⁷ And when the inhabitants of Ashdod saw how things were, they said, “The ark of the God of Israel must not remain with us, for his hand is heavy on us and on our god Dagon.”

¹¹ 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^[a] people.” For there was a deathly panic throughout the whole city. The hand of God was very heavy there;^(A)

³ the hand of the Lord will strike with a deadly pestilence your livestock in the field: the horses, the donkeys, the camels, the herds, and the flocks.

²⁷ The Lord will afflict you with the boils of Egypt, with tumors, scurvy, and itch, of which you cannot be healed.^(A)

⁵ So you must make images of your tumors and images of your mice that ravage the land and give glory to the God of Israel; perhaps he will lighten his hand on you and your gods and your land.^(A)