The people of Ashdod got up early the next day. They saw the statue of Dagon. There it was, lying on the ground! It had fallen on its face in front of the ark of the Lord. So they picked up the statue of Dagon. They put it back in its place.
So the ark of God was sent to Ekron. As the ark was entering Ekron, the people of the city cried out. They shouted,“ They’ve brought the ark of the god of Israel to us. They want to kill us and our people.”So they called together all the rulers of the Philistines. They said,“ Send the ark of the god of Israel away. Let it go back to its own place. If you don’t, it will kill us and our people.” The death of so many people had filled the city with panic. God’s power was against the city.