1 Samuel 4:10-6:1

New Life Version

¹⁰ So the Philistines fought, and Israel lost. Every man ran to his tent. And many were killed, for 30,000 foot soldiers of Israel fell. ¹¹ The special box of God was taken. And Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, died.

Death of Eli

¹² A man of Benjamin ran from the battle and came to Shiloh the same day. His clothes were torn and he had dust on his head. ¹³ When he came, Eli was sitting on his seat by the road watching, for he was very worried about the special box of God. The man told the news in the city, and all the city cried out. ¹⁴ When Eli heard the noise in the city, he said, “What does this noise mean?” Then the man came in a hurry and told Eli. ¹⁵ Now Eli was ninety-eight years old, and his eyes were weak so that he could not see. ¹⁶ The man said to Eli, “I have come from the battle. I ran from the battle today.” And Eli said, “How did it go, my son?” ¹⁷ The one who brought the news answered, “Israel has run from the Philistines and there have been many people killed. Your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead. And the special box of God has been taken.” ¹⁸ When he told about the special box of God, Eli fell back off the seat by the gate. His neck was broken and he died, for he was old and heavy. He had judged Israel forty years.

¹⁹ Now his daughter-in-law, Phinehas’ wife, was going to have a child and about to give birth. When she heard the news that the special box of God was taken and that her father-in-law and husband had died, she started to give birth, for her pains came upon her. ²⁰ About the time of her death, the women who stood by her said to her, “Do not be afraid. For you have given birth to a son.” But she did not answer or listen to them. ²¹ She gave the boy the name Ichabod, saying, “The honor has left Israel,” because the special box of God was taken and because of her father-in-law and husband. ²² She said, “The honor has left Israel, for the special box of God was taken.”

The Philistines and the Special Box

5 The Philistines took the special box of God and brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. ² They took the special box of God into the house of Dagon, and set it beside Dagon. ³ When the Ashdodites got up early the next morning, they saw that Dagon had fallen on his face to the ground before the special box of the Lord. So they took Dagon and set him in his place again. ⁴ But when they got up early the next morning, they saw that Dagon had fallen on his face to the ground in front of the special box of the Lord. And Dagon’s head and both his hands were cut off and lying in the doorway. Only the body of Dagon was left. ⁵ So the religious leaders of Dagon and all who go into Dagon’s house do not step on the bottom part of the doorway in Ashdod to this day.

⁶ The hand of the Lord was heavy on the Ashdodites. He filled them with fear and punished them with pain and sores, both Ashdod and its lands. ⁷ When the men of Ashdod saw how things were, they said, “The special box of the God of Israel must not stay with us. For His hand is hard on us and on our god Dagon.” ⁸ So they called together all the leaders of the Philistines and said, “What should we do with the special box of the God of Israel?” And they said, “Let the special box of the God of Israel be brought around to Gath.” So they brought the box of the God of Israel there. ⁹ But after they had brought it there, the hand of the Lord was against the city, causing much fear. He punished both the young and old men of the city, so that sores broke out upon them. ¹⁰ So they sent the special box of God to Ekron. When the box of God came to Ekron, the people there cried out, “They have brought the special box of the God of Israel to us, to kill us and our people.” ¹¹ So they called together all the leaders of the Philistines and said, “Send away the special box of the God of Israel. Let it return to its own place, that it may not kill us and our people.” For the people of the city were afraid. The hand of God was very heavy there. ¹² The men who did not die were punished with sores, and the cry of the city went up to heaven.

The Special Box Returned to Israel

6 The special box of the Lord had been in the country of the Philistines seven months.