| International Standard Version | Holman Christian Standard Bible |
| 1The Philistines took the Ark of God and brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. | 1After the Philistines had captured the ark of God, they took it from Ebenezer to Ashdod, |
| 2Then the Philistines took the Ark of God, brought it to the temple of Dagon, and placed it beside Dagon. | 2brought it into the temple of Dagon and placed it next to his statue. |
| 3When the people of Ashdod got up the next morning, there was Dagon, lying on the ground in front of the Ark of the LORD. They took Dagon and put him back in his place. | 3When the people of Ashdod got up early the next morning, there was Dagon, fallen with his face to the ground before the ark of the LORD. So they took Dagon and returned him to his place. |
| 4But when they got up the next morning, there was Dagon, lying on the ground again in front of the Ark of the LORD. Dagon's head and both of his arms were broken off and lying on the threshold. Only the trunk of Dagon was left intact. | 4But when they got up early the next morning, there was Dagon, fallen with his face to the ground before the ark of the LORD. This time, both Dagon's head and the palms of his hands were broken off and lying on the threshold. Only Dagon's torso remained. |
| 5This is why neither the priests of Dagon nor anyone who enters the temple of Dagon step on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod to this day. | 5That is why, to this day, the priests of Dagon and everyone who enters the temple of Dagon in Ashdod do not step on Dagon's threshold. |
| 6The LORD heavily oppressed the people of Ashdod, devastating and afflicting Ashdod and its territories with tumors of the groin. | 6The LORD's hand was heavy on the people of Ashdod, terrorizing and afflicting the people of Ashdod and its territory with tumors. |
| 7When the men of Ashdod saw how things were, they said, "Don't let the Ark of the God of Israel stay with us, because he is severely attacking us and our god Dagon." | 7When the men of Ashdod saw what was happening, they said, "The ark of Israel's God must not stay here with us, because His hand is strongly against us and our god Dagon." |
| 8They sent messengers and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines and asked, "What are we to do with the Ark of the God of Israel?" They said, "Let the Ark of the God of Israel move to Gath." So they moved the Ark of the God of Israel. | 8So they called all the Philistine rulers together and asked, "What should we do with the ark of Israel's God?" "The ark of Israel's God should be moved to Gath," they replied. So the men of Ashdod moved the ark. |
| 9After they moved it, the LORD moved against the town, causing a very great panic. He struck the men of the town, from young to old with tumors of the groin. | 9After they had moved it, the LORD's hand was against the city of Gath, causing a great panic. He afflicted the men of the city, from the youngest to the oldest, with an outbreak of tumors. |
| 10Then they sent the Ark of God to Ekron. When the Ark of God arrived in Ekron, the people of Ekron cried out, "They have brought the Ark of the God of Israel to us to kill us and our people!" | 10The Gittites then sent the ark of God to Ekron, but when it got there, the Ekronites cried out, "They've moved the ark of Israel's God to us to kill us and our people!" |
| 11They sent messengers and gathered together all the Philistine lords: "Send away the Ark of the God of Israel, and let it return to where it belongs so that it does not kill us and our people." Meanwhile, a deadly panic had spread all over the town, and God kept on pressuring them there. | 11The Ekronites called all the Philistine rulers together. They said, "Send the ark of Israel's God away. It must return to its place so it won't kill us and our people!" For the fear of death pervaded the city; God's hand was oppressing them. |
| 12The people who did not die were afflicted with tumors of the groin, and the cry of the town went up to heaven. | 12The men who did not die were afflicted with tumors, and the outcry of the city went up to heaven. |
|
