1 Samuel 4
4
1And Samuel gave those messages to all the Israelites.
The Philistines Capture the Ark
The Israelites went out to fight against the Philistines. The Israelites camped at Ebenezer. The Philistines camped at Aphek. 2The Philistines brought their forces together to fight against Israel. As the fighting spread, the Israelites lost the battle to the Philistines. The Philistines killed about 4,000 of them on the field of battle. 3The rest of the Israelite soldiers returned to camp. Then the elders asked them, “Why did the Lord let the Philistines win the battle over us today? Let’s bring the ark of the Lord’s covenant from Shiloh. Let’s take it with us. Then the Lord will save us from the power of our enemies.”
4So the people sent men to Shiloh. They brought back the ark of the Lord’s covenant law. He sits there on his throne between the cherubim. The Lord is the one who rules over all. Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were with the ark of God’s covenant law. The ark was in Shiloh.
5The ark of the Lord’s covenant law was brought into the camp. Then all the Israelites shouted so loudly that the ground shook. 6The Philistines heard the noise. They asked, “What’s all that shouting about in the Hebrew camp?”
Then the Philistines found out that the ark of the Lord had come into the camp. 7So they were afraid. “A god has come into their camp,” they said. “Oh no! Nothing like this has ever happened before. 8How terrible it will be for us! Who will save us from the power of these mighty gods? They struck down the people of Egypt in the desert. They sent all kinds of plagues on them. 9Philistines, be strong! Fight like men! If you don’t, you will come under the control of the Hebrews. You will become their slaves, just as they have been your slaves. Fight like men!”
10So the Philistines fought. The Israelites lost the battle, and every man ran back to his tent. A large number of them were killed. Israel lost 30,000 soldiers who were on foot. 11The ark of God was captured. And Eli’s two sons Hophni and Phinehas died.
Eli Dies
12That same day a man from the tribe of Benjamin ran from the front lines of the battle. He went to Shiloh. His clothes were torn. He had dust on his head. 13When he arrived, there was Eli sitting on his chair. He was by the side of the road. He was watching because his heart was really concerned about the ark of God. The man entered the town and told everyone what had happened. Then the whole town cried out.
14Eli heard the people crying out. He asked, “What’s the meaning of all this noise?”
The man hurried over to Eli. 15Eli was 98 years old. His eyes were so bad he couldn’t see. 16The man told Eli, “I’ve just come from the front lines of the battle. I just ran away from there today.”
Eli asked, “What happened, son?”
17The man who brought the news replied, “Israel ran away from the Philistines. Large numbers of men in the army were wounded or killed. Your two sons Hophni and Phinehas are also dead. And the ark of God has been captured.”
18When the man spoke about the ark of God, Eli fell backward off his chair. He had been sitting by the side of the gate. When he fell, he broke his neck and died. He was old and fat. He had led Israel for 40 years.
19The wife of Phinehas was pregnant. She was Eli’s daughter-in-law. It was near the time for her baby to be born. She heard the news that the ark of God had been captured. She heard that her father-in-law and her husband were dead. So she went into labor and had her baby. Her pain was more than she could bear. 20As she was dying, the women helping her spoke up. They said, “Don’t be afraid. You have had a son.” But she didn’t reply. She didn’t pay any attention.
21She named the boy Ichabod. She said, “The God of glory has left Israel.” She said it because the ark of God had been captured. She also said it because her father-in-law and her husband had died. 22She said, “The God of glory has left Israel.” She said it because the ark of God had been captured.
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1 Samuel 4: NIrV
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1 Samuel 4
4
1Then Samuel would speak to the whole nation of Israel.
The sacred chest is captured and returned
The Philistines capture the sacred chest
One day the Israelites went out to fight the Philistines. They set up camp near Ebenezer, and the Philistines camped at Aphek. 2The Philistines made a fierce attack. They defeated the Israelites and killed about four thousand of them.
3The Israelite army returned to their camp, and the leaders said, “Why did the LORD let us lose to the Philistines today? Let's get the sacred chest where the LORD's agreement with Israel is kept. Then the LORD#4.3 Lord: Or “chest”. will help us and rescue us from our enemies.”
4The army sent some soldiers to bring back the sacred chest from Shiloh, because the LORD All-Powerful has his throne on the winged creatures on top of the chest.#Ex 25.22.
As Eli's two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, 5brought the chest into camp, the army cheered so loudly that the ground shook. 6The Philistines heard the noise and said, “What are those Hebrews shouting about?”
When the Philistines learnt that the sacred chest had been brought into the camp, 7they were scared to death and said:
The gods have come into their camp. Now we're in real trouble! Nothing like this has ever happened to us before. 8We're in big trouble! Who can save us from these powerful gods? They're the same gods who made all those horrible things happen to the Egyptians in the desert.
9Philistines, be brave and fight hard! If you don't, those Hebrews will rule us, just as we've been ruling them. Fight and don't be afraid.
10The Philistines did fight. They killed thirty thousand Israelite soldiers, and all the rest ran off to their homes. 11Hophni and Phinehas were killed, and the sacred chest was captured.
Eli dies
12That same day a soldier from the tribe of Benjamin ran from the battlefront to Shiloh. He had torn his clothes and put earth on his head to show his sorrow. 13He went into town and told the news about the battle, and everyone started crying.
Eli was afraid that something might happen to the sacred chest. So he was sitting on his chair beside the road, just waiting. 14-15He was ninety-eight years old and blind, but he could hear everyone crying, and he asked, “What's all that noise?”
The soldier hurried over and told Eli, 16“I escaped from the fighting today and ran here.”
“Young man, what happened?” Eli asked.
17“Israel ran away from the Philistines,” the soldier answered. “Many of our people were killed, including your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas. But worst of all, the sacred chest was captured.”
18Eli was still sitting on a chair beside the wall of the town gate. And when the man said that the Philistines had taken the sacred chest, Eli fell backwards. He was a very heavy old man, and the fall broke his neck and killed him. He had been a leader#4.18 leader: The Hebrew word means that Eli may have been an army commander, a judge, and a priest. of Israel for forty years.
19The wife of Phinehas was about to give birth. And soon after she heard that the sacred chest had been captured and that her husband and his father had died, her baby came. The birth was very hard, 20and she was dying. But the women taking care of her said, “Don't be afraid—it's a boy!”
She didn't pay any attention to them. 21-22Instead she kept thinking about losing her husband and her father-in-law. So she said, “My son will be named Ichabod,#4.21,22 Ichabod: Ichabod means “where is the glory?” or “there is no glory.” because the glory of Israel left our country when the sacred chest was captured.”
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