And when the people of Ashdod rose early the next day, behold, Dagon had fallen face downward on the ground before the ark of the Lord. So they took Dagon and put him back in his place.
So they sent the ark of God to Ekron. But as soon as the ark of God came to Ekron, the people of Ekron cried out,“ They have brought around to us the ark of the God of Israel to kill us and our people.”They sent therefore and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines and said,“ Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it return to its own place, that it may not kill us and our people.” For there was a deathly panic throughout the whole city. The hand of God was very heavy there.