3 When the people of Ashdod got up early the next morning, they found the statue lying face down on the floor in front of the sacred chest. They put the statue back where it belonged.
4 But early the next morning, it had fallen over again and was lying face down on the floor in front of the chest. The body of the statue was still in one piece, but its head and both hands had broken off and were lying on the stone floor in the doorway.
5 This is the reason the priests and everyone else step over that part of the doorway when they enter the temple of Dagon in Ashdod.
6 The Lord caused a lot of trouble for the people of Ashdod and their neighbours. He made sores break out all over their bodies, and everyone was in a panic.
7 Finally, they said, “The God of Israel did this. He is the one who caused all this trouble for us and our god Dagon. We've got to get rid of this chest.”
8 The people of Ashdod called all the Philistine rulers to Ashdod, and they asked them, “What can we do with the sacred chest that belongs to the God of Israel?”“Send it to Gath,” the rulers answered. But after they took it there,
9 the Lord made sores break out on everyone in town. The people of Gath were frightened,