Oshikethahangano mokati kAafilisti
1 Konima Aafilisti sho ya kwata po oshikethahangano, oye shi kutha kuEbenezer e taye shi fala koshilando shawo Ashdod, 2 ye shi tula motempeli yakalunga kawo Dagon noye shi langeke ontega noshiyelekela shaDagon. 3 Ongula onene sho kwa shi, aantu yokuAshdod oya mono efano lyoshiyelekela shaDagon lya gwila pevi nolya sizimaneka oshipala pevi komeho goshikethahangano shOmuwa. Oyo oye li toola po e taye li tula pehala lyalyo. 4 Ongulangula ya landula oya mono ishewe oshiyelekela shaDagon sha gwile pevi komeho goshikethahangano. Omutse gwasho nomaako gasho agehe oya li ya teka ko, yi li lwoposheelo; olutu aluke lwa li lwa kala po. 5 (Omolwashika aayambi yaDagon naasimaneki ye ayehe muAshdod ihaa lyata po we pehala mpoka sigo onena.)
6 Omuwa okwa geele aantu yokuAshdod noonkondo e te ya tilitha. Okwe ya geele pamwe naantu yomomikunda dhe ya kunduka nokwe ya etele iitumbuka. 7 Sho ya mono mbika ya ningwa, oya ti: “Kalunga kaIsrael ote tu geele e ta geele wo kalunga ketu Dagon. Itatu vulu we okukala noshikethahangano shika.” 8 Onkee oya tumu aatumwa noyi ithana aakwaniilwa yatano yAafilisti ya gongale noye ya pula: “Oshikethahangano shaKalunga kaIsrael otatu shi ningi ngiini?”
Aakwaniilwa oye ya yamukula ya ti: “Shi faleni kuGat.” Osho ngaaka ye shi fala kuGat, oshilando shilwe shAafilisti. 9 Ihe sho sha thiki ko, Omuwa okwa geele noshilando shika wo nokwe eta ehaluko enene. Okwe ya geele niitumbuka maantu ayehe yomoshilando, aanona naakuluntu. 10 Oya tumu ishewe oshikethahangano kuEkron, oshilando shilwe shAafilisti; ihe sho sha thiki ko, aantu oyi igidha ya ti: “Oya tumu huka oshikethahangano shaKalunga kaIsrael, opo shi tu dhipage po atuhe!” 11 Oya gongaleke ishewe aakwaniilwa ayehe yAafilisti noya ti kuyo: “Shunii ko oshikethahangano kehala lyasho, opo shaa tu dhipage po naangandjetu.” Moshilando ashihe omwa li etilo, oshoka Kalunga okwe ya geele noonkondo. 12 Naamboka inaa sa, oya li yu udha iitumbuka, aantu noya kugile iikalunga yawo onkugo, yi ya kwathe.
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.
