“Declare it not in Gath, Proclaim it not in the streets of Ashqelon, Lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, Lest the daughters of the uncircumcised exult.
and all the mixed multitude, and all the sovereigns of the land of Uts, and all the sovereigns of the land of the Philistines – even Ashqelon, and Azzah, and Eqron, and the remnant of Ashdoḏ
‘And if he is unable to bring a lamb, then he shall bring to יהוה, he who has sinned, two turtledoves or two young pigeons, one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering.
Thus said יהוה, “For three transgressions of Azzah, and for four, I do not turn it back, because they took into exile an entire exile, to surrender it to Eḏ
Then the Spirit of יהוה came upon him mightily, and he went down to Ashqelon and smote thirty of their men, stripped them, and gave the changes of garments to those who had explained the riddle. And his displeasure burned, and he went back up to his father’s house.
So the Philistines took him and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Azzah, and bound him with bronze shackles. And he became a grinder in the prison.
They then sent the ark of Elohim to Eqron. And it came to be, as the ark of Elohim came to Eqron, that the Eqronites cried out, saying, “They have removed the ark of the Elohim of Yisra’ĕ
And they said, “What is the guilt offering which we return to Him?” And they answered, “The number of the princes of the Philistines: five golden tumours and five golden rats. For the same plague was on all of you and on your princes.