Read the Modern Pastor’s Version

The Philistines took the ark of God from Ebenezer and brought it to Ashdod. When they put the ark in the temple of their god Dagon, beside his statue, the people of Ashdod woke up early the next morning to find that Dagon had fallen face down on the ground before the Lord's ark.

They picked him up and stood him back upright again. But the following morning, Dagon was found lying on the ground once more, this time with his head and hands severed from his body, leaving only a stump remaining. From that day forward, no one dared to step on the threshold of Dagon's temple in Ashdod, where he had fallen.

The people of Ashdod realized that the ark of God was not something they could keep. They saw that its presence brought suffering and death, even their own god Dagon had been powerless against it. They said among themselves, "We can't have this ark here; the Lord's power is too great for us, and his anger has already fallen on our idol."

The leaders of the Philistines gathered to discuss what to do with the ark. After some deliberation, they decided to move it to the city of Gath. But as soon as they brought the ark into Gath, God's hand struck down the people with great destruction. The Lord sent painful tumors on both young and old alike.

The Philistines moved the ark from Gath to Ekron, but when the Ekronites saw that it had arrived in their city, they cried out in terror, "They've brought the ark of God's presence into our midst, and now we'll all die!" The leaders of the Philistines gathered again, this time saying, "We must get rid of this cursed thing; its power is too much for us. We're dying, one by one." They were plagued with painful boils.

The people who survived the plague still suffered terribly, crying out to heaven in their distress.