1 Samuel 4-5

Wycliffe Bible

4 and the word of Samuel came to all Israel. And it was done in those days (the) Philistines came together into battle; for Israel went out against the Philistines into battle, and setted tents beside the stone of help (and pitched their tents at Ebenezer). And the Philistines came into Aphek,

² and made ready (the) battle array against Israel. And when the battle was begun, Israel turned the(ir) backs to [the] Philistines; and as four thousand of men were slain in that battle everywhere by fields; and the people of Israel turned again to their tents. (and prepared the battle array against Israel. And when the battle was begun, Israel turned their backs to the Philistines; and about four thousand men were killed that day in that battle, in every part of the field; and then the people of Israel returned to their tents.)

³ And the greater men in birth of Israel said, Why hath the Lord smitten us today before the Philistines? Bring we to us from Shiloh the ark of the bond of peace of the Lord, and come it into the midst of us, that it save us from the hand of our enemies. (And the men of great age, that is, the elders, of Israel, said, Why did the Lord let us be defeated today by the Philistines? Let us bring the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord from Shiloh, and have it come here into our midst, so that it can save us from the hand of our enemies.)

⁴ Therefore the people sent into Shiloh, and they took from thence the ark of the bond of peace of the Lord of hosts, that sat on cherubim. And Hophni and Phinehas, the two sons of Eli, were with the ark of the bond of peace of the Lord. (And so the people sent to Shiloh, and they brought from there the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord of hosts, who sitteth above, or upon, the cherubim. And Hophni and Phinehas, the two sons of Eli, came with the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord.)

⁵ And when the ark of [the] bond of peace of the Lord had come into the tents (And when the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord came to the camp), all Israel cried [out] with [a] great cry, and the earth sounded.

⁶ And the Philistines heard the voice of their cry, and they said, And what is this voice of great cry in the tents of Hebrews? And they knew, that the ark of [the] bond of peace of the Lord had come into the tents of Israel. (And the Philistines heard the sound of their cry, and they said, And what is this sound of a great cry from the Hebrews’ tents? And then they knew, that the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord had come to Israel’s camp.)

⁷ And the Philistines dreaded, and said, God is come into their tents; and they wailed, and said, Woe to us! for so great out-joying was not there yesterday, and the third day passed; (And the Philistines were afraid, and said, God hath come to their tents; and they wailed, and said, Woe to us! for there was not so great rejoicing there yesterday, or the third day ago;)

⁸ woe to us! who shall keep us from the hand of these high gods? these be the gods, that smited Egypt with all vengeance in desert. (woe to us! who shall save us from the power of these high gods? these be the gods, who struck down the Egyptians with all that slaughter in the wilderness.)

⁹ Philistines, be ye comforted, and be ye men, serve ye not to the Hebrews, as they have served to you; be ye comforted, and fight ye against Israel. (Philistines, take ye courage, and be ye men, otherwise ye shall serve as slaves to the Hebrews, like they have served you; yea, be ye of good courage, and fight ye against Israel.)

¹⁰ Then the Philistines fought, and Israel was overcome, and each man fled into his tabernacle; and a full great vengeance was made, and thirty thousand of (the) footmen of Israel felled down. (Then the Philistines fought, and Israel was overcome, and each man fled into his tent; and there was a great slaughter, and thirty thousand of the footmen of Israel fell down.)

¹¹ And the ark of God was taken; and, the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were dead. (And the Ark of God was taken; and Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were killed.)

¹² And a man of Benjamin ran from the battle array, and came into Shiloh in that day, with his cloth rent, and with his head besprinkled with dust; (And a man of Benjamin ran from the battle array, and came into Shiloh that day, with his cloak torn, and with his head covered with dirt;)

¹³ and when he was come, Eli sat upon a seat, and beheld against the way; for his heart was dreading for the ark of the Lord (and when he arrived, Eli sat on a seat, looking toward the road; for his heart was fearing for the Ark of the Lord). And after that that man had entered, he told (what had happened) to the men of the city, and (then) all the city yelled.

¹⁴ And Eli heard the sound of the cry, and he said, What is the sound of this noise? (And Eli heard all the yelling, and he said, What is the meaning of this noise?) And the man hasted, and came, and told to Eli.

¹⁵ And Eli was of fourscore years and eighteen, and his eyes (had) dimmed/his eyes (had) darkened, and he might not see.

¹⁶ And the man said to Eli, I am he that came from the battle, and I am he that fled today from the battle array. To whom Eli said, My son, what is there done? (My son, what is done there?)

¹⁷ And he that told answered, and said, Israel hath fled before the Philistines, and a great falling is made in the people of Israel; furthermore and thy two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, be dead, and the ark of God is taken. (And he who had given the report answered him, and said, Israel hath fled before the Philistines, and a great number of the people of Israel have fallen; and furthermore thy two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were killed, and the Ark of God was taken.)

¹⁸ And when he named the ark of God, Eli felled (off) from the seat backward beside the door, and was dead (and he died); for his neck was broken. For he was an eld man, and of great age; and he deemed Israel forty years.

¹⁹ And his daughter-in-law, Phinehas’ wife, was with child, and nigh the child bearing; and when the message was heard/and when she (had) heard by the messenger, that the ark of God was taken, and that her father-in-law was dead, and (also) her husband, she bowed herself down, and childed; for sudden sorrows felled into her (for suddenly her pains came upon her).

²⁰ And in that moment of her death, (the) women that stood about her said to her, Dread thou not, for thou hast childed a son. And she answered not to them, neither she took heed. (And at the moment of her death, the women who stood about her said to her, Fear thou not, for thou hast borne a son. But she did not answer them, nor take any heed.)

²¹ And she called the child Ichabod, that is, without glory, and said, The glory of the Lord is translated from Israel, for the ark of God is taken; and for her father-in-law and for her husband (And she called the child Ichabod, that is, Without glory, and said, Now the glory of the Lord hath been taken away from Israel; for the Ark of God was taken, and her father-in-law, and her husband, were dead;)

²² she said, The glory of God is translated from Israel/is taken from Israel, for the ark of God is taken. (and she said again, The glory of God hath been taken away from Israel, for the Ark of God hath been taken from us.)

5 And the Philistines took the ark of God, and bare it away from the stone of help into Ashdod. (And the Philistines took the Ark of God, and carried it away from Ebenezer unto Ashdod.)

² And the Philistines took the ark of God, and brought it into the temple of Dagon, and setted it beside Dagon.

³ And when men of Ashdod had risen early in the tother day, lo! Dagon lay low in the earth before the ark of the Lord. And they took Dagon, and restored him in his place. (And when the men of Ashdod had risen early the next day, lo! Dagon lay low on the ground before the Ark of the Lord. And they took Dagon, and restored him to his place.)

⁴ And again they rose early in the tother day, and they found Dagon lying on his face upon the earth before the ark of the Lord. And the head of Dagon, and the two palms of his hands, were broken off, (and were lying) upon the threshold; and the stock alone of Dagon (was) left in his place. (And they rose up early the next day, and they found Dagon lying on his face on the ground before the Ark of the Lord. And the head of Dagon, and the two palms of his hands, were broken off, and were lying on the threshold; and only Dagon’s body was left in its place.)

⁵ For this cause the priests of Dagon, and all that enter into his temple, tread not upon the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod unto this day.

⁶ Forsooth the hand of the Lord was made grievous upon [the] men of Ashdod, and he destroyed them, and he smote Ashdod and the coasts thereof in the privier part of [the] buttocks/in the more privy part of their tail ends.

⁷ And men of Ashdod saw such a vengeance, and they said, The ark of God of Israel dwell not with us; for his hand is hard on us, and on Dagon our god. (And when the men of Ashdod saw such vengeance taken upon themselves, they said, The Ark of the God of Israel must not remain among us; for his hand is hard upon us, and upon our god Dagon.)

⁸ And they sent, and gathered all the wise men, either princes, of Philistines to them, and said, What shall we do of the ark of God of Israel? And the men of Gath answered, The ark of God of Israel be led about; and they led about the ark of God of Israel. (And they sent for, and gathered together, all the princes of the Philistines, and said to them, What shall we do with the Ark of the God of Israel? And the men answered, The Ark of the God of Israel should be taken to Gath; and so they took the Ark of the God of Israel there.)

⁹ And while they led it about, the hand of the Lord was made upon all the cities about, of full great slaughter; and he smote men of each city, from a little man till to the more, and the lower entrails of them waxed rotten, and came forth; and men of Gath took counsel, and they made to themselves seats of skins, either cushions. (And after they took it there, the hand of the Lord was made upon all the city with a full great slaughter; and he struck the men of the city, from a small, or a low, man unto a great man, and their lower entrails grew rotten, and came forth; and the men of Gath took counsel together, and then they made leather cushions for themselves.)

¹⁰ Therefore they sent the ark of the Lord into Ekron. And when the ark of the Lord had come into Ekron, men of Ekron cried [out], and said, They have brought to us the ark of God of Israel, that he slay us and our people. (And so they sent the Ark of the Lord to Ekron. And when the Ark of the Lord had come to Ekron, the men of Ekron cried out, and said, They have brought the Ark of the God of Israel to us, so that now he will kill us and our people!)

¹¹ Then they sent, and gathered together all the wise men, either princes, of Philistines; which said, Deliver ye the ark of God of Israel, and turn it again into his place, and slay not us with our people. For dread of death was made in all [the] cities, and the hand of the Lord was full grievous. (And they sent for, and gathered together, all the princes of the Philistines; and they said, Send the Ark of the God of Israel away, and let it return to its own place, so that it shall not kill us and our people. For the fear of death was made in all the city, and the hand of the Lord was very grievous there.)

¹² And the men, that were not dead (who did not die), were smitten in the privy parts of their buttocks, and the yelling of each city went up into heaven.