³ And when the people of Ashdod rose early the next day, behold, ^(A)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. ⁴ But when they rose early on the next morning, behold, Dagon had fallen face downward on the ground before the ark of the Lord, ^(B)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.

⁷ And 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.”