God Causes Trouble for the Philistines
1 The Philistines took the sacred chest from near Ebenezer to the town of Ashdod. 2 They brought it into the temple of their god Dagon and put it next to the statue of Dagon, which they worshiped.
3 When the people of Ashdod got up early the next morning, they found the statue lying facedown 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 facedown 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 why 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 neighbors. 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 invited all the Philistine rulers to come 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, 10 so they sent the sacred chest to Ekron. But before they could take it through the town gates, the people of Ekron started screaming, “They've brought the sacred chest that belongs to the God of Israel! It will kill us and our families too!”
The Philistines Send Back the Sacred Chest
11 The people of Ekron called for another meeting of the Philistine rulers and told them, “Send this chest back where it belongs. Then it won't kill us.”
Everyone was in a panic, because God was causing a lot of people to die, 12 and those who had survived were suffering from the sores. They all cried to their gods for help.
Bhokisi le Tjidumano mu Bafilisitiya
1 Kwakati Bafilisitiya batapa Bhokisi le Tjidumano tje Ndzimu, bakalitola mu Ebheneza bakanoliyisa ku Ashidodi. 2 Ndizo Bafilisitiya bakatola Bhokisi le Tjidumano tje Ndzimu bakanolilonga mu ng'umba ya Dagoni bakalibiga pa hwunde na Dagoni 3 Kwakati tjimuka mangwanana bathu be Ashidodi bemuka, bakawana Dagoni iwoyo, akawa nge buso mbeli kwe Bhokisi le Tjidumano tja Yahwe. Ngono bakatola Dagoni bakambgwiliza pa bugalo gugwe. 4 Koga bakati bemuka tjimuka bakawana Dagoni iwoyo, akawa nge buso mbeli kwe Bhokisi le Tjidumano tja Yahwe, ngono nsholo wa Dagoni ne maboko awe wose zwakathubugwa zwili pa tjirepuli tje nkoba we ng'umba, kwasala mbili uwe koga. 5 Ndizo wali bapirisiti ba Dagoni na bose banongina mu ng'umba ya Dagoni basingatshambe tjirepuli tja Dagoni ku Ashidodi na nasi.
6 Shamu ya Yahwe yakalemela bathu be Ashidodi ne kupoteleka, kakale bakabatjisa ne kubalonga bugwele gwe malonda. 7 Kwakati bathu be Ashidodi bebona tjinoshingikala, bakati, “Bhokisi le Tjidumano tje Ndzimu we Iziraela alizofanila gala naswi, ngobe watiloba shamu inogwadza ne ndzimu wedu Dagoni.” 8 Ndizo bakadana boshe bose be Bafilisitiya, bakababhuzwa beti, “Apa tingathamani nge Bhokisi le Tjidumano tje Ndzimu we Iziraela kene?”
Ngono bakashandula beti, “Bhokisi le Tjidumano tje Ndzimu we Iziraela ngalifulusigwe ku Gati.” Ndizo bakafulusila Bhokisi le Tjidumano tje Ndzimu we Iziraela ku Gati. 9 Koga bakati baliyisa ku Gati, Yahwe bakaloba nzi iwoyo nge shamu, bakazhisa kutja kukulu kwazo, bakaloba bathu be nzi iwoyo, bose bakulu ne batjetjana bakabhudiwa nge malonda. 10 Ndizo bakatumila Bhokisi le Tjidumano tje Ndzimu ku Ekironi. Kwakati Bhokisi le Tjidumano tje Ndzimu liswika mu Ekironi, bathu be Ekironi bakalila beti, “Bazhisa Bhokisi le Tjidumano tje Ndzimu ku tili kutibulaya ne bakanyi kwedu.” 11 Ndizo bakadana batungamili bose be Bafilisitiya bakabadwa bakati, “Bgwilizani Bhokisi le Tjidumano tje Ndzimu we Iziraela, ngalibgwilile kanyi kwalo, lisitongo dwa litibulaya ne bakanyi kwedu.” Bakajalo ngobe nzi wose wakabe utetema nge lufu. Shamu ye Ndzimu yakabalemela kwazo ipapo. 12 Bakasala pafa bakabhudiwa nge malonda, ngono bakalilila midzimu yabo.