Do not tell it in Gath, don’t announce it in the marketplaces of Ashkelon, or the daughters of the Philistines will rejoice, and the daughters of the uncircumcised will celebrate.
Cross over to Calneh and see; go from there to great Hamath; then go down to Gath of the Philistines. Are you better than these kingdoms? Is their territory larger than yours?
and all the mixed peoples; all the kings of the land of Uz; all the kings of the land of the Philistines #– #Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod;
Uzziah went out to wage war against the Philistines, and he tore down the wall of Gath, the wall of Jabneh, and the wall of Ashdod. Then he built cities in the vicinity of Ashdod and among the Philistines.
Ahaziah had fallen through the latticed window of his upstairs room in Samaria and was injured. So he sent messengers, instructing them, ‘Go and enquire of Baal-zebub, , the god of Ekron, whether I will recover from this injury.’
They asked, ‘What guilt offering should we send back to him? ’ And they answered, ‘Five gold tumours and five gold mice corresponding to the number of Philistine rulers, since there was one plague for both you and your rulers.
The people of Gath 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! ’
So 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 they moved the ark of Israel’s God.
The Philistines seized him and gouged out his eyes. They brought him down to Gaza and bound him with bronze shackles, and he was forced to grind grain in the prison.
‘But if he cannot afford an animal from the flock, then he may bring to the Lord two turtledoves or two young pigeons as penalty for guilt for his sin #– #one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering.
The Spirit of the Lord came powerfully on him, and he went down to Ashkelon and killed thirty of their men. He stripped them and gave their clothes to those who had explained the riddle. In a rage, Samson returned to his father’s house,