1 SamuelChapter 4

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¹So Samuel's words went out to all Israel. Now the Israelites went out to fight the Philistines. Israel camped at Ebenezer, and the Philistines camped at Aphek. ²The Philistines lined up for battle against Israel. As the fighting spread, the Philistines beat Israel. They killed about four thousand men on the battlefield. ³The soldiers came back to camp. Then the elders of Israel asked, "Why did the LORD bring defeat on us in front of the Philistines today? Let's bring the ark of the LORD's covenant here from Shiloh. Then it can go with us and save us from our enemies." ⁴So the people sent men to Shiloh. They brought back the ark of the covenant of the LORD of Hosts. He sits on his throne between the cherubim. Eli's two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of God's covenant. ⁵The ark of the LORD's covenant came into the camp. Then all the Israelites gave such a loud shout that the ground shook. ⁶The Philistines heard the noise of the shouting. They asked, "What is all this loud shouting in the Hebrews' camp?" Then they found out that the ark of the LORD had come into the camp. ⁷So the Philistines were afraid. "The gods have come into their camp!" they said. "We are in big trouble! Nothing like this has ever happened before. ⁸How terrible for us! Who will save us from the power of these mighty gods? These are the gods who struck the Egyptians with all kinds of plagues in the wilderness. ⁹Be brave, Philistines! Be men! If you don't, you will become slaves of the Hebrews, just as they have been your slaves. Be men and fight!" ¹⁰So the Philistines fought, and Israel lost. Every man ran home to his tent. So many were killed! Thirty thousand Israelite foot soldiers died. ¹¹The ark of God was captured. And Eli's two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were killed. ¹²That same day a man from the tribe of Benjamin ran from the battle all the way to Shiloh. His clothes were torn, and he had dirt on his head. ¹³When he got there, Eli was sitting on his chair by the side of the road. He was watching, because his heart was afraid for the ark of God. The man came into the town and told the news. Then the whole town cried out. ¹⁴Eli heard the crying. He asked, "What is all this noise?" So the man hurried over and told Eli. ¹⁵Eli was ninety-eight years old. His eyes were set in a stare, because he could not see. ¹⁶The man said to Eli, "I have just come from the battle. I ran away from it today." Eli asked, "What happened, my son?" ¹⁷The man who brought the news answered, "Israel ran away from the Philistines. Many of our people have been killed. Your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are both dead. And the ark of God has been captured." ¹⁸As soon as the man spoke of the ark of God, Eli fell backward off his chair by the town gate. He was old and heavy. His neck broke, and he died. Eli had judged Israel for forty years. ¹⁹Eli's daughter-in-law was the wife of Phinehas. She was pregnant, and her baby was almost due. She heard the news that God's ark had been captured. She heard that her father-in-law and her husband were dead. Then her labor pains suddenly came on her. She fell down and gave birth. ²⁰She was dying. The women helping her said, "Don't be afraid. You have had a son!" But she did not answer or pay any attention. ²¹She named the boy Ichabod. She said, "The glory has left Israel." She said this because the ark of God had been captured and her father-in-law and husband had been killed.a ²²She said, "The glory has left Israel, because the ark of God has been captured."