1 Samuel 5
New American Standard Bible
Capture of the Ark Provokes God
5 Now the Philistines took the ark of God and (A)brought it from Ebenezer to (B)Ashdod. 2 Then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it into (C)the house of Dagon, and placed it beside Dagon. 3 When the Ashdodites got up early the next day, behold, (D)Dagon had fallen on his face to the ground before the ark of the Lord. So they took Dagon and (E)set him back in his place. 4 But when they got up early the next morning, behold, (F)Dagon had fallen on his face to the ground before the ark of the Lord. And the head of Dagon and both palms of his hands were cut off on the threshold; [a]only the torso of Dagon was left. 5 For that reason neither the priests of Dagon nor any who enter Dagon’s house (G)step on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod to this day.
6 Now (H)the hand of the Lord was heavy on the Ashdodites, and (I)He made them feel devastated and struck them with (J)tumors, both Ashdod and its territories. 7 When the men of Ashdod saw that it was so, they said, “The ark of the God of Israel must not remain with us, because His hand is severe on us and on Dagon our god.” 8 So they sent word and (K)gathered all the governors of the Philistines to them, and said, “What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel?” And they said, “Have the ark of the God of Israel [b]brought to Gath.” So they took the ark of the God of Israel away. 9 After they had taken it away, (L)the hand of the Lord was against the city, creating a very great panic; and He struck the people of the city, from the young to the old, so that (M)tumors broke out on them. 10 So they sent the ark of God to Ekron. And as the ark of God came to Ekron, the Ekronites cried out, saying, “They have brought the ark of the God of Israel to [c]us, to kill [d]us and [e]our people!” 11 Therefore they (N)sent word and gathered all the governors 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 will not kill [f]us and [g]our people!” For there was a deadly panic throughout the city; (O)the hand of God was very heavy there. 12 And the people who did not die were struck with tumors, and (P)the outcry of the city went up to heaven.
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- 1 Samuel 5:4 As in ancient versions; MT only Dagon
- 1 Samuel 5:8 Lit turn to
- 1 Samuel 5:10 Lit me
- 1 Samuel 5:10 Lit me
- 1 Samuel 5:10 Lit my
- 1 Samuel 5:11 Lit me
- 1 Samuel 5:11 Lit my
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.
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- 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
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