1The Philistines took the ark of God. They carried it from Ebenezer to Ashdod.
2When the Philistines took the ark of God, they brought it into the house of Dagon and set it beside Dagon.
3Early the next morning the people of Ashdod got up, and look, Dagon had fallen face down on the ground in front of the ark of the LORD. So they took Dagon and set him back in his place.
4Early the next morning they got up again, and look, Dagon had fallen face down on the ground in front of the ark of the LORD. The head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands were cut off on the threshold. Only the stump of Dagon was left to him.
5That is why the priests of Dagon, and everyone who comes into Dagon's house, do not step on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod to this day.
6But the hand of the LORD was heavy on the people of Ashdod. He destroyed them and struck them with tumours, both Ashdod and the lands around it.
7When the men of Ashdod saw what was happening, they said, "The ark of the God of Israel must not stay with us. His hand is hard on us and on Dagon our god."
8So they sent word and gathered all the lords of the Philistines to them, 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 carried over to Gath." So they carried the ark of the God of Israel there.
9But after they had carried it there, the hand of the LORD was against that city with very great destruction. He struck the men of the city, both small and great, and tumours broke out on them.
10So they sent the ark of God to Ekron. As the ark of God came to Ekron, the people of Ekron cried out, "They have brought the ark of the God of Israel around to us, to kill us and our people."
11So they sent word and gathered all the lords of the Philistines together, and said, "Send the ark of the God of Israel away. Let it go back to its own place, so that it does not kill us and our people." For there was deadly destruction through the whole city. The hand of God was very heavy there.
12The men who did not die were struck with the tumours, and the cry of the city went up to heaven.