1 Samuel 5
Revised Geneva Translation
5 Then the Philistines took the Ark of God and carried it from Ebenezer to Ashdod.
2 The Philistines took the Ark of God and brought it into the house of Dagon, and set it by Dagon.
3 And when they of Ashdod rose the next day, in the morning, behold, Dagon had fallen upon his face on the ground, before the Ark of the LORD. And they took up Dagon and set him in his place again.
4 They also rose up early in the morning the next day. And behold, Dagon had fallen upon his face on the ground, before the Ark of the LORD. And the head of Dagon and the two palms of his hands were cut off upon the threshold. Only the stump of Dagon was left of him.
5 Therefore, the priests of Dagon, and all who come into Dagon’s house, do not walk on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod, to this day.
6 But the Hand of the LORD was heavy upon them of Ashdod, and destroyed them, and struck them with tumors, both Ashdod and its territories.
7 And when the men of Ashdod saw this, they said, “Do not let the Ark of the God of Israel remain with us! For His Hand is severe upon us, and upon Dagon, our god!”
8 They sent, therefore, and gathered all the princes of the Philistines to 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 around to Gath.” And they carried the Ark of the God of Israel around.
9 And when they had carried it around, the Hand of the LORD was against the city with very great destruction. And He struck the men of the city, both small and great, and they had tumors break out.
10 Therefore, they sent the Ark of God to Ekron. And as soon as the Ark of God came to Ekron, the Ekronites cried out, saying, “They have brought theArk of the God of Israel to us to kill us and our people!”
11 Therefore they sent and gathered together all the princes of the Philistines, and said, “Send away the Ark of the God of Israel, and let it return to its own place, so that it does not kill us and our people!” For there was a destruction and death throughout all the city; and the Hand of God was very severe there.
12 And the men who did not die were struck with the tumors. And the cry of the city went up to Heaven.
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
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