I Samuel 5:3

First Samuel 5 shows the consequences of the captured ark of God in Philistia: when they set it beside Dagon in his temple at Ashdod, the idol falls face down before the ark, and the next day its head and hands are cut off on the threshold. The Lord afflicts the people of Ashdod, then Gath, and then Ekron with a deadly destruction and tumors so severe they cry out to send the ark away. Recognizing that the hand of God was very heavy upon them, the Philistines determine they must return the ark of the God of Israel to its own place.