1 Samuel 4
4
1And the word of Samuel came to all Israel.
The Philistines Capture the Ark
Now Israel went out against the Philistines to battle, and pitched beside Ebene´zer: and the Philistines pitched in Aphek. 2And the Philistines put themselves in array against Israel: and when they joined battle, Israel was smitten before the Philistines: and they slew of the army in the field about four thousand men. 3And when the people were come into the camp, the elders of Israel said, Wherefore hath the Lord smitten us today before the Philistines? Let us fetch the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of Shiloh unto us, that, when it cometh among us, it may save us out of the hand of our enemies. 4#Exod 25.22. So the people sent to Shiloh, that they might bring from thence the ark of the covenant of the Lord of hosts, which dwelleth between the cherubim: and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phin´ehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.
5And when the ark of the covenant of the Lord came into the camp, all Israel shouted with a great shout, so that the earth rang again. 6And when the Philistines heard the noise of the shout, they said, What meaneth the noise of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews? And they understood that the ark of the Lord was come into the camp. 7And the Philistines were afraid; for they said, God is come into the camp. And they said, Woe unto us! for there hath not been such a thing heretofore. 8Woe unto us! who shall deliver us out of the hand of these mighty Gods? these are the Gods that smote the Egyptians with all the plagues in the wilderness. 9Be strong, and quit yourselves like men, O ye Philistines, that ye be not servants unto the Hebrews, as they have been to you: quit yourselves like men, and fight.
10And the Philistines fought, and Israel was smitten, and they fled every man into his tent: and there was a very great slaughter; for there fell of Israel thirty thousand footmen. 11And the ark of God was taken; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phin´ehas, were slain.
12And there ran a man of Benjamin out of the army, and came to Shiloh the same day with his clothes rent, and with earth upon his head. 13And when he came, lo, Eli sat upon a seat by the wayside watching: for his heart trembled for the ark of God. And when the man came into the city, and told it, all the city cried out. 14And when Eli heard the noise of the crying, he said, What meaneth the noise of this tumult? And the man came in hastily, and told Eli. 15Now Eli was ninety and eight years old; and his eyes were dim, that he could not see. 16And the man said unto Eli, I am he that came out of the army, and I fled today out of the army. And he said, What is there done,#4.16 What is there done or How was the matter. my son? 17And the messenger answered and said, Israel is fled before the Philistines, and there hath been also a great slaughter among the people, and thy two sons also, Hophni and Phin´ehas, are dead, and the ark of God is taken. 18And it came to pass, when he made mention of the ark of God, that he fell from off the seat backward by the side of the gate, and his neck brake, and he died: for he was an old man, and heavy. And he had judged Israel forty years.
19And his daughter-in-law, Phin´ehas' wife, was with child, near to be delivered: and when she heard the tidings that the ark of God was taken, and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she bowed herself and travailed; for her pains came upon her. 20And about the time of her death the women that stood by her said unto her, Fear not; for thou hast borne a son. But she answered not, neither did she regard it. 21And she named the child Ich´abod,#4.21 That is, There is no glory. saying, The glory is departed from Israel: because the ark of God was taken, and because of her father-in-law and her husband. 22And she said, The glory is departed from Israel: for the ark of God is taken.
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King James Version 1611, spelling, punctuation and text formatting modernized by ABS in 1962; typesetting © 2010 American Bible Society.
1 Samuel 4
4
1News about Samuel spread through all of Israel.
The Philistines Capture the Ark of the Covenant
At that time the Israelites went out to fight the Philistines. The Israelites camped at Ebenezer, and the Philistines camped at Aphek. 2The Philistines went to meet the Israelites in battle. And as the battle spread, the Philistines defeated the Israelites. They killed about 4,000 soldiers of the Israelite army. 3Then some Israelite soldiers went back to their camp. The elders of Israel asked, “Why did the Lord let the Philistines defeat us? Let’s bring the Ark of the Covenant with the Lord here from Shiloh. In this way God will go with us into battle. He will save us from our enemies.”
4So the people sent men to Shiloh. They brought back the Ark of the Covenant with the Lord of heaven’s armies. Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the Ark of the Covenant.
5The Ark of the Covenant with the Lord came into the camp. And all the Israelites gave a great shout of joy. It made the ground shake. 6The Philistines heard Israel’s shout. They asked, “What’s all this shouting in the Hebrew camp?”
Then the Philistines found out that the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord had come into the Hebrew camp. 7They were afraid and said, “A god has come into the Hebrew camp! We’re in trouble! This has never happened before! 8How terrible it will be for us! Who can save us from these powerful gods? They are the ones who struck the Egyptians with all kinds of disasters in the desert. 9Be brave, Philistines! Fight like men! In the past they were our slaves. So fight like men, or you will become their slaves.”
10So the Philistines fought hard and defeated the Israelites. Every Israelite soldier ran away to his own home. It was a great defeat for Israel, because 30,000 Israelite soldiers were killed. 11The Ark of the Covenant of God was taken by the Philistines. And Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were killed.
12That same day a man from the tribe of Benjamin ran from the battle. He tore his clothes and put dust on his head to show his great sadness. 13When he arrived in Shiloh, Eli was by the side of the road. Eli was sitting there in a chair, watching. He was worried about the Ark of the Covenant of God. When the Benjaminite entered Shiloh, he told the bad news. Then all the people in town cried loudly. 14Eli heard the crying and asked, “What’s all this noise?”
The Benjaminite ran to Eli and told him what had happened. 15Eli was now 98 years old, and he was blind. 16The Benjaminite told him, “I have come from the battle. I ran all the way here today.”
Eli asked, “What happened, my son?”
17The Benjaminite answered, “Israel ran away from the Philistines. The Israelite army has lost many soldiers. Your two sons are both dead. And the Philistines have taken the Ark of the Covenant of God.”
18When he mentioned the Ark of the Covenant of God, Eli fell backward off his chair. He fell beside the gate and broke his neck, because he was old and fat. And Eli died. He had led Israel for 40 years.
The Glory Is Gone
19Eli’s daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant. It was nearly time for her baby to be born. She heard the news that the Ark of the Covenant of God had been taken. She heard also that Eli, her father-in-law, and Phinehas, her husband, were both dead. So she began to give birth to her child. The child was born, but the mother had much trouble in giving birth. 20As she was dying, the women who helped her give birth said, “Don’t worry! You’ve given birth to a son!” But she did not answer or pay attention. She named the baby Ichabod.# This name means “Where is the glory?” 21She named him Ichabod and said, “Israel’s glory is gone.” She said this because the Ark of the Covenant of God had been taken. It was also because her father-in-law and husband were dead. 22She said, “Israel’s glory is gone, because the Ark of the Covenant of God has been taken away.”
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