1 Samuel 5

NEW JERUSALEM	CATHOLIC PUBLIC DOMAIN
1 When the Philistines had captured the ark of God, they took 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 Taking the ark of God, the Philistines put it in the temple of Dagon, setting it down 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 got up the fol owing morning and went to the temple of Dagon, there layDagon face down on the ground before the ark of Yahweh. They picked Dagon up and put him back in his place.	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 when they got up on the fol owing morning, there lay Dagon face down on the ground before the arkof Yahweh, and Dagon's head and two hands lay severed on the threshold; only the trunk of Dagon was left inits place.	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 This is why the priests of Dagon and the people frequenting Dagon's temple never step on Dagon'sthreshold in Ashdod, even today.	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 Yahweh oppressed the people of Ashdod; he ravaged them and afflicted them with tumours -- Ashdodand its territory. When the people of Ashdod saw what was happening they said,	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 'The ark of the God of Israel must not stay here with us, for he is oppressing us and our god Dagon.'	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 al the Philistine chiefs to them, and said, 'What shal we do with the ark of the Godof Israel?' They decided, 'The ark of the God of Israel shal be taken away to Gath.' So they took the ark of theGod of Israel to Gath.	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 But after they had taken it there, Yahweh oppressed that town and a great panic broke out; afflicting thepeople of the town from highest to lowest, he brought them out in tumours too.	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 They then sent the ark of God to Ekron, but when it came to Ekron the Ekronites shouted, 'They havebrought me the ark of the God of Israel to kil me and my people!'	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 They summoned al the Philistine chiefs and said, 'Send the ark of the God of Israel away; let it goback to where it belongs and not kill me and my people' -- for there was mortal panic throughout the town; Godwas oppressing them.	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 The people who did not die were afflicted with tumours, and the wailing from the town rose to the sky.	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.