1 Samuel 5
International Children’s Bible
Trouble for the Philistines
5 After the Philistines had captured the Ark of the Covenant of God, they took it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. 2 They carried it into Dagon’s temple and put it next to Dagon. 3 The people of Ashdod rose early the next morning. They found that Dagon had fallen on his face on the ground. He was lying before the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord. So the people of Ashdod put Dagon back in his place. 4 The next morning the people of Ashdod rose from sleep. And again they found Dagon on the ground! He had fallen down before the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord. His head and hands had broken off and were lying in the doorway. Only his body was still in one piece. 5 So, even today, Dagon’s priests and others who enter his temple at Ashdod refuse to step on the doorsill.
6 The Lord punished the people of Ashdod and their neighbors. He gave them much trouble. He gave them growths on their skin. 7 The people of Ashdod saw what was happening. They said, “The Ark of the Covenant of the God of Israel can’t stay with us. God is punishing us and Dagon our god.” 8 The people of Ashdod called all five Philistine kings together. They asked them, “What should we do with the Ark of the Covenant of the God of Israel?”
The rulers answered, “Move the Ark of the Covenant of the God of Israel to Gath.” So the Philistines moved it to Gath.
9 But after they had moved it to Gath, the Lord punished that city also. He made the people very afraid. God troubled both old and young people in Gath. He caused them to have growths on their skin. 10 Then the Philistines sent the Ark of the Covenant of God to Ekron.
But when it came into Ekron, the people of Ekron yelled. They said, “Why are you bringing the Ark of the Covenant of the God of Israel to our city? Do you want to kill us and our people?” 11 The people of Ekron called all the kings of the Philistines together. They said to the kings, “Send the Ark of the Covenant of the God of Israel back to its place. Do it before it kills us and our people!” They were very afraid. God’s punishment was very terrible there. 12 The people who did not die were troubled with growths on their skin. So the people of Ekron cried loudly 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, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.
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