the cry of the city went up to heaven.
1 Samuel 5
New King James Version
The Philistines and the Ark
5 Then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it (A)from Ebenezer to Ashdod. 2 When the Philistines took the ark of God, they brought it into the house of (B)Dagon[a] and set it by Dagon. 3 And when the people of Ashdod arose early in the morning, there was Dagon, (C)fallen on its face to the earth before the ark of the Lord. So they took Dagon and (D)set it in its place again. 4 And when they arose early the next morning, there was Dagon, fallen on its face to the ground before the ark of the Lord. (E)The head of Dagon and both the palms of its hands were broken off on the threshold; only [b]Dagon’s torso was left of it. 5 Therefore neither the priests of Dagon nor any who come into Dagon’s house (F)tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod to this day.
6 But the (G)hand of the Lord was heavy on the people of Ashdod, and He (H)ravaged them and struck them with (I)tumors,[c] both Ashdod and its (J)territory. 7 And when the men of Ashdod saw how it was, they said, “The ark of the (K)God of Israel must not remain with us, for His hand is harsh toward us and Dagon our god.” 8 Therefore they sent and gathered to themselves all the (L)lords of the Philistines, 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 away to (M)Gath.” So they carried the ark of the God of Israel away. 9 So it was, after they had carried it away, that (N)the hand of the Lord was against the city with a very great destruction; and He struck the men of the city, both small and great, [d]and tumors broke out on them.
10 Therefore they sent the ark of God to Ekron. So it was, as the ark of God came to Ekron, that the Ekronites cried out, saying, “They have brought the ark of the God of Israel to us, to kill 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 back to its own place, so that it does not kill us 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 who did not die were stricken with the tumors, and the (O)cry of the city went up to heaven.
Footnotes
- 1 Samuel 5:2 A Philistine idol
- 1 Samuel 5:4 So with LXX, Syr., Tg., Vg.; MT Dagon
- 1 Samuel 5:6 Probably bubonic plague. LXX, Vg. add And in the midst of their land rats sprang up, and there was a great death panic in the city.
- 1 Samuel 5:9 Vg. and they had tumors in their secret parts
1 Samuelsboken 5
Svenska Folkbibeln 2015
Herrens ark i Dagons tempel
5 Filisteerna tog Guds ark och förde den från Eben-Ezer till Ashdod[a]. 2 (A) De bar in Guds ark i Dagons[b] tempel och ställde den bredvid Dagon. 3 När ashdoditerna tidigt nästa dag kom dit, fick de se Dagon ligga framstupa på marken framför Herrens ark. Då tog de Dagon och reste upp honom igen på hans plats. 4 Men när de kom dit tidigt nästa morgon, såg de återigen Dagon ligga framstupa framför Herrens ark. Dagons huvud och hans båda händer[c] låg avbrutna på tröskeln, bara kroppen satt kvar på honom. 5 I Ashdod trampar man därför än i dag inte på Dagons tröskel[d], varken Dagons präster eller någon annan som går in i Dagons tempel.
6 Herrens hand var tung över ashdoditerna. Han sände förödelse[e] bland dem och slog dem med bölder[f] i Ashdod och bygden däromkring. 7 När Ashdods invånare såg detta sade de: ”Israels Guds ark får inte stanna hos oss, för hans hand är tung över oss och vår gud Dagon.” 8 De sände bud och samlade alla filisteernas furstar och sade: ”Vad ska vi göra med Israels Guds ark?” De svarade: ”Låt Israels Guds ark flyttas till Gat.” Då flyttade de Israels Guds ark dit. 9 Men när de hade flyttat den dit, sände Herrens hand mycket stor förvirring i staden. Han slog stadens folk, både små och stora, med bölder.
10 Då sände de Guds ark till Ekron. Men när Guds ark kom till Ekron, ropade ekroniterna: ”De har skickat hit Israels Guds ark till oss för att döda oss och vårt folk!” 11 De sände bud och samlade alla filisteernas furstar och sade: ”Sänd bort Israels Guds ark, så att den får komma tillbaka till sin plats igen och inte dödar oss och vårt folk.” En dödlig förvirring hade nämligen uppstått i hela staden. Guds hand låg mycket tung över den. 12 De av invånarna som inte dog drabbades av bölder, och ropet från staden steg mot himlen.
Footnotes
- 5:1 Ashdod Stad nära kusten, 5 mil väster om slagfältet, där filisteiska lämningar har grävts ut.
- 5:2 Dagon Orientalisk sädesgud, enligt en äldre teori med fiskstjärt (hebr. dag) i filisteisk version.
- 5:4 Dagons huvud … händer De mer synliga delarna tillverkades ibland i ädlare material än den övriga statyn (jfr Dan 2:32 med not) varför fogen blev ömtålig. Halshuggning symboliserade ett totalt nederlag (jfr 17:51f).
- 5:5 tröskel Vidskepelsen kring tröskeln var senare allmänt spridd (Sef 1:9).
- 5:6 förödelse Annan översättning: ”skräck”.
- 5:6 bölder Grundtextens ord antyder att det kan ha gällt bölder i underlivet. Septuaginta nämner också råttor i denna vers (jfr 6:4).
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Svenska Folkbibeln 2015, Copyright © 2015 by Svenska Folkbibeln Foundation