8. Then they sent and gathered to them all the princes of the Philistines, and said, “What do we do with the ark of the Elohim of Yisra’ĕl?” And they answered, “Let the ark of the Elohim of Yisra’ĕl be removed to Gath.” And they removed the ark of the Elohim of Yisra’ĕl.
9. And it came to be, after they removed it, that the hand of יהוה was against the city with a very great destruction. And He smote the men of the city, from the least to the greatest, and tumours broke out on them.
10. They then sent the ark of Elohim to Eqron. And it came to be, as the ark of Elohim came to Eqron, that the Eqronites cried out, saying, “They have removed the ark of the Elohim of Yisra’ĕl to us, to kill us and our people!”
11. And they sent and gathered together all the princes of the Philistines, and said, “Send away the ark of the Elohim of Yisra’ĕl, and let it return to its own place, so that it does not kill us and our people.” For there had come a deadly destruction throughout all the city – the hand of Elohim was very heavy there.
12. And the men who did not die were smitten with tumours, and the cry of the city went up to the heavens.