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
Christian Standard Bible
4 And Samuel’s words came to all Israel.
The Ark Captured by the Philistines
Israel went out to meet the Philistines in battle and[a] camped at Ebenezer(A) while the Philistines camped at Aphek.(B) 2 The Philistines lined up in battle formation against Israel, and as the battle intensified, Israel was defeated by the Philistines, who struck down about four thousand men on the battlefield.
3 When the troops returned to the camp, the elders of Israel asked, “Why did the Lord defeat us today before the Philistines?(C) Let’s bring the ark of the Lord’s covenant from Shiloh. Then it[b] will go with us and save us from our enemies.”(D) 4 So the people sent men to Shiloh to bring back the ark of the covenant of the Lord of Armies, who is enthroned between the cherubim.(E) Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God. 5 When the ark of the covenant of the Lord entered the camp, all the Israelites raised such a loud shout that the ground shook.(F)
6 The Philistines heard the sound of the war cry and asked, “What’s this loud shout in the Hebrews’ camp?” When the Philistines discovered that the ark of the Lord had entered the camp, 7 they panicked. “A god has entered their camp!” they said. “Woe to us! Nothing like this has happened before. 8 Woe to us! Who will rescue us from these magnificent gods? These are the gods that slaughtered the Egyptians with all kinds of plagues in the wilderness. 9 Show some courage and be men, Philistines!(G) Otherwise, you’ll serve the Hebrews just as they served you.(H) Now be men and fight!”
10 So the Philistines fought, and Israel was defeated,(I) and each man fled to his tent.(J) The slaughter was severe—thirty thousand of the Israelite foot soldiers fell. 11 The ark of God was captured, and Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, died.(K)
Eli’s Death and Ichabod’s Birth
12 That same day, a Benjaminite man ran(L) from the battle and came to Shiloh. His clothes were torn,(M) and there was dirt on his head. 13 When he arrived, there was Eli sitting on his chair beside the road waiting,(N) because he was anxious about the ark of God. When the man entered the city to give a report, the entire city cried out.
14 Eli heard the outcry and asked, “Why this commotion?” The man quickly came and reported to Eli. 15 At that time Eli was ninety-eight years old, and his eyes didn’t move[c] because he couldn’t see.(O)
16 The man said to Eli, “I’m the one who came from the battle.[d] I fled from there today.”
“What happened, my son?” (P) Eli asked.
17 The messenger answered, “Israel has fled from the Philistines, and also there was a great slaughter among the people. Your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are both dead, and the ark of God has been captured.” 18 When he mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell backward off the chair by the city gate,(Q) and since he was old and heavy, his neck broke and he died. Eli had judged Israel forty years.
19 Eli’s daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant and about to give birth. When she heard the news about the capture of God’s ark and the deaths of her father-in-law and her husband, she collapsed and gave birth because her labor pains came on her. 20 As she was dying,[e] the women taking care of her said, “Don’t be afraid. You’ve given birth to a son!” (R) But she did not respond or pay attention. 21 She named the boy Ichabod,[f] saying, “The glory has departed from Israel,”(S) referring to the capture of the ark of God(T) and to the deaths of her father-in-law and her husband. 22 “The glory has departed from Israel,” she said, “because the ark of God has been captured.”
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.