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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maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society
1 Samuel 4
4
1And Samuel’s words came to all Israel.
The Ark Captured by the Philistines
Israel went out to meet the Philistines in battle and # LXX reads In those days the Philistines gathered together to fight against Israel, and Israel went out to engage them in battle. They camped at Ebenezer # 1Sm 7:12 while the Philistines camped at Aphek. # Jos 12:18; 1Sm 29:1 2The Philistines lined up in battle formation against Israel, and as the battle intensified, Israel was defeated by the Philistines, who struck down about 4,000 men on the battlefield.
3When the troops returned to the camp, the elders of Israel asked, “Why did the Lord let us be defeated today by the Philistines? # Jos 7:7-8 Let’s bring the ark of the Lord’s covenant from Shiloh. Then it # Or He will go with us and save us from the hand of our enemies.” # Nm 10:35; Jos 6:6 4So the people sent men to Shiloh to bring back the ark of the covenant of the Lord of Hosts, who dwells between the cherubim. # Ex 25:22; Nm 7:89 Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God. 5When the ark of the covenant of the Lord entered the camp, all the Israelites raised such a loud shout that the ground shook. # Jos 6:5,20
6The Philistines heard the sound of the war cry and asked, “What’s this loud shout in the Hebrews’ camp? ” When the Philistines discovered that the ark of the Lord had entered the camp, 7they panicked. “The gods have entered their camp! ” they said. “Woe to us, nothing like this has happened before. # Lit yesterday or the day before 8Woe to us, who will rescue us from the hand of these magnificent gods? These are the gods that slaughtered the Egyptians with all kinds of plagues in the wilderness. 9Show some courage and be men, Philistines! # 1Co 16:13 Otherwise, you’ll serve the Hebrews just as they served you. # Jdg 13:1; 1Sm 14:21 Now be men and fight! ”
10So the Philistines fought, and Israel was defeated, # Dt 28:15,25; 1Sm 4:2 and each man fled to his tent. # 2Sm 18:17; 2Kg 14:12 The slaughter was severe — 30,000 of the Israelite foot soldiers fell. 11The ark of God was captured, and Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, died. # 1Sm 2:34; Ps 78:56-64
Eli’s Death and Ichabod’s Birth
12That same day, a Benjaminite man ran # 1Sm 8:11; Jos 7:22 from the battle and came to Shiloh. His clothes were torn, # Jos 7:6; 2Sm 1:2; 15:32; Neh 9:1 and there was dirt on his head. 13When he arrived, there was Eli sitting on his chair beside the road watching, # 1Sm 1:9; 4:18 because he was anxious about the ark of God. When the man entered the city to give a report, the entire city cried out.
14Eli heard the outcry and asked, “Why this commotion? ” The man quickly came and reported to Eli. 15At that time Eli was 98 years old, and his gaze was fixed # Lit his eyes stood ; 1Kg 14:4 because he couldn’t see. # 1Kg 14:4
16The man said to Eli, “I’m the one who came from the battle. # LXX reads camp I fled from there today.”
“What happened, my son? ” # 2Sm 1:4 Eli asked.
17The messenger answered, “Israel has fled from the Philistines, and also there was a great slaughter among the people. Your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are both dead, and the ark of God has been captured.” 18When he mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell backward off the chair by the city gate, # 1Sm 4:13 and since he was old and heavy, his neck broke and he died. Eli had judged Israel 40 years.
19Eli’s daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant and about to give birth. When she heard the news about the capture of God’s ark and the deaths of her father-in-law and her husband, she collapsed and gave birth because her labor pains came on her. 20As she was dying, # LXX reads And in her time of delivery, she was about to die the women taking care of her said, “Don’t be afraid. You’ve given birth to a son! ” # Gn 35:16-19 But she did not respond or pay attention. 21She named the boy Ichabod, # = Where is Glory? saying, “The glory has departed from Israel,” # Ps 26:8; Jr 2:11 referring to the capture of the ark of God # 1Sm 4:11 and to the deaths of her father-in-law and her husband. 22“The glory has departed from Israel,” she said, “because the ark of God has been captured.”
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