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1 Samuel 5:8
ESV So they sent and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines and said, “What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel?” They answered, “Let the ark of the God of Israel be brought around to Gath.” So they brought the ark of the God of Israel there.
NIV So they called together all the rulers of the Philistines and asked them, 'What shall we do with the ark of the god of Israel?' They answered, 'Have the ark of the god of Israel moved to Gath.' So they moved the ark of the God of Israel.
NASB So they sent word and gathered all the governors of the Philistines to them, and said, 'What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel?' And they said, 'Have the ark of the God of Israel brought to Gath.' So they took the ark of the God of Israel away.
CSB So they called all the Philistine rulers together and asked, "What should we do with the ark of Israel's God? ""The ark of Israel's God should be moved to Gath," they replied. So they moved the ark of Israel's God.
NLT So they called together the rulers of the Philistine towns and asked, 'What should we do with the Ark of the God of Israel?' The rulers discussed it and replied, 'Move it to the town of Gath.' So they moved the Ark of the God of Israel to Gath.
KJV They sent therefore and gathered all the lords of the Philistines unto them, 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 carried about unto Gath. And they carried the ark of the God of Israel about thither.

What does 1 Samuel 5:8 mean?

The nation of the Philistines was ruled by a pentapolis, meaning five cities. Each of these cities was ruled by a lord and important decisions that impacted the nation were shared between them (1 Samuel 6:4, 17–18). The ruler of Ashdod understood that his city was under siege from a plague of tumors caused by the presence of the ark of the Lord God of Israel (1 Samuel 5:2–7). He needed help.

The rulers met and decided to transfer the ark of the Lord from Ashdod, near the coast, to Gath, to the southeast and closer to the region of Judah. Gath will later be known as the city of the giant Goliath (1 Samuel 17:4) and of King Achish (1 Samuel 21:10–15). It's unknown why the Philistines decided to send the ark to Gath. Perhaps they thought the primary reason for their affliction was that the ark was still in the temple beside idols to Dagon. For whatever reason, they thought things would go differently there than in Ashdod.
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