1 Samuel 4:1-3

International Standard Version

The Philistines Capture the Ark

4 What Samuel had to say was directed to all Israel, and Israel went out to engage the Philistines in battle. The Israelis^[a] were camped at Ebenezer, while the Philistines were camped at Aphek. ² The Philistines deployed their forces to meet Israel, and as the battle spread Israel was defeated by the Philistines, who killed about four thousand men on the battlefield.

³ When the people came to the camp, the elders of Israel said, “Why did the Lord defeat us today when we fought the Philistines? Let’s take the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord from Shiloh, so it^[b] may go with us and deliver us from the power of our enemies.”