5:1 Now the Philistines had captured the ark of God and brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. 5:2 The Philistines took the ark and brought it to the temple of Dagon and positioned it beside Dagon. 5:3 When the residents of Ashdod rose early the next day,1 Dagon was lying fallen to the ground before the ark of the LORD. So they took Dagon and restored him to his place. 5:4 But when they rose early the next day, Dagon was again lying fallen to the ground before the ark of the LORD. The head of Dagon and his two hands were sheared off, lying at the threshold; the only thing remaining was Dagon’s body.2 5:5 For this reason to this very day neither Dagon’s priests nor anyone else who enters Dagon’s temple step on Dagon’s threshold in Ashdod.
5:6 The LORD dealt severely3 with the residents of Ashdod, bringing devastation on them. He struck both Ashdod and the surrounding area with sores. 5:7 When the people of Ashdod saw how things were, they said, “The ark of the God of Israel should not remain with us, for his hand is dealing severely both with us and with our god Dagon.”
5:8 So they sent and gathered all the leaders of the Philistines and said, “What should we do with the ark of the God of Israel?” They replied, “Let the ark of the God of Israel be removed to Gath.” So they removed the ark of the God of Israel.
5:9 But after it had been removed, the hand of the LORD was against that city as well, causing a great deal of confusion. He struck the people of that city without distinction,4 leaving them with sores. 5:10 So they sent the ark of God away to Ekron.
But when the ark of God arrived at Ekron, the residents of Ekron cried out saying, “They have brought the ark of the God of Israel to us5 so as to kill our6 people!” 5:11 So they sent and gathered all the leaders of the Philistines and said, “Get the ark of the God of Israel out of here! Let it go back to its own place rather than kill us7 and our8 people!” For the confusion of death was throughout the entire city; the hand of God was dealing very severely there. 5:12 The people who did not die were struck with sores; the city’s cry for help ascended all the way to heaven.