1The Philistines took the ark of God and brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod.2The Philistines took the ark of God and brought it into the house of Dagon and set it beside Dagon.3The Ashdodites rose early the next morning, and behold, Dagon had fallen on his face to the ground before the ark of the LORD. They took Dagon and returned him to his place.4They rose early the next morning, and behold, Dagon had fallen on his face to the ground before the ark of the LORD; the head of Dagon and both palms of his hands were cut off toward the threshold; only Dagon remained upon him.5Therefore the priests of Dagon and all who enter the house of Dagon do not tread upon the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod to this day.6The hand of the LORD was heavy against the Ashdodites, and he devastated them and struck them with tumors, both Ashdod and its territory.7When the men of Ashdod saw that it was so, they said, The ark of the God of Israel must not remain with us, because his hand has been hard against us and against Dagon our God.8They sent 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 said, Let the ark of the God of Israel turn to Gath. So they turned the ark of the God of Israel.9After they had turned it, the hand of the LORD was upon the city, a very great tumult, and he struck the men of the city from small to great, and tumors burst out for them.10They sent the ark of God to Ekron. When the ark of God came to Ekron, the Ekronites cried out, saying, Turn the ark of the God of Israel toward me to kill me and my people.11They sent and gathered all the lords of the Philistines and said, Send the ark of the God of Israel back to its place, and let it not kill me and my people, for there was a tumult of death in all the city; the hand of God was very heavy there.12The men who did not die were struck with tumors, and the cry of the city went up to heaven.