Oshikefa moshilongo shOvafilisti
1 NOvafilisti va kufa oshikefa shaKalunga muEben-Eser, ndele ve shi twala kuAsdod. 2 Opo nee Ovafilisti va kufa oshikefa shaKalunga ndele ve shi twala mongulu yaDagon, ndele ve shi tula popepi naDagon. 3 Oonakukalamo muAsdod, eshi ve uya mo ongula inene, va mona Dagon ta nangala oshipala shaye pedu moshipala shoshikefa shOmwene. Ndele va kufa Dagon ndele tave mu tula ponhele yaye vali. 4 Ndelenee vo eshi va penduka ongula inene, ova mona Dagon a nangala oshipala shaye pedu moshipala shoshikefa shOmwene. Ndelenee omutwe waDagon nomake aye avali a tetwa a li poshikulo shoposhi, olumbubu alike lolutu la fyaala po. 5 Onghee hano ovapristeli vaDagon naaveshe ava tava i mongulu yaDagon, itava lyata koshikulo shoposhi shongulu yaDagon muAsdod fiyo onena eli.
6 Ndelenee eke lOmwene la li lidjuu kombada yOvaasdod, ndele Ye e va tilifa nokwe va hepeka noidinda, Asdod noipangelwa yasho. 7 Ovalumenhu vomuAsdod, eshi va dimbulukwa oyo tuu ei, vo va tya: Oshikefa shaKalunga kaIsrael inashi kala vali pufye, osheshi eke laye oli li po lidjuu kombada yetu nokombada yakalunga ketu Dagon. 8 Onghee va ifana ovakulunhu aveshe vOvafilisti va ongale puvo ndele tava pula: “Fye ohatu ka ninga ngahelipi noshikefa shaKalunga kaIsrael?” Ndele venya va tya: “Oshikefa shaKalunga kaIsrael nashi twalwe kuGat.” Ndele oko va twala oshikefa shaKalunga kaIsrael. 9 Ndele vo eshi ve shi twala ko, eke lOmwene la hanga oshilando, le shi dongakanifa nedongakanifo linene shili noonakukala vomoshilando, ovanyasha novakulunhu, Ye e va umba oidinda. 10 Opo nee va tuma oshikefa shaKalunga kuEkron. Ndelenee oshikefa shaKalunga eshi she uya muEkron, ovanhu vomuEkron va ingida ndele tava ti: “Vo ova tuma oku kwaame oshikefa shaKalunga kaIsraeli, ame novanhu vange va hangike kefyo.” 11 Onghee hano va ongaleka ovakulunhu aveshe vOvafilisti ndele tava ti: Oshikefa shaKalunga kaIsrael nashi shunifwe monhele yasho, shiha etele nge novanhu vange efyo. Osheshi oumbada wefyo wa kwata oshilando ashishe. Eke laKalunga la li lidjuu shili. 12 Novanhu ava inava fya, va umbwa oidinda, onghee onghuwo yekwafo ya dja moshilando ya londa meulu.
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.
