1 Samuel 5 - Easy To Read Version Easy To Read Version
1 Samuel 5

¹ The Philistines carried God’s Holy Box, [55] from Ebenezer to Ashdod.

² The Philistines carried God’s Holy Box into the temple of Dagon [56] and put it next to the statue of Dagon.

³ The next morning, the people of Ashdod got up and found Dagon lying face down on the ground. Dagon had fallen down before the Lord’s Box.

⁴ But the next morning when the people of Ashdod got up, they found Dagon on the ground again! Dagon had fallen down before the Lord’s Holy Box. [58] This time, Dagon’s head and hands were broken off and lying on the threshold. [59] Only Dagon’s body was still in one piece.

⁵ That is why, even today, Dagon’s priests or any other people who enter Dagon’s Temple at Ashdod refuse to step on the threshold.

⁶ The Lord made life hard for the people of Ashdod and their neighbors. The Lord gave them many troubles. He caused them to get tumors. [60] The Lord 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. [61]

⁷ The people of Ashdod saw what was happening. They said, “The Holy Box [62] of the God of Israel can’t stay here! God is punishing us and Dagon [63] our god.”

⁸ The people of Ashdod called the five Philistine rulers together. The people of Ashdod asked the rulers, “What must we do with the Holy Box [64] of the God of Israel?”

⁹ But after the Philistines had moved God’s Holy Box [66] to Gath, the Lord punished that city. The people became very scared. God caused many troubles for all the people—young and old. God caused the people in Gath to have tumors. [67]

¹⁰ So the Philistines sent God’s Holy Box to Ekron.

¹¹ The people of Ekron called all the Philistine rulers together. The people of Ekron said to the rulers, “Send the Box of the God of Israel back to its place before it kills us and our people!”

¹² {Many people died.} And the people who did not die, had tumors. [69] The people of Ekron cried loudly to heaven.