The Philistines took the ark of God into the house of Dagon - and by morning Dagon lay facedown before it. First Samuel 5 is twelve verses of narrative theology: Dagon fell twice before the ark (losing his head and hands on the second fall), a plague of tumors rolled from Ashdod to Gath to Ekron, and the cry of dying P

Full sung version coming soon.

Lyrics

The Philistines had taken God’s ark They brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod The Philistines took God’s ark And brought it into the house of Dagon

When the people of Ashdod arose early the next day Behold, Dagon had fallen on his face Before the LORD’s ark They took Dagon and set him in his place again

When they arose early the following morning Behold, Dagon had fallen on his face again The head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands Were cut off on the threshold

Only Dagon’s torso was intact Neither the priests of Dagon nor any who come into his house Step on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod To this day

The LORD’s hand was heavy on the people of Ashdod He destroyed them and struck them with tumours Ashdod and its borders Even the men of Ashdod itself

The ark of the God of Israel shall not stay with us His hand is severe on us And on Dagon our god What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel

They sent and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines They said, Send the ark away Let it go back to its own place That it not kill us and our people

There was a deadly panic throughout all the city The hand of God was very heavy there The men who didn’t die Were struck with tumours

The cry of the city went up to heaven Send the ark away Send it back to its own place

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1 Samuel 5 sung by Psalm Selah. The whole Bible, one chapter at a time.

Published 2026-05-22 · Last updated 2026-06-06
Written by Reid Wender, Editorial Director at Psalmody Press