6But the hand of the LORD was heavy upon those of Ashdod, and He destroyed them, and afflicted them with tumors, in both Ashdod and its vicinity. 7And when the men of Ashdod saw what was happening, they said, “The ark of the God of Israel shall not remain with us; for His hand is heavy upon us, and on Dagon, our God”. 8So they gathered all the lords of the Philistines together, and said, “What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel?” And they answered, “Let the ark of the God of Israel be taken to Gath”. And they carried the ark of the God of Israel there. 9And it was so that, after they had carried it there, the hand of the LORD was against the city of Gath, with a very great devastation; and He afflicted the men of the city, both small and great, and they developed tumors in their secret parts. 10So they sent the ark of God to Ekron. And as the ark of God came to Ekron, the Ekronites cried out, saying, “They have brought the ark of the God of Israel to us, to kill us and our people.” 11So they gathered all the lords of the Philistines, and said, “Send the ark of the God of Israel away, and let it go back to its own place, so that it does not slay us, and our people”; for there was a deadly destruction throughout all the city. The hand of God was very heavy there. 12And the men that did not die were smitten with the tumors; and the cry of the city went up to heaven.