1 Samuel 4
King James Version
4 And the word of Samuel came to all Israel. Now Israel went out against the Philistines to battle, and pitched beside Ebenezer: and the Philistines pitched in Aphek.
2 And the Philistines put themselves in array against Israel: and when they joined battle, Israel was smitten before the Philistines: and they slew of the army in the field about four thousand men.
3 And when the people were come into the camp, the elders of Israel said, Wherefore hath the Lord smitten us to day before the Philistines? Let us fetch the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of Shiloh unto us, that, when it cometh among us, it may save us out of the hand of our enemies.
4 So the people sent to Shiloh, that they might bring from thence the ark of the covenant of the Lord of hosts, which dwelleth between the cherubims: and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.
5 And when the ark of the covenant of the Lord came into the camp, all Israel shouted with a great shout, so that the earth rang again.
6 And when the Philistines heard the noise of the shout, they said, What meaneth the noise of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews? And they understood that the ark of the Lord was come into the camp.
7 And the Philistines were afraid, for they said, God is come into the camp. And they said, Woe unto us! for there hath not been such a thing heretofore.
8 Woe unto us! who shall deliver us out of the hand of these mighty Gods? these are the Gods that smote the Egyptians with all the plagues in the wilderness.
9 Be strong and quit yourselves like men, O ye Philistines, that ye be not servants unto the Hebrews, as they have been to you: quit yourselves like men, and fight.
10 And the Philistines fought, and Israel was smitten, and they fled every man into his tent: and there was a very great slaughter; for there fell of Israel thirty thousand footmen.
11 And the ark of God was taken; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were slain.
12 And there ran a man of Benjamin out of the army, and came to Shiloh the same day with his clothes rent, and with earth upon his head.
13 And when he came, lo, Eli sat upon a seat by the wayside watching: for his heart trembled for the ark of God. And when the man came into the city, and told it, all the city cried out.
14 And when Eli heard the noise of the crying, he said, What meaneth the noise of this tumult? And the man came in hastily, and told Eli.
15 Now Eli was ninety and eight years old; and his eyes were dim, that he could not see.
16 And the man said unto Eli, I am he that came out of the army, and I fled to day out of the army. And he said, What is there done, my son?
17 And the messenger answered and said, Israel is fled before the Philistines, and there hath been also a great slaughter among the people, and thy two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God is taken.
18 And it came to pass, when he made mention of the ark of God, that he fell from off the seat backward by the side of the gate, and his neck brake, and he died: for he was an old man, and heavy. And he had judged Israel forty years.
19 And his daughter in law, Phinehas' wife, was with child, near to be delivered: and when she heard the tidings that the ark of God was taken, and that her father in law and her husband were dead, she bowed herself and travailed; for her pains came upon her.
20 And about the time of her death the women that stood by her said unto her, Fear not; for thou hast born a son. But she answered not, neither did she regard it.
21 And she named the child Ichabod, saying, The glory is departed from Israel: because the ark of God was taken, and because of her father in law and her husband.
22 And she said, The glory is departed from Israel: for the ark of God is taken.
1 Samuel 4
Easy-to-Read Version
4 Then Samuel would announce the Lord’s message to all the people of Israel. When Eli was very old, his sons lived more and more in a way the Lord considered evil.[a]
The Philistines Defeat the Israelites
At that time the Israelites went out to fight against the Philistines. The Israelites made their camp at Ebenezer. The Philistines made their camp at Aphek. 2 The Philistines lined up their soldiers in front of the Israelites and began the attack.
The Philistines defeated the Israelites. They killed about 4000 soldiers from Israel’s army. 3 The rest of the Israelite soldiers went back to their camp. The elders of Israel asked, “Why did the Lord let the Philistines defeat us? Let’s bring the Lord’s Box of the Agreement from Shiloh. God will go with us into battle and save us from our enemies.”
4 So the people sent men to Shiloh. The men brought back the Lord All-Powerful’s Box of the Agreement. On top of the Box are the Cherub angels. They are like a throne where the Lord sits. Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, came with the Box.
5 When the Lord’s Box of the Agreement came into the camp, all the Israelites gave a great shout loud enough to make the ground shake. 6 The Philistines heard Israel’s shout and asked, “Why are the people so excited in the Hebrew[b] camp?”
Then the Philistines learned that the Lord’s Holy Box had been brought into Israel’s camp. 7 They became afraid and said, “Gods have come to their camp! We’re in trouble. This has never happened before. 8 We are worried. Who can save us from these powerful gods? These gods are the same ones that gave the Egyptians those diseases and terrible sicknesses. 9 Be brave, Philistines. Fight like men. In the past they were our slaves, so fight like men or you will become their slaves.”
10 So the Philistines fought very hard and defeated the Israelites. The Israelite soldiers ran away and went home. It was a terrible defeat for Israel. 30,000 Israelite soldiers were killed. 11 The Philistines took God’s Holy Box and killed Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas.
12 One of the men who ran from the battle was a man from the tribe of Benjamin. He tore his clothes and put dust on his head to show his great sadness. 13 Eli was worried about the Holy Box, so he was sitting there by the city gate waiting and watching when the Benjamite man came into Shiloh and told the bad news. All the people in town began to cry loudly. 14-15 Eli was 98 years old. He was blind, so he could not see what was happening, but he could hear the loud noise of the people crying. Eli asked, “Why are the people making this loud noise?”
The Benjamite man ran to Eli and told him what happened. 16 He said, “I am the man who just came from the battle. I ran away from the battle today.”
Eli asked, “What happened, son?”
17 The Benjamite man answered, “Israel ran away from the Philistines. The Israelite army has lost many soldiers. Your two sons are both dead, and the Philistines took God’s Holy Box.”
18 When the Benjamite man mentioned God’s Holy Box, Eli fell backward off his chair near the gate and broke his neck. Eli was old and fat, so he died. He had led Israel for 20 years.[c]
The Glory Is Gone
19 Eli’s daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant. It was nearly time for her baby to be born. She heard the news that God’s Holy Box was taken. She also heard that her father-in-law Eli and her husband Phinehas were both dead. As soon as she heard the news, her pain started and she began giving birth to her baby. 20 She was about to die when the women who were helping her said, “Don’t worry, you have given birth to a son.”
But she did not answer or pay attention. 21 She named the baby Ichabod,[d] that is to say, “Israel’s glory has been taken away.”[e] She did this because God’s Holy Box was taken away and because both her father-in-law and her husband were dead. 22 She said, “Israel’s glory has been taken away” because the Philistines had taken God’s Holy Box.
Footnotes
- 1 Samuel 4:1 When Eli … evil The ancient Greek version has these words at the end of chapter 3.
- 1 Samuel 4:6 Hebrew Or “Israelite.”
- 1 Samuel 4:18 20 years This is found in the ancient Greek version and Josephus. The standard Hebrew text has “40 years.”
- 1 Samuel 4:21 Ichabod This name means “No glory.” The Greek has “Ouai Barchaboth.”
- 1 Samuel 4:21 that is … taken away This is not in the ancient Greek version.
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