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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Holy Bible, New International Reader’s Version®, NIrV®
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Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
1 Samuel 4
4
1and Samuel's words were communicated to all the Israelites.
The Israelites marched out to confront the Philistines in battle. They set up camp at Ebenezer, while the Philistines set up camp at Aphek. 2The Philistines attacked the Israelites in formation, and when the battle spread, the Philistines defeated the Israelites, killing 4,000 of them on the battlefield. 3When the Israelite army returned to camp, the elders of Israel asked, “Why did the Lord defeat us before the Philistines today? Let's go and get the Ark of the Lord's Agreement from Shiloh, so that he can accompany us and save us from our enemies.”
4So the army sent men to Shiloh, and they brought back the Ark of the Lord Almighty's Agreement, he who sits on his throne between the cherubim. Hophni and Phinehas, the two sons of Eli, were there with the Ark of the God's Agreement. 5When the Ark of the Lord's Agreement arrived in the camp, all the Israelites gave such a loud shout it made the ground shake.
6When the Philistines heard all the shouting, they asked, “What's the meaning of this shouting in the Israelite camp?” When they found out that the Ark of the Lord had arrived in the camp, 7the Philistines were afraid. “A god has arrived in the camp,” they said. “We're in trouble, for nothing like this has happened before. 8This is disaster for us! Who will save us from the power of these mighty gods? These are the gods who attacked the Egyptians with all kinds of plagues in the wilderness. 9Be brave, and fight like real men, Philistines! Otherwise you'll end up as slaves to the Israelites, just as they were your slaves. Now be real men and fight!”
10So the Philistines fought, and the Israelites were defeated—every man ran away home. The death toll was very large: thirty thousand of the Israelite infantry were killed. 11The Ark of God was captured, and Hophni and Phinehas, Eli's two sons, died.
12A man from the tribe of Benjamin ran from the battle that day all the way to Shiloh. His clothes were torn and he had dirt on his head.#4:12. “His clothes were torn and he had dirt on his head.” This was symbolic of great distress. 13When he arrived, Eli was sitting there on his chair by the road, watching out for news because he was worried about the Ark of God. When the man came into town and gave his report, the whole town cried out loud.
14Eli heard the crying and asked, “What's all this noise?” The man rushed over to Eli and told him what had happened.
15Eli was ninety-eight years old, and his eyes were fixed because he couldn't see.
16“I've just come from the battle,” the man said. “I ran away from it today.”
“What happened, my son?” Eli asked.
17“Israel ran away from the Philistines—we were badly defeated,” the messenger replied. “Also your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were killed, and the Ark of God has been captured.”
18As soon as the Ark of God was mentioned, Eli fell backward from his chair by the town gate. Since he was old and heavy, he broke his neck and died. Eli had been Israel's leader for forty years.
19His daughter-in-law, Phinehas' wife, was pregnant and about to give birth. When she heard the news that the Ark of God had been captured, and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she went into labor and gave birth, but her labor pains were too strong. 20Just before she died, the women caring for her said, “Don't give up—you have given birth to a son!” But she didn't answer or give any response.
21She named the boy Ichabod, saying, “The glory has left Israel,” because Ark of God had been captured, and her father-in-law and her husband had died. 22She said, “The glory has left Israel, for the Ark of God has been captured.”
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com