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

¹¹ So 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.

¹¹ And now, see, the hand of the Lord is on you, and you will be blind and not able to see the sun for a time. And straight away a dark mist came down on him; and he went about looking for a guide.

⁴ For the weight of your hand was on me day and night; my body became dry like the earth in summer. (Selah.)

³ Then the hand of the Lord will put on your cattle in the field, on the horses and the asses and the camels, on the herds and the flocks, a very evil disease.

⁶⁶ His haters were turned back by his blows and shamed for ever.

⁷ And 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.

²⁷ The Lord will send on you the disease of Egypt, and other sorts of skin diseases which nothing will make well.

³ Is it not trouble for the sinner, and destruction for the evil-doers?

⁴ Then they said, What sin-offering are we to send to him? And they said, Five gold images of the growths caused by your disease and five gold mice, one for every lord of the Philistines: for the same disease came on you and on your lords.

⁵ So make images of the growths caused by your disease and of the mice which are damaging your land; and give glory to the God of Israel: it may be that the weight of his hand will be lifted from you and from your gods and from your land.

⁹ But 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.