1 Samuel 4
โ 1 Samuel 03 | 1 Samuel | 1 Samuel 05 โ
v1
Now Israel went out against the Philistines to battle, and encamped beside Ebenezer; and the Philistines encamped in Aphek.
v2
The Philistines put themselves in array against Israel. When they joined battle, Israel was defeated by the Philistines, who killed about four thousand men of the army in the field.
v3
When the people had come into the camp, the elders of Israel said, โWhy has Yahweh defeated us today before the Philistines? Letโs get the ark of Yahwehโs covenant out of Shiloh and bring it to us, that it may come among us and save us out of the hand of our enemies.โ
v4
So the people sent to Shiloh, and they brought from there the ark of the covenant of Yahweh of Armies, who sits above the cherubim; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.
v5
When the ark of Yahwehโs covenant came into the camp, all Israel shouted with a great shout, so that the earth resounded.
v6
When the Philistines heard the noise of the shout, they said, โWhat does the noise of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews mean?โ They understood that Yahwehโs ark had come into the camp.
v7
The Philistines were afraid, for they said, โGod has come into the camp.โ They said, โWoe to us! For there has not been such a thing before.
v8
Woe to us! Who shall deliver us out of the hand of these mighty gods? These are the gods that struck the Egyptians with all kinds of plagues in the wilderness.
v9
Be strong and behave like men, O you Philistines, that you not be servants to the Hebrews, as they have been to you. Strengthen yourselves like men, and fight!โ
v10
The Philistines fought, and Israel was defeated, and each man fled to his tent. There was a very great slaughter; for thirty thousand footmen of Israel fell.
v11
Godโs ark was taken; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were slain.
v12
A man of Benjamin ran out of the army and came to Shiloh the same day, with his clothes torn and with dirt on his head.
v13
When he came, behold, Eli was sitting on his seat by the road watching, for his heart trembled for Godโs ark. When the man came into the city and told about it, all the city cried out.
v14
When Eli heard the noise of the crying, he said, โWhat does the noise of this tumult mean?โ The man hurried, and came and told Eli.
v15
Now Eli was ninety-eight years old. His eyes were set, so that he could not see.
v16
The man said to Eli, โI am he who came out of the army, and I fled today out of the army.โ He said, โHow did the matter go, my son?โ
v17
He who brought the news answered, โIsrael has fled before the Philistines, and there has been also a great slaughter among the people. Your two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and Godโs ark has been captured.โ
v18
When he made mention of Godโs ark, Eli fell from off his seat backward by the side of the gate; and his neck broke, and he died, for he was an old man and heavy. He had judged Israel forty years.
v19
His daughter-in-law, Phinehasโ wife, was with child, near to giving birth. When she heard the news that Godโs ark was taken and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she bowed herself and gave birth; for her pains came on her.
v20
About the time of her death the women who stood by her said to her, โDonโt be afraid, for you have given birth to a son.โ But she didnโt answer, neither did she regard it.
v21
She named the child Ichabod, saying, โThe glory has departed from Israel!โ because Godโs ark was taken, and because of her father-in-law and her husband.
v22
She said, โThe glory has departed from Israel; for Godโs ark has been taken.โ