1 Samuel 4
4
1And the word of Samuel is to all Israel, and Israel goeth out to meet the Philistines for battle, and they encamp by Eben-Ezer, and the Philistines have encamped in Aphek,
2and the Philistines set themselves in array to meet Israel, and the battle spreadeth itself, and Israel is smitten before the Philistines, and they smite among the ranks in the field about four thousand men.
3And the people cometh in unto the camp, and the elders of Israel say, ‘Why hath Jehovah smitten us to-day before the Philistines? we take unto us from Shiloh the ark of the covenant of Jehovah, and it cometh into our midst, and He doth save us out of the hand of our enemies.’
4And the people sendeth to Shiloh, and they take up thence the ark of the covenant of Jehovah of Hosts, inhabiting the cherubs, and there [are] two sons of Eli, with the ark of the covenant of God, Hophni and Phinehas.
5And it cometh to pass, at the coming in of the ark of the covenant of Jehovah unto the camp, that all Israel shout — a great shout — and the earth is moved.
6And the Philistines hear the noise of the shouting, and say, ‘What [is] the noise of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews?’ and they perceive that the ark of Jehovah hath come in unto the camp.
7And the Philistines are afraid, for they said, ‘God hath come in unto the camp;’ and they say, ‘Woe to us, for there hath not been like this heretofore.
8Woe to us, who doth deliver us out of the hand of these honourable gods? these [are] the gods who are smiting the Egyptians with every plague in the wilderness.
9Strengthen yourselves, and become men, O Philistines, lest ye do service to
10And the Philistines fight, and Israel is smitten, and they flee each to his tents, and the blow is very great, and there fall of Israel thirty thousand footmen;
11and the ark of God hath been taken, and the two sons of Eli have died, Hophni and Phinehas.
12And a man of Benjamin runneth out of the ranks, and cometh into Shiloh, on that day, and his long robes [are] rent, and earth on his head;
13and he cometh in, and lo, Eli is sitting on the throne by the side of the way, watching, for his heart hath been trembling for the ark of God, and the man hath come in to declare [it] in the city, and all the city crieth out.
14And Eli heareth the noise of the cry, and saith, ‘What — the noise of this tumult!’ And the man hasted, and cometh in, and declareth to Eli.
15And Eli is a son of ninety and eight years, and his eyes have stood, and he hath not been able to see.
16And the man saith unto Eli, ‘I [am] he who hath come out of the ranks, and I out of the ranks have fled to-day;’ and he saith, ‘What hath been the matter, my son?’
17And he who is bearing tidings answereth and saith, ‘Israel hath fled before the Philistines, and also a great slaughter hath been among the people, and also thy two sons have died — Hophni and Phinehas — and the ark of God hath been captured.’
18And it cometh to pass, at his mentioning the ark of God, that he falleth from off the throne backward, by the side of the gate, and his neck is broken, and he dieth, for the man [is] old and heavy, and he hath judged Israel forty years.
19And his daughter-in-law, wife of Phinehas, [is] pregnant, about to bear, and she heareth the report of the taking of the ark of God, that her father-in-law and her husband have died, and she boweth, and beareth, for her pains have turned upon her.
20And at the time of her death, when the women who are standing by her say, ‘Fear not, for a son thou hast borne,’ she hath not answered, nor set her heart [to it];
21and she calleth the youth I-Chabod, saying, ‘Honour hath removed from Israel,’ because of the taking of the ark of God, and because of her father-in-law and her husband.
22And she saith, ‘Honour hath removed from Israel, for the ark of God hath been taken.’
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1 Samuel 4: YLT98
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Sh'mu'el Alef (1 Sa) 4
4
1So the word of Sh’mu’el came to all Isra’el.
Isra’el went out to fight against the P’lishtim, setting up camp at Even-‘Ezer, while the P’lishtim camped at Afek. 2The P’lishtim drew up in battle formation against Isra’el. The battle was fierce, and Isra’el was beaten by the P’lishtim — they killed about four thousand soldiers on the battlefield. 3When the army had returned to camp, the leaders of Isra’el asked, “Why has Adonai defeated us today before the P’lishtim? Let’s bring the ark for the covenant of Adonai from Shiloh to us, so that he will come among us and save us from our enemies.” 4So the people sent to Shiloh and brought from there the ark for the covenant of Adonai-Tzva’ot, who is present above the k’ruvim. The two sons of ‘Eli, Hofni and Pinchas, were there with the ark for the covenant of God.
5When the ark for the covenant of Adonai entered the camp, all Isra’el gave a mighty shout that resounded through the land. 6On hearing the shout, the P’lishtim asked, “What does this great shout in the Hebrews’ camp mean?” Then they realized that the ark of Adonai had arrived in the camp, 7and the P’lishtim became afraid. They said, “God has entered the camp! We’re lost! There was no such thing yesterday or the day before. 8We’re lost! Who will rescue us from the power of these mighty gods? These are the gods that completely overthrew the Egyptians in the desert. 9Be strong; and behave like men, you P’lishtim; so that you won’t become slaves to the Hebrews, as they have been to you. Behave like men, and fight!”
10The P’lishtim fought, Isra’el was defeated, and every man fled to his tent. It was a terrible slaughter — 30,000 of Isra’el’s foot soldiers fell. 11Moreover, the ark of God was captured; and the two sons of ‘Eli, Hofni and Pinchas, died. 12One of the soldiers, a man from Binyamin, ran and came to Shiloh the same day with his clothes torn and earth on his head [as a sign of mourning]. 13As he arrived, ‘Eli was sitting on his seat by the road, watching; because he was trembling with anxiety over the ark of God. When the man entered the city and told the news, the whole city began crying out. 14On hearing the cries, ‘Eli asked, “What does this uproar mean?” So the man hurried, came to ‘Eli and told him. 15‘Eli was ninety-eight years old, and his gaze was fixed, because he was blind. 16The man said to ‘Eli, “I’m the soldier that came; I escaped today from the battlefield.” He asked, “How did things go, my son?” 17The one who had come with the news answered, “Isra’el fled before the P’lishtim, and there was a terrible slaughter among the people. Your two sons, Hofni and Pinchas, also are dead; and the ark of God was captured. 18As soon as he mentioned what had happened to the ark of God, ‘Eli fell backward off his seat next to the gate, broke his neck and died; for he was an old man, and heavy. He had judged Isra’el forty years.
19His daughter-in-law, Pinchas’s wife, was pregnant and near delivery-time. When she heard the news that the ark of God had been captured and that her father-in-law and husband were dead, she went into abnormal labor, bent over and gave birth. 20As she was dying, the women standing by her said to her, “Don’t be afraid, because you have given birth to a son.” But she didn’t answer or show any sign of recognition. 21She named the child I-Khavod [without glory], saying, “The glory has departed from Isra’el”; because the ark of God had been captured, and because of her father-in-law and husband. 22She said, “The glory of Isra’el has gone into exile, because the ark of God has been captured.”
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