3 When the people of Ashdod got up early the next day, they saw Dagon had fallen on his face in front of the Ark of the Lord. So they took Dagon and set him back up. 4 When they got up early the next morning, they saw Dagon had fallen on his face in front of the Ark of the Lord, with his head and hands broken off lying on the doorstep. Only his body remained intact.
6 The Lord punished5:6. "The Lord punished": literally, "The hand of the Lord was heavy." the people of Ashdod and its surrounding area, devastating them and plaguing them with swellings.5:6. Some think these "swellings" or "tumors" were related to bubonic plague. The Septuagint adds at the end of this verse, "and rats swarmed throughout the land, and there was death and destruction in the town."