Capture of the Ark Provokes God

5 Now the Philistines took the ark of God and ^(A)brought it from Ebenezer to ^(B)Ashdod. ² Then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it into ^(C)the house of Dagon, and placed it beside Dagon. ³ When the Ashdodites got up early the next day, behold, ^(D)Dagon had fallen on his face to the ground before the ark of the Lord. So they took Dagon and ^(E)set him back in his place. ⁴ But when they got up early the next morning, behold, ^(F)Dagon had fallen on his face to the ground before the ark of the Lord. And the head of Dagon and both palms of his hands were cut off on the threshold; ^[a]only the torso of Dagon was left. ⁵ For that reason neither the priests of Dagon nor any who enter Dagon’s house ^(G)step on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod to this day.

⁶ Now ^(H)the hand of the Lord was heavy on the Ashdodites, and ^(I)He made them feel devastated and struck them with ^(J)tumors, both Ashdod and its territories. ⁷ When 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 is severe on us and on Dagon our god.” ⁸ So they sent word and ^(K)gathered all the governors of the Philistines to them, and said, “What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel?” And they said, “Have the ark of the God of Israel ^[b]brought to Gath.” So they took the ark of the God of Israel away. ⁹ After they had taken it away, ^(L)the hand of the Lord was against the city, creating a very great panic; and He struck the people of the city, from the young to the old, so that ^(M)tumors broke out on them. ¹⁰ So they sent the ark of God to Ekron. And as the ark of God came to Ekron, the Ekronites cried out, saying, “They have brought the ark of the God of Israel to ^[c]us, to kill ^[d]us and ^[e]our people!” ¹¹ Therefore they ^(N)sent word and gathered all the governors of the Philistines, and said, “Send away the ark of the God of Israel and let it return to its own place, so that it will not kill ^[f]us and ^[g]our people!” For there was a deadly panic throughout the city; ^(O)the hand of God was very heavy there. ¹² And the people who did not die were struck with tumors, and ^(P)the outcry of the city went up to heaven.

The Ark Returned to Israel

6 Now the ark of the Lord had been in the territory of the Philistines for seven months. ² And ^(Q)the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners, saying, “What are we to do with the ark of the Lord? Tell us ^[h]how we may send it to its place.” ³ And they said, “If you are going to send the ark of the God of Israel away, ^(R)do not send it empty; but you shall certainly ^(S)return to Him a guilt offering. Then you will be healed, and it will be revealed to you why His hand does not leave you.”

¹⁰ Then the men did so: they took two milk cows and hitched them to the cart, and shut in their calves at home. ¹¹ And they put the ark of the Lord on the cart, and the saddlebag with the gold mice and the likenesses of their tumors. ¹² Now the cows went straight in the ^[a]direction of ^(A)Beth-shemesh; they went on ^(B)the same road, bellowing as they went, and did not turn off to the right or to the left. And the governors of the Philistines followed them to the border of Beth-shemesh.

¹³ Now the people of Beth-shemesh were gathering in their wheat harvest in the valley, and they raised their eyes and saw the ark, and rejoiced at seeing it. ¹⁴ And the cart came into the field of Joshua the Beth-shemite and stopped there where there was a large stone; and they split the wood of the cart and ^(C)offered the cows as a burnt offering to the Lord. ¹⁵ And ^(D)the Levites took down the ark of the Lord and the saddlebag that was with it, in which were the articles of gold, and put them on the large stone; and the men of Beth-shemesh offered burnt offerings and sacrificed sacrifices that day to the Lord. ¹⁶ When the ^(E)five governors of the Philistines saw it, they returned to Ekron that day.