1 Samuel 5
Lexham English Bible
The Ark of the Covenant among the Philistines
5 Now the Philistines had captured[a] the ark of God and brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. 2 Then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it to the temple of Dagon and placed it beside Dagon. 3 When the Ashdodites got up early the next morning, there was[b] Dagon fallen with his face to the ground before the ark of Yahweh! So they took Dagon and returned him to his place. 4 When they got up early in the morning the next day, there was[c] Dagon fallen again with his face to the ground before the ark of Yahweh! The head of Dagon and the palms of his two hands were cut off, lying at[d] the threshold; only the body[e] of Dagon was left. 5 (Therefore the priests of Dagon and all who come into the house of Dagon do not tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod until this very day.)
6 Now the hand of Yahweh was heavy against the Ashdodites and he destroyed them and struck them with tumors,[f] both in Ashdod and its territories. 7 The men of Ashdod saw that it was so, and they said, “The ark of the God of Israel should not remain with us, because his hand is harsh on us and on Dagon our god!” 8 So they sent and gathered all the rulers of the Philistines to them, and they asked, “What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel?” And they said, “Let the ark of the God of Israel be brought around toward Gath.” So they moved the ark of the God of Israel to Gath.
9 After they moved it, the hand of Yahweh was against the city, causing a very great confusion, and he struck the men of the city from the youngest to the oldest,[g] causing tumors[h] to break out on them. 10 So they sent the ark of God to Ekron. But when the ark of God came to Ekron, the Ekronites cried out, saying, “They have brought around the ark of the God of Israel to kill us and our[i] people!” 11 So they sent and gathered all the rulers of the Philistines, and they said, “Send away the ark of the God of Israel and let it return to its place, so that it will not kill us and our people.” For a deadly confusion[j] was throughout all the city; the hand of God was very heavy there. 12 The men who did not die were struck with the tumors,[k] so that the cry of the city for help went up to heaven.
Footnotes
- 1 Samuel 5:1 Or “taken”
- 1 Samuel 5:3 Literally “look”
- 1 Samuel 5:4 Literally “look”
- 1 Samuel 5:4 Hebrew “to”
- 1 Samuel 5:4 The phrase may suggest that only the “fish” part of Dagon was left
- 1 Samuel 5:6 The Masoretic Hebrew text (Kethib) reads “boils”; the reading tradition (Qere) has “tumors”
- 1 Samuel 5:9 Literally “from small up to great”
- 1 Samuel 5:9 The Masoretic Hebrew text (Kethib) reads “boils”; the reading tradition (Qere) has “tumors”
- 1 Samuel 5:10 Hebrew “me and my”
- 1 Samuel 5:11 Literally “a confusion of death”; indicates a genitive of attribute
- 1 Samuel 5:12 The Masoretic Hebrew text (Kethib) reads “boils”; the reading tradition (Qere) has “tumors”
1 Samuel 5
King James Version
5 And the Philistines took the ark of God, and brought it from Ebenezer unto Ashdod.
2 When the Philistines took the ark of God, they brought it into the house of Dagon, and set it by Dagon.
3 And when they of Ashdod arose early on the morrow, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the earth before the ark of the Lord. And they took Dagon, and set him in his place again.
4 And when they arose early on the morrow morning, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the ground before the ark of the Lord; and the head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands were cut off upon the threshold; only the stump of Dagon was left to him.
5 Therefore neither the priests of Dagon, nor any that come into Dagon's house, tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod unto this day.
6 But the hand of the Lord was heavy upon them of Ashdod, and he destroyed them, and smote them with emerods, even Ashdod and the coasts thereof.
7 And when the men of Ashdod saw that it was so, they said, The ark of the God of Israel shall not abide with us: for his hand is sore upon us, and upon Dagon our god.
8 They sent therefore and gathered all the lords of the Philistines unto them, and said, What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel? And they answered, Let the ark of the God of Israel be carried about unto Gath. And they carried the ark of the God of Israel about thither.
9 And it was so, that, after they had carried it about, the hand of the Lord was against the city with a very great destruction: and he smote the men of the city, both small and great, and they had emerods in their secret parts.
10 Therefore they sent the ark of God to Ekron. And it came to pass, as the ark of God came to Ekron, that the Ekronites cried out, saying, They have brought about the ark of the God of Israel to us, to slay us and our people.
11 So they sent and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines, and said, Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it go again to his own place, that it slay us not, and our people: for there was a deadly destruction throughout all the city; the hand of God was very heavy there.
12 And the men that died not were smitten with the emerods: and the cry of the city went up to heaven.
1 Samuel 5
English Standard Version
The Philistines and the Ark
5 When the Philistines captured the ark of God, they brought it from (A)Ebenezer to (B)Ashdod. 2 Then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it into the house of Dagon and set it up beside (C)Dagon. 3 And when the people of Ashdod rose early the next day, behold, (D)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, (E)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. 5 This is why the priests of Dagon and all who enter the house of Dagon (F)do not tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod to this day.
6 (G)The hand of the Lord was heavy against the people of Ashdod, and he terrified and afflicted them with (H)tumors, both Ashdod and its territory. 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.” 8 So they sent and gathered together all (I)the 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. 9 But after they had brought it around, (J)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 (K)tumors broke out on them. 10 So 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 (L)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. (M)The hand of God was very heavy there. 12 The men who did not die were struck with (N)tumors, and the cry of the city went up to heaven.
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