The First of Samuel
5 As for the Phi·lisʹtines, they took the ark+ of the [true] God and then brought it from Eb·en·eʹzer to Ashʹdod.+ 2 And the Phi·lisʹtines proceeded to take the ark of the [true] God and bring it into the house of Daʹgon and station it beside Daʹgon.+ 3 Then the Ashʹdod·ites got up early the very next day,* and there Daʹgon was fallen upon his face to the earth before the ark of Jehovah.+ So they took* Daʹgon and returned him to his place.+ 4 When they got up early in the morning the very day after, there Daʹgon was fallen upon his face to the earth before the ark of Jehovah, with the head of Daʹgon and the palms of both his hands cut off, to the threshold.*+ Only the fish part* had been left upon him. 5 That is why the priests of Daʹgon and all those going into the house of Daʹgon do not tread upon the threshold of Daʹgon in Ashʹdod down to this day.*
6 And the hand of Jehovah+ came to be heavy upon the Ashʹdod·ites, and he began causing panic* and striking them with piles,*+ namely, Ashʹdod and its territories. 7 And the men of Ashʹdod came to see that it was so, and they said: “Do not let the ark of the God of Israel dwell with us, because his hand has been hard against us and against Daʹgon our god.”*+ 8 Consequently they sent and gathered all the axis lords of the Phi·lisʹtines to them and said: “What shall we do to the ark of the God of Israel?” Finally they said: “Toward Gath+ let the ark of the God of Israel go around.” So they brought the ark of the God of Israel around to there.*
9 And it came about that after they had brought it around to there, the hand of Jehovah+ came to be upon the city with a very great confusion, and he began striking the men of the city, from small to great, and piles+ began breaking out on them.* 10 Hence they sent the ark of the [true] God* to Ekʹron.+ And it came about that as soon as the ark of the [true] God came to Ekʹron, the Ekʹron·ites began to cry out, saying: “They have brought the ark of the God of Israel around to me to put me and my people to death!”+ 11 Consequently they sent and gathered all the axis lords of the Phi·lisʹtines and said: “SEND the ark of the God of Israel away that it may return to its place and may not put me and my people to death.” For a death-dealing confusion had occurred in the whole city;+ the hand of the [true] God had been very heavy there,+ 12 and the men that did not die had been struck with piles.+ And the cry+ of the city for help kept ascending to the heavens.