1 The Philistines took the Ark of God and brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod.

And the Philistines took the ark of God, and brought it from Ebenezer unto Ashdod.

2 The Philistines took the Ark of God and carried it into the temple of Dagon, placing it beside Dagon.

When the Philistines took the ark of God, they brought it into the house of Dagon, and set it by Dagon.

3 When the people of Ashdod woke early the next morning, they found Dagon fallen face down on the ground before the Ark of the LORD. They picked up Dagon and returned it to its place.

And when they of Ashdod arose early on the morrow, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the earth before the ark of the LORD. And they took Dagon, and set him in his place again.

4 But when they awoke early the next morning, they found Dagon fallen face down on the ground before the Ark of the LORD again. This time, Dagon’s head and the palms of his hands were broken off, lying on the threshold; only the trunk of Dagon remained.

And when they arose early on the morrow morning, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the ground before the ark of the LORD; and the head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands were cut off upon the threshold; only the stump of Dagon was left to him.

5 For this reason, to this day, neither the priests of Dagon nor anyone who enters Dagon’s temple in Ashdod step on the threshold.

Therefore neither the priests of Dagon, nor any that come into Dagon's house, tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod unto this day.

6 The LORD’s hand was heavy upon the people of Ashdod. He devastated them and afflicted them with tumors, both in Ashdod and its surrounding territory.

But the hand of the LORD was heavy upon them of Ashdod, and he destroyed them, and smote them with emerods, even Ashdod and the coasts thereof.

7 When the people of Ashdod saw what was happening, they said, “The Ark of the God of Israel cannot stay with us, for His hand is harsh against us and our god Dagon.”

And when the men of Ashdod saw that it was so, they said, The ark of the God of Israel shall not abide with us: for his hand is sore upon us, and upon Dagon our god.

8 So they gathered all the rulers of the Philistines and said, “What should we do with the Ark of the God of Israel?” They answered, “Let the Ark of the God of Israel be moved to Gath.” So they moved the Ark of the God of Israel.

They sent therefore and gathered all the lords of the Philistines unto 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 about unto Gath. And they carried the ark of the God of Israel about thither.

9 But after they had moved it, the hand of the LORD came against the city of Gath, causing great panic. He afflicted the people of the city, from the youngest to the oldest, with tumors.

And it was so, that, after they had carried it about, the hand of the LORD was against the city with a very great destruction: and he smote the men of the city, both small and great, and they had emerods in their secret parts.

10 Then they sent the Ark of God to Ekron. But when the Ark reached Ekron, the people of Ekron cried out, saying, “They have brought the Ark of the God of Israel here to kill us and our people!”

Therefore they sent the ark of God to Ekron. And it came to pass, as the ark of God came to Ekron, that the Ekronites cried out, saying, They have brought about the ark of the God of Israel to us, to slay us and our people.

11 So they sent word and gathered all the rulers of the Philistines and said, 'Send the Ark of the God of Israel away, let it return to its place so that it will not kill us and our people.' For there was a deadly panic throughout the whole city; the hand of God was very heavy there.

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 again to his own place, that it slay us not, and our people: for there was a deadly destruction throughout all the city; the hand of God was very heavy there.

12 The men who did not die were afflicted with tumors, and the outcry of the city went up to heaven.

And the men that died not were smitten with the emerods: and the cry of the city went up to heaven.