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 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
Nueva Traducción Viviente
El arca en territorio filisteo
5 Después de que los filisteos capturaran el arca de Dios, la llevaron del campo de batalla en Ebenezer hasta la ciudad de Asdod. 2 Llevaron el arca de Dios al templo del dios Dagón y la pusieron junto a una estatua de Dagón. 3 Pero cuando los ciudadanos de Asdod fueron a verla a la mañana siguiente, ¡la estatua de Dagón había caído boca abajo delante del arca del Señor! Así que levantaron a Dagón y nuevamente lo colocaron en su lugar. 4 Pero temprano al día siguiente sucedió lo mismo: de nuevo Dagón había caído boca abajo frente al arca del Señor. Esta vez su cabeza y sus manos se habían quebrado y estaban a la entrada; solo el tronco de su cuerpo quedó intacto. 5 Por eso, hasta el día de hoy, ni los sacerdotes de Dagón ni nadie más que entra al templo de Dagón, en Asdod, pisan el umbral.
6 Entonces la mano dura del Señor hirió a la gente de Asdod y de las aldeas cercanas con una plaga de tumores.[a] 7 Cuando el pueblo se dio cuenta de lo que sucedía, exclamó: «¡No podemos quedarnos con el arca del Dios de Israel ni un minuto más! ¡Él está en contra de nosotros! Todos seremos destruidos junto con Dagón, nuestro dios». 8 De modo que convocaron a los gobernantes de las ciudades filisteas y les preguntaron:
—¿Qué debemos hacer con el arca del Dios de Israel?
Los gobernantes deliberaron y contestaron:
—Trasládenla a la ciudad de Gat.
Así que trasladaron el arca del Dios de Israel a Gat. 9 Pero cuando el arca llegó a Gat, la mano dura del Señor cayó sobre sus hombres, jóvenes y mayores; los hirió con una plaga de tumores, y hubo gran pánico.
10 Entonces enviaron el arca de Dios a la ciudad de Ecrón, pero cuando los habitantes de Ecrón vieron que se acercaba, clamaron: «¡Traen el arca del Dios de Israel a nuestra ciudad para matarnos a nosotros también!». 11 Entonces el pueblo volvió a llamar a los gobernantes filisteos y les suplicó: «¡Por favor, regresen el arca del Dios de Israel a su propio país, o nos matará[b] a todos!». Pues ya había comenzado la plaga mortal enviada por Dios, y un gran temor se apoderaba del pueblo. 12 Los que no morían, sufrían de tumores; y el clamor del pueblo ascendió al cielo.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. 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.
La Santa Biblia, Nueva Traducción Viviente, © Tyndale House Foundation, 2010. Todos los derechos reservados.
