⁵ When the ark of the Lord’s covenant came into the camp, all Israel raised such a great shout^(A) that the ground shook. ⁶ Hearing the uproar, the Philistines asked, “What’s all this shouting in the Hebrew^(B) camp?”

When they learned that the ark of the Lord had come into the camp, ⁷ the Philistines were afraid.^(C) “A god has^[a] come into the camp,” they said. “Oh no! Nothing like this has happened before. ⁸ We’re doomed! Who will deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods? They are the gods who struck^(D) the Egyptians with all kinds of plagues^(E) in the wilderness. ⁹ Be strong, Philistines! Be men, or you will be subject to the Hebrews, as they^(F) have been to you. Be men, and fight!”

¹⁰ So the Philistines fought, and the Israelites were defeated^(G) and every man fled to his tent. The slaughter was very great; Israel lost thirty thousand foot soldiers. ¹¹ The ark of God was captured, and Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, died.^(H)

¹⁹ His daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant and near the time of delivery. When she heard the news that the ark of God had been captured and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she went into labor and gave birth, but was overcome by her labor pains. ²⁰ As she was dying, the women attending her said, “Don’t despair; you have given birth to a son.” But she did not respond or pay any attention.

²¹ She named the boy Ichabod,^[a](A) saying, “The Glory^(B) has departed from Israel”—because of the capture of the ark of God and the deaths of her father-in-law and her husband. ²² She said, “The Glory^(C) has departed from Israel, for the ark of God has been captured.”^(D)

The Ark in Ashdod and Ekron

5 After the Philistines had captured the ark of God, they took it from Ebenezer^(A) to Ashdod.^{(B) 2} Then they carried the ark into Dagon’s temple and set it beside Dagon.^(C)