1 Samuel 5

1 And the Philistines took the ark of God, and brought it from Eben-ezer unto Ashdod.

Now the Philistines had captured the ark of God, and they brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod.

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

The Philistines took the ark of God, brought it into the house of Dagon, and set it up beside Dagon.

3 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.

When the people of Ashdod got up early the next day, behold, Dagon had fallen facedown on the ground before the ark of Yahweh. So they took Dagon and set him up in his place again.

4 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.

But when they got up early the next morning, behold, Dagon had fallen facedown on the ground before the ark of Yahweh. The head of Dagon and both of his hands were lying cut off in the doorway. Only the trunk of Dagon remained.

5 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.

This is why, even today, the priests of Dagon and anyone who comes into Dagon's house does not step on the doorway of Dagon in Ashdod.

6 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.

Yahweh's hand was heavy upon the people of Ashdod. He destroyed them and afflicted them with tumors, both Ashdod and its territories.

7 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.

When the men of Ashdod realized what was happening, they said, “The ark of the God of Israel must not stay with us, because his hand is hard against us and against Dagon our god.”

8 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].

So they sent for and gathered together all of the rulers of the Philistines; they said to them, “What should 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 carried the ark of the God of Israel there.

9 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.

But after they brought it around, Yahweh's hand was against the city, causing a very great confusion. He afflicted the men of the city, both small and great; and tumors broke out on them.

10 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.

So they sent the ark of God to Ekron. But as soon as the ark of God came into Ekron, the Ekronites cried out, saying, “They have brought to us the ark of the God of Israel 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 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.

So they sent for and gathered together all of the rulers of the Philistines; they said to them, “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 deathly panic throughout the city; the hand of God was very heavy there.

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

The men who did not die were afflicted with the tumors, and the cry of the city went up to the heavens.