1 Samuel 4
New American Standard Bible
Philistines Take the Ark in Victory
4 So the word of Samuel came to all Israel. Now Israel went out to meet the Philistines in battle, and they camped beside (A)Ebenezer, while the Philistines camped in (B)Aphek. 2 Then the Philistines drew up in battle formation to meet Israel. When the battle [a]spread, Israel was [b]defeated by the Philistines, who killed about four thousand men on the battlefield. 3 When the people came into the camp, the elders of Israel said, “(C)Why has the Lord defeated us today before the Philistines? (D)Let’s take the ark of the covenant of the Lord from Shiloh, so that He may come among us and save us from the power of our enemies.” 4 So the people sent men to Shiloh, and from there they carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord of armies (E)who is enthroned above the cherubim; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.
5 And as the ark of the covenant of the Lord was coming into the camp, (F)all Israel shouted with a great shout, so that the earth resounded. 6 And when the Philistines heard the noise of the shout, they said, “What does the noise of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews mean?” Then they understood that the ark of the Lord had come into the camp. 7 So the Philistines were afraid, for they said, “God has come into the camp!” And they said, “(G)Woe to us! For nothing like this has happened before. 8 Woe to us! Who will save us from the hand of these mighty gods? These are the gods who struck the Egyptians with all kinds of plagues in the wilderness. 9 (H)Take courage and be men, Philistines, or you will become slaves to the Hebrews, (I)as they have been slaves to you; so be men and fight!”
10 So the Philistines fought and (J)Israel was defeated, and (K)every man fled to his tent; and the defeat was very great, for thirty thousand foot soldiers of Israel fell. 11 Moreover, the ark of God was taken; and (L)the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died.
12 Now a man of Benjamin ran from the battle line and came to Shiloh the same day with (M)his clothes torn, and [c]dust on his head. 13 When he came, behold, (N)Eli was sitting on his seat [d]by the road keeping watch, because his heart was anxious about the ark of God. And the man came to give a report in the city, and all the city cried out. 14 When Eli heard the noise of the outcry, he said, “What does the noise of this commotion mean?” Then the man came hurriedly and told Eli. 15 Now Eli was ninety-eight years old, and (O)his eyes were [e]fixed and he could not see. 16 The man said to Eli, “I am the one who came from the battle line. Indeed, I escaped from the battle line today.” And he said, “(P)How are things, my son?” 17 Then the one who brought the news replied, “Israel has fled before the Philistines and there has also been a great defeat among the people, and your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas are also dead; and the ark of God has been taken.” 18 When he mentioned the ark of God, [f](Q)Eli fell off the seat backward beside the gate, and his neck was broken and he died, for [g]he was old and heavy. And so he judged Israel for forty years.
19 Now his daughter-in-law, Phinehas’ wife, was pregnant and about to give birth; and when she heard the news that the ark of God had been taken and that her father-in-law and her husband had died, she kneeled down and gave birth, because her pains came upon her. 20 And about the time of her death the women who were standing by her said to her, “(R)Do not be afraid, for you have given birth to a son.” But she did not answer or pay attention. 21 And she named the boy [h]Ichabod, saying, “(S)The glory has departed from Israel,” because (T)the ark of God had been taken and because of her father-in-law and her husband. 22 So she said, “The glory has departed from Israel, because the ark of God has been taken.”
Footnotes
- 1 Samuel 4:2 Or was over
- 1 Samuel 4:2 Lit struck before
- 1 Samuel 4:12 Lit soil
- 1 Samuel 4:13 LXX beside the gate watching the road
- 1 Samuel 4:15 I.e., possibly unable to focus
- 1 Samuel 4:18 Lit he
- 1 Samuel 4:18 Lit the man
- 1 Samuel 4:21 I.e., no glory, or where is the glory?
1 Samuel 4
King James Version
4 And the word of Samuel came to all Israel. Now Israel went out against the Philistines to battle, and pitched beside Ebenezer: and the Philistines pitched in Aphek.
2 And 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.
3 And when the people were come into the camp, the elders of Israel said, Wherefore hath the Lord smitten us to day 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 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 cherubims: and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.
5 And 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.
6 And 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.
7 And 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.
8 Woe 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.
9 Be 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.
10 And 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.
11 And the ark of God was taken; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were slain.
12 And 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.
13 And 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.
14 And 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.
15 Now Eli was ninety and eight years old; and his eyes were dim, that he could not see.
16 And the man said unto Eli, I am he that came out of the army, and I fled to day out of the army. And he said, What is there done, my son?
17 And 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 Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God is taken.
18 And 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.
19 And his daughter in law, Phinehas' 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.
20 And about the time of her death the women that stood by her said unto her, Fear not; for thou hast born a son. But she answered not, neither did she regard it.
21 And she named the child Ichabod, saying, The glory is departed from Israel: because the ark of God was taken, and because of her father in law and her husband.
22 And she said, The glory is departed from Israel: for the ark of God is taken.
1 Samuel 4
Living Bible
4 1 and he passed them on to the people of Israel.
At that time Israel was at war with the Philistines. The Israeli army was camped near Ebenezer, the Philistines at Aphek. 2 And the Philistines defeated Israel, killing four thousand of them. 3 After the battle was over, the army of Israel returned to their camp and their leaders discussed why the Lord had let them be defeated.
“Let’s bring the Ark here from Shiloh,” they said. “If we carry it into battle with us, the Lord will be among us and he will surely save us from our enemies.”
4 So they sent for the Ark of the Lord of heaven who is enthroned above the angels. Hophni and Phinehas, the sons of Eli, accompanied it into the battle. 5 When the Israelis saw the Ark coming, their shout of joy was so loud that it almost made the ground shake!
6 “What’s going on?” the Philistines asked. “What’s all the shouting about over in the camp of the Hebrews?”
When they were told it was because the Ark of the Lord had arrived, 7 they panicked.
“God has come into their camp!” they cried out. “Woe upon us, for we have never had to face anything like this before! 8 Who can save us from these mighty gods of Israel? They are the same gods who destroyed the Egyptians with plagues when Israel was in the wilderness. 9 Fight as you never have before, O Philistines, or we will become their slaves just as they have been ours.”
10 So the Philistines fought desperately and Israel was defeated again. Thirty thousand men of Israel died that day, and the remainder fled to their tents. 11 And the Ark of God was captured, and Hophni and Phinehas were killed.
12 A man from the tribe of Benjamin ran from the battle and arrived at Shiloh the same day with his clothes torn and dirt on his head.[a] 13 Eli was waiting beside the road to hear the news of the battle, for his heart trembled for the safety of the Ark of God. As the messenger from the battlefront arrived and told what had happened, a great cry arose throughout the city.
14 “What is all the noise about?” Eli asked. And the messenger rushed over to Eli and told him what had happened. 15 (Eli was ninety-eight years old and was blind.)
16 “I have just come from the battle—I was there today,” he told Eli, 17 “and Israel has been defeated and thousands of the Israeli troops are dead on the battlefield. Hophni and Phinehas were killed too, and the Ark has been captured.”
18 When the messenger mentioned what had happened to the Ark, Eli fell backward from his seat beside the gate and his neck was broken by the fall, and he died (for he was old and fat). He had judged Israel for forty years.
19 When Eli’s daughter-in-law, Phinehas’ wife, who was pregnant, heard that the Ark had been captured and that her husband and father-in-law were dead, her labor pains suddenly began. 20 Just before she died, the women who were attending her told her that everything was all right and that the baby was a boy. But she did not reply or respond in any way. 21-22 Then she murmured, “Name the child ‘Ichabod,’ for Israel’s glory is gone.” (Ichabod means “there is no glory.” She named him this because the Ark of God had been captured and because her husband and her father-in-law were dead.)
Footnotes
- 1 Samuel 4:12 clothes torn and dirt on his head. This was a common expression of grief in that day.
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The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.