1 Samuel 5
5
The Philistines and the Ark
1When the Philistines captured the ark of God, they brought it from #ch. 4:1; 7:12 Ebenezer to #Josh. 13:3Ashdod. 2Then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it into the house of Dagon and set it up beside #Judg. 16:23Dagon. 3And when the people of Ashdod rose early the next day, behold, #[Isa. 46:1, 2]Dagon had fallen face downward on the ground before the ark of the Lord. So they took Dagon and put him back in his place. 4But when they rose early on the next morning, behold, Dagon had fallen face downward on the ground before the ark of the Lord, #[Jer. 50:2; Ezek. 6:4, 6; Mic. 1:7]and the head of Dagon and both his hands were lying cut off on the threshold. Only the trunk of Dagon was left to him. 5This is why the priests of Dagon and all who enter the house of Dagon #[Zeph. 1:9]do not tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod to this day.
6 # [Ex. 9:3; Ps. 32:4; Acts 13:11] The hand of the Lord was heavy against the people of Ashdod, and he terrified and afflicted them with #ch. 6:5tumors, both Ashdod and its territory. 7And when the men of Ashdod saw how things were, they said, “The ark of the God of Israel must not remain with us, for his hand is hard against us and against Dagon our god.” 8So they sent and gathered together all #Josh. 13:3the lords of the Philistines and said, “What shall 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 brought the ark of the God of Israel there. 9But after they had brought it around, #ch. 7:13; 12:15; Deut. 2:15 the hand of the Lord was against the city, causing a very great panic, and he afflicted the men of the city, both young and old, so that #[See ver. 6 above]tumors broke out on them. 10So they sent the ark of God to Ekron. But as soon as the ark of God came to Ekron, the people of Ekron cried out, “They have brought around to us the ark of the God of Israel to kill us and our people.” 11#[See ver. 8 above] They sent therefore and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines and said, “Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it return to its own place, that it may not kill us and our people.” For there was a deathly panic throughout the whole city. #[See ver. 6 above]The hand of God was very heavy there. 12The men who did not die were struck with #[See ver. 6 above]tumors, and the cry of the city went up to heaven.
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1 Samuel 5: ESV
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The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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1 Samuel 5
5
God Causes Trouble for the Philistines
1The Philistines took the sacred chest from near Ebenezer to the town of Ashdod. 2They brought it into the temple of their god Dagon and put it next to the statue of Dagon, which they worshiped.
3When the people of Ashdod got up early the next morning, they found the statue lying facedown on the floor in front of the sacred chest. They put the statue back where it belonged. 4But early the next morning, it had fallen over again and was lying facedown on the floor in front of the chest. The body of the statue was still in one piece, but its head and both hands had broken off and were lying on the stone floor in the doorway. 5This is why the priests and everyone else step over that part of the doorway when they enter the temple of Dagon in Ashdod.
6The Lord caused a lot of trouble for the people of Ashdod and their neighbors. He made sores break out all over their bodies,#5.6 sores … bodies: Or “He struck them with bubonic plague.” and everyone was in a panic.#5.6 panic: Two ancient translations add “Rats came from their ships, and people were dying right and left.” 7Finally, they said, “The God of Israel did this. He is the one who caused all this trouble for us and our god Dagon. We've got to get rid of this chest.”
8The people of Ashdod invited all the Philistine rulers to come to Ashdod, and they asked them, “What can we do with the sacred chest that belongs to the God of Israel?”
“Send it to Gath,” the rulers answered. But after they took it there, 9the Lord made sores break out on everyone in town. The people of Gath were frightened, 10so they sent the sacred chest to Ekron. But before they could take it through the town gates, the people of Ekron started screaming, “They've brought the sacred chest that belongs to the God of Israel! It will kill us and our families too!”
The Philistines Send Back the Sacred Chest
11The people of Ekron called for another meeting of the Philistine rulers and told them, “Send this chest back where it belongs. Then it won't kill us.”
Everyone was in a panic, because God was causing a lot of people to die, 12and those who had survived were suffering from the sores. They all cried to their gods for help.
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