I Samuel 5 Comparison: Bible in Basic English vs New Heart English Bible

I Samuel 5

¹Now the Philistines, having taken the ark of God, took it with them from Eben-ezer to Ashdod.

²They took the ark of God into the house of Dagon and put it by the side of Dagon.

³And when the people of Ashdod got up early on the morning after, they saw that Dagon had come down to the earth on his face before the ark of the Lord. And they took Dagon up and put him in his place again.

⁴And when they got up early on the morning after, Dagon had come down to the earth on his face before the ark of the Lord; and his head and his hands were broken off on the doorstep; only the base was in its place.

⁵So to this day no priest of Dagon, or any who come into Dagon's house, will put his foot on the doorstep of the house of Dagon in Ashdod.

⁶But the hand of the Lord was hard on the people of Ashdod and he sent disease on them through all the country of Ashdod.

⁷And when the men of Ashdod saw how it was, they said, Let not the ark of the God of Israel be with us, for his hand is hard on us and on Dagon our god.

⁸So they sent for all the lords of the Philistines to come together there, and said, What are we to do with the ark of the God of Israel? And their answer was, Let the ark of the God of Israel be taken away to Gath. So they took the ark of the God of Israel away.

⁹But after they had taken it away, the hand of the Lord was stretched out against the town for its destruction: and the signs of disease came out on all the men of the town, small and great.

¹⁰So they sent the ark of God to Ekron. And when the ark of God came to Ekron, the people of the town made an outcry, saying, They have sent the ark of the God of Israel to us for the destruction of us and of our people.

¹¹So they sent and got together all the lords of the Philistines, and they said, Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it go back to its place, so that it may not be the cause of death to us and to our people: for there was a great fear of death through all the town; the hand of God was very hard on them there.

¹²And those men who were not overtaken by death were cruelly diseased: and the cry of the town went up to heaven.

I Samuel 5

¹Now the Philistines had taken the ark of God, and they brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod.

²The Philistines took the ark of God, and brought it into the house of Dagon, and set it by Dagon.

³When they of Ashdod arose early on the next day, behold, Dagon was fallen on his face to the ground before the ark of the Lord. They took Dagon, and set him in his place again.

⁴When they arose early on the next day morning, behold, Dagon was fallen on his face to the ground before the ark of the Lord; and the head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands were cut off on the threshold. Only Dagon's torso was intact.

⁵Therefore neither the priests of Dagon, nor any who come into Dagon's house, tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod, to this day.

⁶But the hand of the Lord was heavy on them of Ashdod, and he destroyed them, and struck them with tumors, even Ashdod and its borders.

⁷When the men of Ashdod saw that it was so, they said, "The ark of the God of Israel shall not stay with us; for his hand is severe on us, and on Dagon our god."

⁸They sent therefore and gathered all the lords of the Philistines to them, and said, "What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel?" They answered, "Let the ark of the God of Israel be carried over to Gath." They carried the ark of the God of Israel there.

⁹It was so, that after they had carried it about, the hand of the Lord was against the city with a very great confusion: and he struck the men of the city, both small and great; and tumors broke out on them.

¹⁰So they sent the ark of God to Ekron. It happened, as the ark of God came to Ekron, that the Ekronites cried out, saying, "They have brought about the ark of the God of Israel to us, to kill us and our people."

¹¹They 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 go again to its own place, that it not kill us and our people." For there was a deadly confusion throughout all the city; the hand of God was very heavy there.

¹²The men who did not die were struck with the tumors; and the cry of the city went up to heaven.