“You trust in the things you made and in your wealth, so you will be captured. The god Chemosh will be taken into captivity, and his priests and officials will be taken with him.
The Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel, says, “Very soon I will punish Amon, the god of Thebes, and I will punish Pharaoh, Egypt, and her gods. I will punish the kings of Egypt, and I will punish the people who depend on Pharaoh.
The first time we tried to bring it, we failed to ask the Lord about the right way to move it. And he punished us because you Levites did not carry it.”
Then the officials asked Pharaoh, “How long will we be trapped by these people? Let the men go to worship the Lord their God. If you don’t let them go, before you know it, Egypt will be destroyed!”
Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron and said, “Ask the Lord to remove the frogs from me and my people. I will let the people go to offer sacrifices to the Lord.”
The Lord made life hard for the people of Ashdod and their neighbors. He gave them many troubles and caused them to get tumors. He also sent mice to them. The mice ran all over their ships and then onto their land. The people in the city were very afraid.
The people of Ashdod called the five Philistine rulers together and asked them, “What must we do with the Holy Box of the God of Israel?” The rulers answered, “Move the Holy Box of the God of Israel to Gath.” So the Philistines moved God’s Holy Box.