1 Samuel 5
New Living Translation
The Ark in Philistia
5 After the Philistines captured the Ark of God, they took it from the battleground at Ebenezer to the town of Ashdod. 2 They carried the Ark of God into the temple of Dagon and placed it beside an idol of Dagon. 3 But when the citizens of Ashdod went to see it the next morning, Dagon had fallen with his face to the ground in front of the Ark of the Lord! So they took Dagon and put him in his place again. 4 But the next morning the same thing happened—Dagon had fallen face down before the Ark of the Lord again. This time his head and hands had broken off and were lying in the doorway. Only the trunk of his body was left intact. 5 That is why to this day neither the priests of Dagon nor anyone who enters the temple of Dagon in Ashdod will step on its threshold.
6 Then the Lord’s heavy hand struck the people of Ashdod and the nearby villages with a plague of tumors.[a] 7 When the people realized what was happening, they cried out, “We can’t keep the Ark of the God of Israel here any longer! He is against us! We will all be destroyed along with Dagon, our god.” 8 So they called together the rulers of the Philistine towns and asked, “What should we do with the Ark of the God of Israel?”
The rulers discussed it and replied, “Move it to the town of Gath.” So they moved the Ark of the God of Israel to Gath. 9 But when the Ark arrived at Gath, the Lord’s heavy hand fell on its men, young and old; he struck them with a plague of tumors, and there was a great panic.
10 So they sent the Ark of God to the town of Ekron, but when the people of Ekron saw it coming they cried out, “They are bringing the Ark of the God of Israel here to kill us, too!” 11 The people summoned the Philistine rulers again and begged them, “Please send the Ark of the God of Israel back to its own country, or it[b] will kill us all.” For the deadly plague from God had already begun, and great fear was sweeping across the town. 12 Those who didn’t die were afflicted with tumors; and the cry from the town rose to heaven.
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1 Samuel 5
International Standard Version
The Philistines’ Troubles because of the Ark
5 The Philistines took the Ark of God and brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. 2 Then the Philistines took the Ark of God, brought it to the temple of Dagon,[a] and placed it beside Dagon. 3 When the people of Ashdod got up the next morning, there was Dagon, lying on the ground in front of the Ark of the Lord. They took Dagon and put him back in his place. 4 But when they got up the next morning, there was Dagon, lying on the ground again in front of the Ark of the Lord. Dagon’s head and both of his arms[b] were broken off and lying on the threshold.[c] Only the trunk of[d] Dagon was left intact.[e] 5 This is why neither the priests of Dagon nor anyone who enters the temple of Dagon step on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod to this day.
6 The Lord heavily oppressed the people of Ashdod, devastating and afflicting Ashdod and its territories with tumors of the groin. 7 When the men of Ashdod saw how things were, they said, “Don’t let the Ark of the God of Israel stay with us, because he is severely attacking us and our god Dagon.” 8 They sent messengers[f] and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines and asked, “What are we to do with the Ark of the God of Israel?”
They said, “Let the Ark of the God of Israel move to Gath.” So they moved the Ark of the God of Israel.
9 After they moved it, the Lord moved against the town, causing[g] a very great panic. He struck the men of the town, from young to old with tumors of the groin. 10 Then they sent the Ark of God to Ekron. When the Ark of God arrived in Ekron, the people of Ekron cried out, “They have brought the Ark of the God of Israel to us to kill us and our people!”
11 They sent messengers[h] and gathered together all the Philistine lords: “Send away the Ark of the God of Israel, and let it return to where it belongs so that it does not kill us and our people.” Meanwhile, a deadly panic had spread all over the town, and God kept on pressuring[i] them there. 12 The people who did not die were afflicted with tumors of the groin, and the cry of the town went up to heaven.
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- 1 Samuel 5:2 Dagon was the principal deity of the Philistines.
- 1 Samuel 5:4 Lit. both of the palms of his hands
- 1 Samuel 5:4 Lit. broken off on the threshold
- 1 Samuel 5:4 The Heb. lacks the trunk of
- 1 Samuel 5:4 Lit. on it
- 1 Samuel 5:8 The Heb. lacks messengers
- 1 Samuel 5:9 Lit. with
- 1 Samuel 5:11 The Heb. lacks messengers
- 1 Samuel 5:11 Lit. and the hand of God was on
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
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