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.
Kambeŋ Kunewo be Filisitinkoolu la bankoo kaŋ
1 Kabiriŋ Filisitinkoolu ye Alla la Kambeŋ Kunewo* taa, ì ye a bondi Ebenesa, ì ye a samba Asidodi. 2 Ì ye Kambeŋ Kunewo samba jalaŋ Dakoni la buŋo le to, ì ye a londi Dakoni daala. 3 Kabiriŋ Asidodinkoolu wulita wo saamoo, ì taata jalaŋ Dakoni la buŋo kono, ì ye a tara, Dakoni be boyiriŋ a ñaadaa kaŋ bankoo to Alla la Kambeŋ Kunewo ñaatiliŋo la. Ì ye Dakoni sika, ì ye a ke a la dulaa to. 4 Bari wo saamoo soomandaa kabiriŋ ì wulita, ì ye a tara Dakoni be boyiriŋ a ñaadaa kaŋ bankoo to Alla la Kambeŋ Kunewo ñaatiliŋo la kotenke. A kuŋo niŋ a buloolu bee kunturiŋo be laariŋ bundaa kuŋo to, a baloo dammaa le tuta jee. 5 Wo le ye a tinna fo bii, Dakoni la piriisoolu* waraŋ moo koteŋolu, mennu ka duŋ Dakoni la buŋo to Asidodi, buka ì siŋo loo ñiŋ bundaa kuŋo to.
6 Yaawe* ye Asidodinkoolu niŋ a dandanna saatewolu yankankati le. A ye kijafaroo niŋ yankankatoo jindi ì kaŋ niŋ maadiŋolu le la. 7 Kabiriŋ kewolu mennu be Asidodi, ye a je meŋ be ke kaŋ, ì ko, “Banisirayilankoolu la Alla la ñiŋ Kambeŋ Kunewo maŋ ñaŋ na tu la ntolu bulu, kaatu a la yankankatoo warata ntolu niŋ ǹ na alla Dakoni kaŋ ne.” 8 Bituŋ ì ye Filisitinkoolu la maralilaalu bee kumandi, ì ye ì ñininkaa ko, “Ǹ ñanta muŋ ne ke la Banisirayilankoolu la Alla la Kambeŋ Kunewo la?” Ì ye ì jaabi ko, “Ali Banisirayilankoolu la Alla la Kambeŋ Kunewo sawundi naŋ Kati.” Bituŋ ì ye a sawundi. 9 Bari kabiriŋ ì ye a sawundi, Yaawe ye wo saatee moolu fanaa yankankati le, kaatu a ye silaŋ baa le naati ì kaŋ. A ye saatee moolu mantoora niŋ maadiŋolu le la ka bo dindiŋ fo keebaa. 10 Bituŋ ì ye Alla la Kambeŋ Kunewo kii Ekironi. Kabiriŋ Alla la Kambeŋ Kunewo be duŋ kaŋ Ekironi, Ekironinkoolu kumboota baake ko, “Ì ye Banisirayilankoolu la Alla la Kambeŋ Kunewo samba naŋ ne fo ì si ǹ niŋ ǹ na moolu faa.” 11 Bituŋ ì ye Filisitinkoolu la maralilaalu bee kumandi, aduŋ ì ko, “Ali Banisirayilankoolu la Alla la Kambeŋ Kunewo seyindi, a ye muruŋ a la dulaa to, niŋ wo nte a be ntolu niŋ ǹ na moolu faa la le.” Kaatu saayaa kijafaroo le tarata faariŋ saatewo kono. Alla la yankankatoo warata a kaŋ ne. 12 Moolu mennu maŋ faa, a ye wolu yankankati niŋ maadiŋolu le la, aduŋ saatee moolu la kumboo kaŋo taata le fo ì la allañolu yaa, fo ì si ì maakoyi.
