And the Philistines took the ark of God, and carried it from the Stone of help into Azotus.

Philisthiim autem tulerunt arcam Dei, et asportaverunt eam a lapide Adjutorii in Azotum.

Meanwhile the Philistines had carried off the ark of God, taking it from the Rock of Deliverance to Azotus;

And the Philistines took the ark of God, and brought it into the temple of Dagon, and set it by Dagon.

Tuleruntque Philisthiim arcam Dei, et intulerunt eam in templum Dagon, et statuerunt eam juxta Dagon.

and when it reached Azotus it was carried into the temple of Dagon and set down there in front of Dagon’s statue.

And when the Azotians arose early the next day, behold Dagon lay upon his face on the ground before the ark of the Lord: and they took Dagon, and set him again in his place.

Cumque surrexissent diluculo Azotii altera die, ecce Dagon jacebat pronus in terra ante arcam Domini: et tulerunt Dagon, et restituerunt eum in locum suum.

Next morning, the men of Azotus woke to find Dagon lying face downwards in front of the ark; and although they put the statue back in its place,

And the next day again, when they rose in the morning, they found Dagon lying upon his face on the earth before the ark of the Lord: and the head of Dagon, and both the palms of his hands were cut off upon the threshold:

Rursumque mane die altera consurgentes, invenerunt Dagon jacentem super faciem suam in terra coram arca Domini: caput autem Dagon, et duæ palmæ manuum ejus abscissæ erant super limen:

the second day shewed a worse sight still; Dagon was face downwards in front of the ark, and there in the door-way lay his head and both hands, severed from the trunk,

And only the stump of Dagon remained in its place. For this cause neither the priests of Dagon, nor any that go into the temple tread on the threshold of Dagon in Azotus unto this day.

porro Dagon solus truncus remanserat in loco suo. Propter hanc causam non calcant sacerdotes Dagon, et omnes qui ingrediuntur templum ejus, super limen Dagon in Azoto, usque in hodiernum diem.

that lay where it fell. That is why to this day the priests and the worshippers of Dagon never set foot on the threshold when they enter his temple in Azotus.

And the hand of the Lord was heavy upon the Azotians, and he destroyed them, and afflicted Azotus and the coasts thereof with emerods. And in the villages and fields in the midst of that country, there came forth a multitude of mice, and there was the confusion of a great mortality in the city.

Aggravata est autem manus Domini super Azotios, et demolitus est eos: et percussit in secretiori parte natium Azotum, et fines ejus. Et ebullierunt villæ et agri in medio regionis illius, et nati sunt mures et facta est confusio mortis magnæ in civitate.

And now the Lord sent a heavy plague on the men of Azotus and its neighbourhood, to their undoing, a plague of swellings in the groin. All through their townships, all over the country-side, the infection spread; the mice, too, swarmed everywhere; in the city, the dead lay piled in heaps.

And the men of Azotus seeing this kind of plague, said: The ark of the God of Israel shall not stay with us: for his hand is heavy upon us, and upon Dagon our god.

Videntes autem viri Azotii hujuscemodi plagam, dixerunt: Non maneat arca Dei Israël apud nos: quoniam dura est manus ejus super nos, et super Dagon deum nostrum.

The men of Azotus, finding themselves so plague-ridden, would not keep the ark of Israel’s God among them any longer, to bring disaster upon themselves and their god Dagon;

And sending, they gathered together all the lords of the Philistines to them, and said: What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel? And the Gethrites answered: Let the ark of the God of Israel be carried about. And they carried the ark of the God of Israel about.

Et mittentes congregaverunt omnes satrapas Philisthinorum ad se, et dixerunt: Quid faciemus de arca Dei Israël? Responderuntque Gethæi: Circumducatur arca Dei Israël. Et circumduxerunt arcam Dei Israël.

so they summoned a gathering of all the Philistine chiefs, and put the question what should be done with the ark. It must be carried about, the men of Geth told them, from place to place; and carry it about they did,

And while they were carrying it about, the hand of the Lord came upon every city with an exceeding great slaughter: and he smote the men of every city, both small and great, and they had emerods in their secret parts. And the Gethrites consulted together, and made themselves seats of skins.

Illis autem circumducentibus eam, fiebat manus Domini per singulas civitates interfectionis magnæ nimis: et percutiebat viros uniuscujusque urbis, a parvo usque ad majorem, et computrescebant prominentes extales eorum. Inieruntque Gethæi consilium, et fecerunt sibi sedes pelliceas.

but wherever it went, from city to city, the power of the Lord made itself felt in a grievous mortality; on high and low it fell everywhere, rotting away their inward parts, and the men of Geth could devise no better relief than to sit on seats of leather.

Therefore they sent the ark of God into Accaron. And when the ark of God was come into Accaron, the Accaronites cried out, saying: They have brought the ark of the God of Israel to us, to kill us and our people.

Miserunt ergo arcam Dei in Accaron. Cumque venisset arca Dei in Accaron, exclamaverunt Accaronitæ, dicentes: Adduxerunt ad nos arcam Dei Israël ut interficiat nos et populum nostrum.

So now they sent the ark of God on to Accaron; but no sooner had it reached them than the men of Accaron began crying out, They have brought the ark of Israel’s God here, for our ruin, our common ruin!

They sent therefore and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines: and they said: Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it return into its own place, and not kill us and our people.

Miserunt itaque et congregaverunt omnes satrapas Philisthinorum: qui dixerunt: Dimittite arcam Dei Israël, et revertatur in locum suum, et non interficiat nos cum populo nostro.

And they summoned all the Philistine chiefs, who determined that the ark must be sent back whence it came, before it brought death on themselves and their people.

For there was the fear of death in every city, and the hand of God was exceeding heavy. The men also that did not die, were afflicted with the emerods: and the cry of every city went up to heaven.

Fiebat enim pavor mortis in singulis urbibus, et gravissima valde manus Dei. Viri quoque qui mortui non fuerant, percutiebantur in secretiori parte natium: et ascendebat ululatus uniuscujusque civitatis in cælum.

No city was free from the fear of death, and God’s heavy visitation; even those who survived had shameful sores to tend, and everywhere cries of anguish went up to heaven.