1And the Philistines brought the ark of God from Ebenezer to Ashdod. 2And took it into the house of their god, Dagon, and set it beside Dagon. 3And when the people of Ashdod arose early the next day, behold, Dagon had fallen upon its face to the earth before the ark of the LORD. And they took Dagon, and set him back up. 4And when they arose early the next morning, behold, Dagon had again 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. 5For this reason, none of the priests of Dagon, nor any that enter Dagon's house, tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod unto this day.

6But the hand of the LORD was heavy upon those near Ashdod, and He brought devastation upon them, and afflicted them with tumors, both in Ashdod and its vicinity. 7And when the men of Ashdod saw all that was happening, they said, “The ark of the God of Israel must not remain with us; for His hand is heavy upon us, and on Dagon, our god.” 8So they gathered all the lords of the Philistines together, 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 taken to Gath.” And they carried the ark of the God of Israel there. 9And it was so that, after they had carried it there, the hand of the LORD was against the city of Gath, with much devastation; and He afflicted the men of the city, both small and great, so that they developed tumors in their secret parts. 10So they sent the ark of God to Ekron. And as the ark of God came to Ekron, the Ekronites cried out, “They have brought the ark of the God of Israel to us, to kill us and our people.” 11So they gathered all the lords of the Philistines, and said, “Send the ark of the God of Israel away, and let it go back to its own place, so that it does not kill all our people”; for there was a deadly destruction throughout all the city. The hand of God was very heavy there. 12And the men who did not die were smitten with the tumors; and the cry of the city rose to heaven.