1 Samuel 5

NEW AMERICAN BIBLE	CATHOLIC PUBLIC DOMAIN
1 The Philistines, having captured the ark of God, transferred it from Ebenezer to Ashdod.	1 Then the Philistines took the ark of God, and they transported it from the Stone of Assistance into Ashdod.
2 They then took the ark of God and brought it into the temple of Dagon, placing it beside Dagon.	2 And the Philistines took the ark of God, and carried it into the temple of Dagon. And they stationed it beside Dagon.
3 When the people of Ashdod rose early the next morning, Dagon was lying prone on the ground before the ark of the LORD. So they picked Dagon up and replaced him.	3 And when the Ashdodites had risen up at first light on the next day, behold, Dagon was lying prone on the ground before the ark of the Lord. And they took Dagon, and they set him again in his place.
4 But the next morning early, when they arose, Dagon lay prone on the ground before the ark of the LORD, his head and hands broken off and lying on the threshold, his trunk alone intact.	4 And again, on the next day, rising up in the morning, they found Dagon lying on his face upon the ground, before the ark of the Lord. But the head of Dagon, and both palms of his hands had been cut off upon the threshold.
5 For this reason, neither the priests of Dagon nor any others who enter the temple of Dagon tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod to this very day; they always step over it.	5 Moreover, only the trunk of Dagon remained in its place. For this reason, the priests of Dagon, and all who enter his temple, do not tread upon the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod, even to this day.
6 Now the LORD dealt severely with the people of Ashdod. He ravaged and afflicted the city and its vicinity with hemorrhoids; he brought upon the city a great and deadly plague of mice that swarmed in their ships and overran their fields.	6 Now the hand of the Lord weighed heavily upon the Ashdodites, and he destroyed them. And he struck Ashdod and its borders at the inner part of the buttocks. And in the villages and fields, in the midst of that region, mice rose up and burst forth. And this caused a great tumult unto death in the city.
7 On seeing how matters stood, the men of Ashdod decided, "The ark of the God of Israel must not remain with us, for he is handling us and our god Dagon severely."	7 Then the men of Ashdod, seeing this kind of plague, said: “The ark of the God of Israel shall not remain with us. For his hand is harsh, over us and over Dagon, our god.”
8 So they summoned all the Philistine lords and inquired of them, "What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel?" The men of Gath replied, "Let them move the ark of the God of Israel on to us."	8 And sending, they gathered together all the princes of the Philistines to them, and they said, “What shall we do about the ark of the God of Israel?” And the Gathites responded, “Let the ark of the God of Israel be led around.” And they led the ark of the God of Israel around.
9 So they moved the ark of the God of Israel to Gath! But after it had been brought there, the LORD threw the city into utter turmoil: he afflicted its inhabitants, young and old, and hemorrhoids broke out on them.	9 And as they were carrying it around, the hand of the Lord fell upon every single city with an exceedingly great slaughter. And he struck down the men of each and every city, from the small even to the great. And cysts were festering at their buttocks. And the Gathites took counsel, and they made for themselves seat covers from pelts.
10 The ark of God was next sent to Ekron; but as it entered that city, the people there cried out, "Why have they brought the ark of the God of Israel here to kill us and our kindred?"	10 Therefore, they sent the ark of God into Ekron. And when the ark of God had arrived at Ekron, the Ekronites cried out, saying, “They have brought the ark of the God of Israel to us, so that it may kill us and our people!”
11 Then they, too, sent a summons to all the Philistine lords and pleaded: "Send away the ark of the God of Israel. Let it return to its own place, that it may not kill us and our kindred." A deadly panic had seized the whole city, since the hand of God had been very heavy upon it.	11 And so they sent and gathered together all the princes of the Philistines, and they said: “Release the ark of the God of Israel, and return it to its own place. And let it not kill us, with our people.”
12 Those who escaped death were afflicted with hemorrhoids, and the outcry from the city went up to the heavens.	12 For the fear of death fell upon every single city, and the hand of God was very heavy. Also, the men who did not die were being afflicted in the inner part of the buttocks. And the wailing of each city was ascending to heaven.