⁹ But after they had carried it there, the Lord’s hand was against that city, and there was great panic. He struck the men of the city, both young and old,^[a] so that tumors broke out on them. ¹⁰ So they sent God’s ark to Ekron.

When God’s ark came to Ekron, the people of Ekron cried out, “They have brought the Ark of the God of Israel here to kill us and our people.” ¹¹ They called a meeting of all the serens of the Philistines, and they said, “Send the Ark of the God of Israel away. Let it go back to its own place, so that it does not kill us and our people.” Indeed, the threat of death caused panic throughout the whole city. The hand of God was very heavy there.