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1 Samuel 3-6
The Voice
1 Samuel 3-6
The Voice
3 The boy Samuel continued to serve the Eternal One under the guidance of Eli. In those days, messages from the Eternal were rare, and sacred dreams or visions were given to very few.
2 Eli, who was very old, had become almost blind. He was lying in his room; 3 it was late at night but before dawn as the lamp of God still burned. Samuel was resting in the house of the Eternal One, where the covenant chest of the True God was located, and he heard a voice.
Eternal One: 4 Samuel! Samuel!
Samuel: Here I am! 5 (running to Eli) I heard you calling; here I am!
Eli: I did not call you, my son. Go back, and lie down.
So Samuel went back to bed. 6 But the Eternal called him again.
Eternal One: Samuel!
Samuel (running to Eli): I heard you calling; here I am!
Eli: No, I did not call you, my son. Go back, and lie down. I need my rest.
7 Samuel did not recognize the voice of the Eternal One, for the word of the Eternal had not been revealed to Samuel yet. So Samuel went back again to his bed. 8 And the Eternal One called him a third time.
Samuel (running to Eli): I know you called me; I am here!
Eli (realizing the Lord was calling Samuel): 9 Go back and lie down, my son. If the voice calls you again, I want you to say, “Speak, Eternal One. Your servant is listening.”
So Samuel went to his bed in his place and listened. 10 Then the Eternal One came into his presence as before.
Eternal One: Samuel! Samuel!
Samuel: Speak, Eternal One. Your servant is listening.
Eternal One: 11 Pay attention! I am about to do something so amazing in Israel that it will sting the ears of everyone who hears it. 12 The day is coming when I will carry out the vow I made to Eli about his family, every word of it. 13 I have told him that I will punish his house forever for the sins of his sons, bringing a curse on themselves that he knew about but did nothing to stop. 14 So I vow that the sins of the house of Eli may never be atoned for by sacrifice or by offering.
15 After hearing this message, Samuel lay there until morning and then opened the doors of the Eternal One’s house, but he was afraid to tell Eli what God had said to him.
Eli: 16 Samuel, my son.
Samuel: Here I am.
Eli: 17 What was it that He told you? Tell me everything. May the True God carry out His vengeance on you and worse, if you hold anything back from me that He said to you.
18 So Samuel told him everything, hiding nothing.
Eli: This message is truly from the Eternal One. Let Him do what seems good to Him.
When Eli hears God’s message to Samuel, a message that surely breaks his heart, Eli knows his sons have dishonored God and deserve punishment. His willingness to honor God’s message is truly a measure of his faith. This is one of many places in the books of Samuel where we can recognize the justice of God’s plan and still share some sorrow with those who will suffer because of it.
19 As Samuel grew, the Eternal One guided him and none of His words were lost on Samuel. 20 And all Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, learned that Samuel was a prophet of the Eternal One and that his words could be trusted.
21 From time to time, the Eternal continued to appear at Shiloh, where He had spoken to Samuel.
4 And all of Israel was influenced by Samuel’s words.
[In those days, the Philistines warred against Israel,][a] and the warriors of Israel went out to fight them. They camped at Ebenezer while the Philistine forces made camp at Aphek. 2 The Philistines lined up against Israel; and when they advanced, they defeated Israel, killing about 4,000 of Israel’s warriors on the battlefield. 3 When the troops returned to their camp, the elders of Israel asked,
Elders: Why has the Eternal One let us be defeated by the Philistines today? Tomorrow, let us take His covenant chest from Shiloh and carry it before us into battle, so that the chest may be among us and save us from the power of the Philistines.
4 So the people sent messengers to Shiloh and brought back the covenant chest of the Eternal One, Commander of heavenly armies, who is enthroned between the winged guardians.
The two sons of Eli—Hophni and Phinehas—accompanied the covenant chest of the True God on its journey to the battlefront. 5 When it entered the camp, the Israelites raised a shout so loud it seemed to shake the earth. 6 When the Philistines heard the noise, they wondered what the great shout from the Hebrews’ camp might mean; and when they heard that it was in response to the arrival of the covenant chest of the Eternal, 7 they shook with fear.
Philistines (among themselves): The Israelites have brought their God into their camp! We’re doomed! Nothing like this has ever happened to us before! 8 What will we do? What can save us from these powerful gods? These are the same gods who struck down the mighty Egyptians in the desert with every sort of plague.
Philistine Generals: 9 Be strong, Philistines. Stand tall like men, or you will become the slaves to these Hebrews, instead of their serving us. Be men, and fight!
10 So the Philistines stood their ground and fought and won a great victory. The people of Israel were crushed, and the soldiers fled from the field of battle back to their homes. It was a horrible slaughter, with the Israelites losing 30,000 foot soldiers.
11 But more importantly, they lost the covenant chest of the True God. The Philistines captured the chest, and Eli’s sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were killed.
12 A Benjaminite ran from the battlefield and arrived in Shiloh that same day. He was in mourning—his clothes torn and dust heaped on his head. 13 When he arrived, Eli was sitting in his place of honor next to the city gate waiting anxiously for the covenant chest of God. When the man came into the city and told his news, the entire city cried out in grief. 14 But Eli, who could not see the messenger’s clothing, wondered at the meaning of the cries.
Eli: What is that noise?
The man hurried to Eli and told him what had happened. 15 Eli was by this time 98 years old and blind.
Benjaminite Messenger: 16 I have just come from the battle. I fled the front lines to escape with my life.
Eli: How did the battle go, my son?
Benjaminite Messenger: 17 Many of the people were slaughtered, and Israel has fled from the Philistines. Your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the covenant chest of the True God is captured.
18 When he heard this news about the covenant chest of the True God, Eli fell backward from his seat beside the gate, broke his neck, and died, for he was very old and heavyset.
He was a leader over Israel for 40 years.
19 His daughter-in-law, Phinehas’s wife, was pregnant and close to the end of her term. When she heard the news—that the covenant chest of the True God had been captured by the Philistines and that her husband and father-in-law were both dead—she was bowed over by her labor pains. She gave birth, 20 and as she was about to die, the midwives told her,
Midwives: Don’t be afraid. You have a son.
But she did not answer or seem to hear them. 21 She said only that the son should be called Ichabod, meaning, “Where has the glory gone?” For so it must have seemed to her with the loss of the covenant chest of God and the deaths of her husband and father-in-law.
Eli’s Daughter-in-law: 22 The glory has gone from Israel because the Philistines have captured the chest of the True God.
5 The Philistines brought the captured covenant chest of the True God from Ebenezer to one of their capital cities called Ashdod. 2 There the Philistines took the chest of the True God into the house of their god, Dagon, and placed it in a place of honor beside the idol of Dagon. 3 When the people of the city anxiously awoke early the next morning, there was Dagon, lying on his face on the ground, as if bowing before the covenant chest of the Eternal. So they grabbed the idol and put it back in its proper place. 4 But when they awoke the next morning, only the trunk of the idol was untouched. Dagon had fallen to the ground on his face before the covenant chest of the Eternal One again, and this time his head and hands had been cut off and were lying across the threshold. 5 That is why the priests and worshipers of Dagon in the house of Dagon in Ashdod refused to step on the threshold even till this day.
6 The hand of the Eternal One came down hard with punishment on the people of Ashdod while the covenant chest rested there. He ravaged the people of Ashdod and the surrounding territory and struck them with swollen, painful growths like tumors. 7 When the people of Ashdod saw how they were cursed, they said,
People of Ashdod: We can’t let the chest of the True God of Israel remain here because their God continues to punish us and our god Dagon.
8-9 So they gathered together all the rulers of the Philistines to ask what should be done with the covenant chest of Israel’s God.
People of Gath: Send this chest of Israel’s God to us.
They did so. But after they had moved the chest of the True God of Israel to Gath, another of the capital cities, the hand of the Eternal One began to punish the people of Gath and sent them into a panic. He also struck them with swollen, painful, tumor-like growths—the young and old alike. 10 So then they sent the covenant chest of the True God of Israel on to a third capital city, Ekron; but when the people of Ekron saw that the covenant chest was coming, they protested.
People of Ekron: Have you brought this chest of the Israelite God here to kill us now?
11 So they gathered together all the rulers of the Philistines.
People of Ekron: Send away this covenant chest of the God of Israel. Send it back where it came from so that it doesn’t kill us all!
For there was great panic throughout the city. The True God’s hand rested heavily on them; 12 and those He did not kill, He struck with swollen, painful tumors. Their suffering was so intense their cries could be heard in the heavens.
6 The covenant chest of the Eternal One had been in the land of the Philistines for seven months. 2 Then the rulers of the Philistines sent for their priests and fortune-tellers.
Rulers: What should we do with this chest of the Eternal One? We need to get rid of it. What should we send with it when we return it?
Priests and Fortune-tellers: 3 Whatever you do, don’t send this covenant chest of the True God of Israel back by itself. You should certainly offer Him compensation for your guilt. If you do, you will all be healed. That’s the only way you can be certain that His hand will be lifted.
Rulers: 4 What should we send as this guilt offering to Him when we return the covenant chest?
Ancient people understand diseases and various infestations as omens of divine wrath. In order to appease the God of the Israelites, the Philistines cast metal tumors and mice to give back to the Eternal One what He gave to them.
Priests and Fortune-Tellers: Have your artisans make five gold tumors and five gold mice, one for each of the rulers of the Philistines’ capital cities, because the same plague came upon all of the Philistines and all of our rulers. 5 So you must make images of the tumors and of the mice that devastate our land and honor this God of Israel. Maybe then He will release His grip on this land, its people, and its gods. 6 Why would you be as stubborn as the Egyptians and their Pharaoh were? You’ve heard the stories, haven’t you? When this God had taught them a lesson, didn’t they release the people of Israel? Didn’t they go?
7 So do this now: have your carpenters make a new wagon, find two milk cows that have never been yoked, and yoke them to the cart. But take away their calves and pen them up. 8 Take this chest of the Eternal One and set it upon the wagon. In a box beside it, put the gold images you are presenting to this God as a guilt offering. Then turn the cows loose, and let them go on their way. 9 Watch closely. If the team pulls the wagon up to this God’s country, to Beth-shemesh, then you know that He has been the One punishing us. If they don’t, then at least we’ll know that it was not His hand that struck us, that it has just been bad luck.
10 And that is what the leaders did. They separated two milk cows from their calves. They yoked the cows to the wagon and took the calves home. 11 They set the covenant chest of the Eternal upon the wagon, and next to it, they placed the box with the gold tumors and gold mice. 12 The cows went straight along the road toward Beth-shemesh, mooing after their lost calves as they went. They went straight ahead without any hesitation, and the rulers of the Philistines followed as far as the border of Beth-shemesh.
13 The people of Beth-shemesh were in the valley harvesting their wheat at that time. When they looked up and saw the covenant chest, they ran to greet it with joy. 14 The wagon came to a halt at a large stone in the field of Joshua of Beth-shemesh. The people split up the cart for firewood and sacrificed the cattle as a burnt offering to the Eternal One on the large stone. 15 The Levites took the chest of the Eternal and the box next to it down from the wagon. They took the gold images from the box and set them upon the stone altar. Then the people of Beth-shemesh offered sacrifices and made other burnt offerings to the Eternal One.
16 When the five rulers of the Philistines saw how their offering had been received that day, they returned to Ekron.
17 The five gold images of swollen tumors presented to the Eternal One by the Philistines as a guilt offering represented Ashdod, Gaza, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron—one for each. 18 Likewise the golden mice represented all the cities of the Philistines governed by their rulers, both the walled cities and the villages surrounding them. The large stone in the field of Joshua of Beth-shemesh where they set the chest of the Eternal remains there as a witness to these events.
19 The Eternal struck the people of Beth-shemesh because some looked into the covenant chest. God struck down 75[b] men, and the people were saddened because of the slaughter the Eternal One had brought among their people.
People of Beth-shemesh: 20 Who can stand in the presence of the Eternal One, this holy God? Who will take the covenant chest so we can be safe from Him?
21 So the people of Beth-shemesh sent messengers to the people of Kiriath-jearim to tell them that the Philistines had returned the chest of the Eternal One to Beth-shemesh and that they should come down and take it with them.
1 Samuel 3-6
King James Version
1 Samuel 3-6
King James Version
3 And the child Samuel ministered unto the Lord before Eli. And the word of the Lord was precious in those days; there was no open vision.
2 And it came to pass at that time, when Eli was laid down in his place, and his eyes began to wax dim, that he could not see;
3 And ere the lamp of God went out in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was, and Samuel was laid down to sleep;
4 That the Lord called Samuel: and he answered, Here am I.
5 And he ran unto Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou calledst me. And he said, I called not; lie down again. And he went and lay down.
6 And the Lord called yet again, Samuel. And Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou didst call me. And he answered, I called not, my son; lie down again.
7 Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, neither was the word of the Lord yet revealed unto him.
8 And the Lord called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou didst call me. And Eli perceived that the Lord had called the child.
9 Therefore Eli said unto Samuel, Go, lie down: and it shall be, if he call thee, that thou shalt say, Speak, Lord; for thy servant heareth. So Samuel went and lay down in his place.
10 And the Lord came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak; for thy servant heareth.
11 And the Lord said to Samuel, Behold, I will do a thing in Israel, at which both the ears of every one that heareth it shall tingle.
12 In that day I will perform against Eli all things which I have spoken concerning his house: when I begin, I will also make an end.
13 For I have told him that I will judge his house for ever for the iniquity which he knoweth; because his sons made themselves vile, and he restrained them not.
14 And therefore I have sworn unto the house of Eli, that the iniquity of Eli's house shall not be purged with sacrifice nor offering for ever.
15 And Samuel lay until the morning, and opened the doors of the house of the Lord. And Samuel feared to shew Eli the vision.
16 Then Eli called Samuel, and said, Samuel, my son. And he answered, Here am I.
17 And he said, What is the thing that the Lord hath said unto thee? I pray thee hide it not from me: God do so to thee, and more also, if thou hide any thing from me of all the things that he said unto thee.
18 And Samuel told him every whit, and hid nothing from him. And he said, It is the Lord: let him do what seemeth him good.
19 And Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him, and did let none of his words fall to the ground.
20 And all Israel from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established to be a prophet of the Lord.
21 And the Lord appeared again in Shiloh: for the Lord revealed himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the Lord.
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.
5 And the Philistines took the ark of God, and brought it from Ebenezer unto Ashdod.
2 When the Philistines took the ark of God, they brought it into the house of Dagon, and set it by Dagon.
3 And when they of Ashdod arose early on the morrow, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the earth before the ark of the Lord. And they took Dagon, and set him in his place again.
4 And when they arose early on the morrow morning, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the ground before the ark of the Lord; and the head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands were cut off upon the threshold; only the stump of Dagon was left to him.
5 Therefore neither the priests of Dagon, nor any that come into Dagon's house, tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod unto this day.
6 But the hand of the Lord was heavy upon them of Ashdod, and he destroyed them, and smote them with emerods, even Ashdod and the coasts thereof.
7 And when the men of Ashdod saw that it was so, they said, The ark of the God of Israel shall not abide with us: for his hand is sore upon us, and upon Dagon our god.
8 They sent therefore and gathered all the lords of the Philistines unto them, and said, What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel? And they answered, Let the ark of the God of Israel be carried about unto Gath. And they carried the ark of the God of Israel about thither.
9 And it was so, that, after they had carried it about, the hand of the Lord was against the city with a very great destruction: and he smote the men of the city, both small and great, and they had emerods in their secret parts.
10 Therefore they sent the ark of God to Ekron. And it came to pass, as the ark of God came to Ekron, that the Ekronites cried out, saying, They have brought about the ark of the God of Israel to us, to slay us and our people.
11 So they sent and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines, and said, Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it go again to his own place, that it slay us not, and our people: for there was a deadly destruction throughout all the city; the hand of God was very heavy there.
12 And the men that died not were smitten with the emerods: and the cry of the city went up to heaven.
6 And the ark of the Lord was in the country of the Philistines seven months.
2 And the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners, saying, What shall we do to the ark of the Lord? tell us wherewith we shall send it to his place.
3 And they said, If ye send away the ark of the God of Israel, send it not empty; but in any wise return him a trespass offering: then ye shall be healed, and it shall be known to you why his hand is not removed from you.
4 Then said they, What shall be the trespass offering which we shall return to him? They answered, Five golden emerods, and five golden mice, according to the number of the lords of the Philistines: for one plague was on you all, and on your lords.
5 Wherefore ye shall make images of your emerods, and images of your mice that mar the land; and ye shall give glory unto the God of Israel: peradventure he will lighten his hand from off you, and from off your gods, and from off your land.
6 Wherefore then do ye harden your hearts, as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? when he had wrought wonderfully among them, did they not let the people go, and they departed?
7 Now therefore make a new cart, and take two milch kine, on which there hath come no yoke, and tie the kine to the cart, and bring their calves home from them:
8 And take the ark of the Lord, and lay it upon the cart; and put the jewels of gold, which ye return him for a trespass offering, in a coffer by the side thereof; and send it away, that it may go.
9 And see, if it goeth up by the way of his own coast to Bethshemesh, then he hath done us this great evil: but if not, then we shall know that it is not his hand that smote us: it was a chance that happened to us.
10 And the men did so; and took two milch kine, and tied them to the cart, and shut up their calves at home:
11 And they laid the ark of the Lord upon the cart, and the coffer with the mice of gold and the images of their emerods.
12 And the kine took the straight way to the way of Bethshemesh, and went along the highway, lowing as they went, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left; and the lords of the Philistines went after them unto the border of Bethshemesh.
13 And they of Bethshemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley: and they lifted up their eyes, and saw the ark, and rejoiced to see it.
14 And the cart came into the field of Joshua, a Bethshemite, and stood there, where there was a great stone: and they clave the wood of the cart, and offered the kine a burnt offering unto the Lord.
15 And the Levites took down the ark of the Lord, and the coffer that was with it, wherein the jewels of gold were, and put them on the great stone: and the men of Bethshemesh offered burnt offerings and sacrificed sacrifices the same day unto the Lord.
16 And when the five lords of the Philistines had seen it, they returned to Ekron the same day.
17 And these are the golden emerods which the Philistines returned for a trespass offering unto the Lord; for Ashdod one, for Gaza one, for Askelon one, for Gath one, for Ekron one;
18 And the golden mice, according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five lords, both of fenced cities, and of country villages, even unto the great stone of Abel, whereon they set down the ark of the Lord: which stone remaineth unto this day in the field of Joshua, the Bethshemite.
19 And he smote the men of Bethshemesh, because they had looked into the ark of the Lord, even he smote of the people fifty thousand and threescore and ten men: and the people lamented, because the Lord had smitten many of the people with a great slaughter.
20 And the men of Bethshemesh said, Who is able to stand before this holy Lord God? and to whom shall he go up from us?
21 And they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kirjathjearim, saying, The Philistines have brought again the ark of the Lord; come ye down, and fetch it up to you.
1 Samuel 3-6
New King James Version
1 Samuel 3-6
New King James Version
Samuel’s First Prophecy
3 Now (A)the boy Samuel ministered to the Lord before Eli. And (B)the word of the Lord was rare in those days; there was no widespread revelation. 2 And it came to pass at that time, while Eli was lying down in his place, and when his eyes had begun to grow (C)so dim that he could not see, 3 and before (D)the lamp of God went out in the [a]tabernacle of the Lord where the ark of God was, and while Samuel was lying down, 4 that the Lord called Samuel. And he answered, “Here I am!” 5 So he ran to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.”
And he said, “I did not call; lie down again.” And he went and lay down.
6 Then the Lord called yet again, “Samuel!”
So Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” He answered, “I did not call, my son; lie down again.” 7 (Now Samuel (E)did not yet know the Lord, nor was the word of the Lord yet revealed to him.)
8 And the Lord called Samuel again the third time. So he arose and went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you did call me.”
Then Eli perceived that the Lord had called the boy. 9 Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down; and it shall be, if He calls you, that you must say, (F)‘Speak, Lord, for Your servant hears.’ ” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.
10 Now the Lord came and stood and called as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!”
And Samuel answered, “Speak, for Your servant hears.”
11 Then the Lord said to Samuel: “Behold, I will do something in Israel (G)at which both ears of everyone who hears it will tingle. 12 In that day I will perform against Eli (H)all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end. 13 (I)For I have told him that I will (J)judge his house forever for the iniquity which he knows, because (K)his sons made themselves vile, and he (L)did not [b]restrain them. 14 And therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli’s house (M)shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever.”
15 So Samuel lay down until [c]morning, and opened the doors of the house of the Lord. And Samuel was afraid to tell Eli the vision. 16 Then Eli called Samuel and said, “Samuel, my son!”
He answered, “Here I am.”
17 And he said, “What is the word that the Lord spoke to you? Please do not hide it from me. (N)God do so to you, and more also, if you hide anything from me of all the things that He said to you.” 18 Then Samuel told him everything, and hid nothing from him. And he said, (O)“It is the Lord. Let Him do what seems good to Him.”
19 So Samuel (P)grew, and (Q)the Lord was with him (R)and let none of his words [d]fall to the ground. 20 And all Israel (S)from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel had been [e]established as a prophet of the Lord. 21 Then the Lord appeared again in Shiloh. For the Lord revealed Himself to Samuel in Shiloh by (T)the word of the Lord.
The Death of Eli
4 And the word of Samuel came to all [f]Israel.
The Ark of God Captured
Now Israel went out to battle against the Philistines, and encamped beside (U)Ebenezer; and the Philistines encamped in Aphek. 2 Then the (V)Philistines put themselves in battle array against Israel. And when they joined battle, Israel was [g]defeated by the Philistines, who killed about four thousand men of the army in the field. 3 And when the people had come into the camp, the elders of Israel said, “Why has the Lord defeated us today before the Philistines? (W)Let us bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord from Shiloh to us, that when it comes among us it may save us from the hand of our enemies.” 4 So the people sent to Shiloh, that they might bring from there the ark of the covenant of the Lord of hosts, (X)who dwells between (Y)the cherubim. And the (Z)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 so loudly that the earth shook. 6 Now when the Philistines heard the noise of the shout, they said, “What does the sound 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, (AA)“Woe to us! For such a thing has never happened before. 8 Woe to us! Who will deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods? These are the gods who struck the Egyptians with all the plagues in the wilderness. 9 (AB)Be strong and conduct yourselves like men, you Philistines, that you do not become servants of the Hebrews, (AC)as they have been to you. [h]Conduct yourselves like men, and fight!”
10 So the Philistines fought, and (AD)Israel was [i]defeated, and every man fled to his tent. There was a very great slaughter, and there fell of Israel thirty thousand foot soldiers. 11 Also (AE)the ark of God was captured; and (AF)the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died.
Death of Eli
12 Then a man of Benjamin ran from the battle line the same day, and (AG)came to Shiloh with his clothes torn and (AH)dirt on his head. 13 Now when he came, there was Eli, sitting on (AI)a seat [j]by the wayside watching, for his heart [k]trembled for the ark of God. And when the man came into the city and told it, all the city cried out. 14 When Eli heard the noise of the outcry, he said, “What does the sound of this tumult mean?” And the man came quickly and told Eli. 15 Eli was ninety-eight years old, and (AJ)his eyes were so [l]dim that he could not see.
16 Then the man said to Eli, “I am he who came from the battle. And I fled today from the battle line.”
And he said, (AK)“What happened, my son?”
17 So the messenger answered and said, “Israel has fled before the Philistines, and there has been a great slaughter among the people. Also your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead; and the ark of God has been captured.”
18 Then it happened, when he made mention of the ark of God, that Eli fell off the seat backward by the side of the gate; and his neck was broken and he died, for the man was old and heavy. And he had judged Israel forty years.
Ichabod
19 Now his daughter-in-law, Phinehas’ wife, was with child, due to be delivered; and when she heard the news that the ark of God was captured, and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she bowed herself and gave birth, for her labor pains came upon her. 20 And about the time of her death (AL)the women who stood by her said to her, “Do not fear, for you have borne a son.” But she did not answer, nor did she [m]regard it. 21 Then she named the child (AM)Ichabod,[n] saying, (AN)“The glory has departed from Israel!” because the ark of God had been captured and because of her father-in-law and her husband. 22 And she said, “The glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God has been captured.”
The Philistines and the Ark
5 Then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it (AO)from Ebenezer to Ashdod. 2 When the Philistines took the ark of God, they brought it into the house of (AP)Dagon[o] and set it by Dagon. 3 And when the people of Ashdod arose early in the morning, there was Dagon, (AQ)fallen on its face to the earth before the ark of the Lord. So they took Dagon and (AR)set it in its place again. 4 And when they arose early the next morning, there was Dagon, fallen on its face to the ground before the ark of the Lord. (AS)The head of Dagon and both the palms of its hands were broken off on the threshold; only [p]Dagon’s torso was left of it. 5 Therefore neither the priests of Dagon nor any who come into Dagon’s house (AT)tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod to this day.
6 But the (AU)hand of the Lord was heavy on the people of Ashdod, and He (AV)ravaged them and struck them with (AW)tumors,[q] both Ashdod and its (AX)territory. 7 And when the men of Ashdod saw how it was, they said, “The ark of the (AY)God of Israel must not remain with us, for His hand is harsh toward us and Dagon our god.” 8 Therefore they sent and gathered to themselves all the (AZ)lords of the Philistines, and said, “What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel?”
And they answered, “Let the ark of the God of Israel be carried away to (BA)Gath.” So they carried the ark of the God of Israel away. 9 So it was, after they had carried it away, that (BB)the hand of the Lord was against the city with a very great destruction; and He struck the men of the city, both small and great, [r]and tumors broke out on them.
10 Therefore they sent the ark of God to Ekron. So it was, as the ark of God came to Ekron, that the Ekronites cried out, saying, “They have brought the ark of the God of Israel to us, to kill us and our people!” 11 So they sent and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines, and said, “Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it go back to its own place, so that it does not kill us and our people.” For there was a deadly destruction throughout all the city; the hand of God was very heavy there. 12 And the men who did not die were stricken with the tumors, and the (BC)cry of the city went up to heaven.
The Ark Returned to Israel
6 Now the ark of the Lord was in the country of the Philistines seven months. 2 And the Philistines (BD)called for the priests and the diviners, saying, “What shall we do with the ark of the Lord? Tell us how we should send it to its place.”
3 So they said, “If you send away the ark of the God of Israel, do not send it (BE)empty; but by all means return it to Him with (BF)a trespass offering. Then you will be healed, and it will be known to you why His hand is not removed from you.”
4 Then they said, “What is the trespass offering which we shall return to Him?”
They answered, (BG)“Five golden tumors and five golden rats, according to the number of the lords of the Philistines. For the same plague was on all of [s]you and on your lords. 5 Therefore you shall make images of your tumors and images of your rats that (BH)ravage the land, and you shall (BI)give glory to the God of Israel; perhaps He will (BJ)lighten[t] His hand from you, from (BK)your gods, and from your land. 6 Why then do you harden your hearts (BL)as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? When He did mighty things among them, (BM)did they not let the people go, that they might depart? 7 Now therefore, make (BN)a new cart, take two milk cows (BO)which have never been yoked, and hitch the cows to the cart; and take their calves home, away from them. 8 Then take the ark of the Lord and set it on the cart; and put (BP)the articles of gold which you are returning to Him as a trespass offering in a chest by its side. Then send it away, and let it go. 9 And watch: if it goes up the road to its own territory, to (BQ)Beth Shemesh, then He has done [u]us this great evil. But if not, then (BR)we shall know that it is not His hand that struck us—it happened to us by chance.”
10 Then the men did so; they took two milk cows and hitched them to the cart, and shut up their calves at home. 11 And they set the ark of the Lord on the cart, and the chest with the gold rats and the images of their tumors. 12 Then the cows headed straight for the road to Beth Shemesh, and went along the (BS)highway, lowing as they went, and did not turn aside to the right hand or the left. And the lords of the Philistines went after them to the border of Beth Shemesh.
13 Now the people of Beth Shemesh were reaping their (BT)wheat harvest in the valley; and they lifted their eyes and saw the ark, and rejoiced to see it. 14 Then the cart came into the field of Joshua of Beth Shemesh, and stood there; a large stone was there. So they split the wood of the cart and offered the cows as a burnt offering to the Lord. 15 The Levites took down the ark of the Lord and the chest that was with it, in which were the articles of gold, and put them on the large stone. Then the men of Beth Shemesh offered burnt offerings and made sacrifices the same day to the Lord. 16 So when (BU)the five lords of the Philistines had seen it, they returned to Ekron the same day.
17 (BV)These are the golden tumors which the Philistines returned as a trespass offering to the Lord: one for Ashdod, one for Gaza, one for Ashkelon, one for (BW)Gath, one for Ekron; 18 and the golden rats, according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five lords, both fortified cities and country villages, even as far as the large stone of Abel on which they set the ark of the Lord, which stone remains to this day in the field of Joshua of Beth Shemesh.
19 Then (BX)He struck the men of Beth Shemesh, because they had looked into the ark of the Lord. [v]He (BY)struck fifty thousand and seventy men of the people, and the people lamented because the Lord had struck the people with a great slaughter.
The Ark at Kirjath Jearim
20 And the men of Beth Shemesh said, (BZ)“Who is able to stand before this holy Lord God? And to whom shall it go up from us?” 21 So they sent messengers to the inhabitants of (CA)Kirjath Jearim, saying, “The Philistines have brought back the ark of the Lord; come down and take it up with you.”
Footnotes
- 1 Samuel 3:3 palace or temple
- 1 Samuel 3:13 Lit. rebuke
- 1 Samuel 3:15 So with MT, Tg., Vg.; LXX adds and he arose in the morning
- 1 Samuel 3:19 fail
- 1 Samuel 3:20 confirmed
- 1 Samuel 4:1 So with MT, Tg.; LXX, Vg. add And it came to pass in those days that the Philistines gathered themselves together to fight; LXX adds further against Israel
- 1 Samuel 4:2 Lit. struck
- 1 Samuel 4:9 Lit. Be men
- 1 Samuel 4:10 Lit. struck down
- 1 Samuel 4:13 So with MT, Vg.; LXX beside the gate watching the road
- 1 Samuel 4:13 trembled with anxiety
- 1 Samuel 4:15 fixed
- 1 Samuel 4:20 pay any attention to
- 1 Samuel 4:21 Lit. Inglorious
- 1 Samuel 5:2 A Philistine idol
- 1 Samuel 5:4 So with LXX, Syr., Tg., Vg.; MT Dagon
- 1 Samuel 5:6 Probably bubonic plague. LXX, Vg. add And in the midst of their land rats sprang up, and there was a great death panic in the city.
- 1 Samuel 5:9 Vg. and they had tumors in their secret parts
- 1 Samuel 6:4 Lit. them
- 1 Samuel 6:5 ease
- 1 Samuel 6:9 this calamity to us
- 1 Samuel 6:19 Or He struck seventy men of the people and fifty oxen of a man
1 Samuel 3-6
English Standard Version
1 Samuel 3-6
English Standard Version
The Lord Calls Samuel
3 (A)Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord in the presence of Eli. (B)And the word of the Lord was rare in those days; there was no frequent vision.
2 At that time Eli, (C)whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his own place. 3 (D)The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down (E)in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was.
4 Then the Lord called Samuel, and he said, “Here I am!” 5 and ran to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call; lie down again.” So he went and lay down.
6 And the Lord called again, “Samuel!” and Samuel arose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call, my son; lie down again.” 7 Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him.
8 And the Lord called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” Then Eli perceived that the Lord was calling the boy. 9 Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down, and if he calls you, you shall say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant hears.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.
10 And the Lord came and stood, calling as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant hears.” 11 Then the Lord said to Samuel, “Behold, I am about to do a thing in Israel (F)at which the two ears of everyone who hears it will tingle. 12 On that day I will fulfill against Eli (G)all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end. 13 (H)And I declare to him that I am about to punish his house forever, for the iniquity that he knew, (I)because his sons were blaspheming God,[a] (J)and he did not restrain them. 14 Therefore I swear to the house of Eli (K)that the iniquity of Eli's house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever.”
15 Samuel lay until morning; then he opened the doors of the house of the Lord. And Samuel was afraid to tell the vision to Eli. 16 But Eli called Samuel and said, “Samuel, my son.” And he said, “Here I am.” 17 And Eli said, “What was it that he told you? Do not hide it from me. (L)May God do so to you and more also if you hide anything from me of all that he told you.” 18 So Samuel told him everything and hid nothing from him. And he said, (M)“It is the Lord. Let him do what seems good to him.”
19 (N)And Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him (O)and let none of his words fall to the ground. 20 And all Israel (P)from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established as a prophet of the Lord. 21 And the Lord appeared again at Shiloh, for the Lord revealed himself to Samuel (Q)at Shiloh (R)by the word of the Lord.
The Philistines Capture the Ark
4 And the word of Samuel came to all Israel.
Now Israel went out to battle against the Philistines. They encamped at (S)Ebenezer, and the Philistines encamped at (T)Aphek. 2 The Philistines drew up in line against Israel, and when the battle spread, Israel was defeated before the Philistines, who killed about four thousand men on the field of battle. 3 And when the people came to the camp, the elders of Israel said, “Why has the Lord defeated us today before the Philistines? Let us bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord here (U)from Shiloh, that it[b] may come among us and save us from the power of our enemies.” 4 So the people sent to Shiloh and brought from there the ark of the covenant of the Lord of hosts, (V)who is enthroned on the cherubim. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.
5 As soon as the ark of the covenant of the Lord came into the camp, all Israel (W)gave a mighty shout, so that the earth resounded. 6 And when the Philistines heard the noise of the shouting, they said, “What does this great shouting in the camp of the Hebrews mean?” And when they learned that the ark of the Lord had come to the camp, 7 the Philistines were afraid, for they said, “A god has come into the camp.” And they said, “Woe to us! For nothing like this has happened before. 8 Woe to us! Who can deliver us from the power of these mighty gods? These are the gods who struck the Egyptians with every sort of plague in the wilderness. 9 (X)Take courage, and be men, O Philistines, lest you become slaves to the Hebrews (Y)as they have been to you; be men and fight.”
10 So the Philistines fought, (Z)and Israel was defeated, (AA)and they fled, every man to his home. And there was a very great slaughter, for thirty thousand foot soldiers of Israel fell. 11 (AB)And the ark of God was captured, (AC)and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died.
The Death of Eli
12 A man of Benjamin ran from the battle line and came to Shiloh the same day, (AD)with his clothes torn and with dirt on his head. 13 When he arrived, (AE)Eli was sitting on his seat by the road watching, for his heart trembled for the ark of God. And when the man came into the city and told the news, all the city cried out. 14 When Eli heard the sound of the outcry, he said, “What is this uproar?” Then the man hurried and came and told Eli. 15 Now Eli was ninety-eight years old (AF)and his eyes were set so that he could not see. 16 And the man said to Eli, “I am he who has come from the battle; I fled from the battle today.” And he said, (AG)“How did it go, my son?” 17 He who brought the news answered and said, “Israel has fled before the Philistines, and there has also been a great defeat among the people. Your two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God has been captured.” 18 As soon as he mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell over backward (AH)from his seat by the side of the gate, and his neck was broken and he died, for the man was old and heavy. He had judged Israel forty years.
19 Now his daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant, about to give birth. And when she heard the news that the ark of God was captured, and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she bowed and gave birth, for her pains came upon her. 20 And about the time of her death the women attending her said to her, (AI)“Do not be afraid, for you have borne a son.” But she did not answer or pay attention. 21 And she named the child (AJ)Ichabod, saying, (AK)“The glory has departed[c] from Israel!” because (AL)the ark of God had been captured and because of her father-in-law and her husband. 22 And she said, “The glory has departed from Israel, (AM)for the ark of God has been captured.”
The Philistines and the Ark
5 When the Philistines captured the ark of God, they brought it from (AN)Ebenezer to (AO)Ashdod. 2 Then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it into the house of Dagon and set it up beside (AP)Dagon. 3 And when the people of Ashdod rose early the next day, behold, (AQ)Dagon had fallen face downward on the ground before the ark of the Lord. So they took Dagon and put him back in his place. 4 But when they rose early on the next morning, behold, Dagon had fallen face downward on the ground before the ark of the Lord, (AR)and the head of Dagon and both his hands were lying cut off on the threshold. Only the trunk of Dagon was left to him. 5 This is why the priests of Dagon and all who enter the house of Dagon (AS)do not tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod to this day.
6 (AT)The hand of the Lord was heavy against the people of Ashdod, and he terrified and afflicted them with (AU)tumors, both Ashdod and its territory. 7 And when the men of Ashdod saw how things were, they said, “The ark of the God of Israel must not remain with us, for his hand is hard against us and against Dagon our god.” 8 So they sent and gathered together all (AV)the lords of the Philistines and said, “What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel?” They answered, “Let the ark of the God of Israel be brought around to Gath.” So they brought the ark of the God of Israel there. 9 But after they had brought it around, (AW)the hand of the Lord was against the city, causing a very great panic, and he afflicted the men of the city, both young and old, so that (AX)tumors broke out on them. 10 So they sent the ark of God to Ekron. But as soon as the ark of God came to Ekron, the people of Ekron cried out, “They have brought around to us the ark of the God of Israel to kill us and our people.” 11 (AY)They sent therefore and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines and said, “Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it return to its own place, that it may not kill us and our people.” For there was a deathly panic throughout the whole city. (AZ)The hand of God was very heavy there. 12 The men who did not die were struck with (BA)tumors, and the cry of the city went up to heaven.
The Ark Returned to Israel
6 The ark of the Lord was in the country of the Philistines seven months. 2 And the Philistines called for the priests and (BB)the diviners and said, “What shall we do with the ark of the Lord? Tell us with what we shall send it to its place.” 3 They said, “If you send away the ark of the God of Israel, do not send it empty, but by all means return him (BC)a guilt offering. Then you will be healed, and it will be known to you why (BD)his hand does not turn away from you.” 4 And they said, “What is the guilt offering that we shall return to him?” They answered, “Five golden (BE)tumors and five golden mice, (BF)according to the number of the lords of the Philistines, for the same plague was on all of you and on your lords. 5 So you must make images of your (BG)tumors and images of your mice that ravage the land, (BH)and give glory to the God of Israel. Perhaps (BI)he will lighten his hand from off you (BJ)and your gods and your land. 6 Why should you harden your hearts as (BK)the Egyptians and (BL)Pharaoh hardened their hearts? After he had dealt severely with them, (BM)did they not send the people away, and they departed? 7 Now then, take and prepare (BN)a new cart and two milk cows (BO)on which there has never come a yoke, and yoke the cows to the cart, but take their calves home, away from them. 8 And take the ark of the Lord and place it on the cart and put in a box at its side (BP)the figures of gold, which you are returning to him as (BQ)a guilt offering. Then send it off and let it go its way 9 and watch. If it goes up on the way to its own land, to (BR)Beth-shemesh, then it is he who has done us this great harm, but if not, then we shall know that it is not (BS)his hand that struck us; it happened to us by coincidence.”
10 The men did so, and took two milk cows and yoked them to the cart and shut up their calves at home. 11 And they put the ark of the Lord on the cart and the box with the golden mice and the images of their tumors. 12 And the cows went straight in the direction of (BT)Beth-shemesh along (BU)one highway, lowing as they went. They turned neither to the right nor to the left, and the lords of the Philistines went after them as far as the border of (BV)Beth-shemesh. 13 Now the people of (BW)Beth-shemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley. And when they lifted up their eyes and saw the ark, they rejoiced to see it. 14 The cart came into the field of Joshua of Beth-shemesh and stopped there. (BX)A great stone was there. And they split up the wood of the cart and offered the cows as a burnt offering to the Lord. 15 And the Levites took down the ark of the Lord and the box that was beside it, in which were the golden figures, and set them upon (BY)the great stone. And the men of (BZ)Beth-shemesh offered burnt offerings and sacrificed sacrifices on that day to the Lord. 16 And when (CA)the five lords of the Philistines saw it, they returned that day to Ekron.
17 These are the golden tumors that the Philistines returned as a (CB)guilt offering to the Lord: one for Ashdod, one for Gaza, one for Ashkelon, one for Gath, one for Ekron, 18 and the golden mice, according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five lords, (CC)both fortified cities and unwalled villages. (CD)The great stone beside which they set down the ark of the Lord is a witness to this day in the field of Joshua of Beth-shemesh.
19 (CE)And he struck some of the men of Beth-shemesh, because they looked upon the ark of the Lord. He struck seventy men of them,[d] and the people mourned because the Lord had struck the people with a great blow. 20 Then the men of Beth-shemesh said, (CF)“Who is able to stand before the Lord, this holy God? And to whom shall he go up away from us?” 21 So they sent messengers to the inhabitants of (CG)Kiriath-jearim, saying, “The Philistines have returned the ark of the Lord. Come down and take it up to you.”
Footnotes
- 1 Samuel 3:13 Or blaspheming for themselves
- 1 Samuel 4:3 Or he
- 1 Samuel 4:21 Or gone into exile; also verse 22
- 1 Samuel 6:19 Most Hebrew manuscripts struck of the people seventy men, fifty thousand men
1 Samuel 3-6
New International Version
1 Samuel 3-6
New International Version
The Lord Calls Samuel
3 The boy Samuel ministered(A) before the Lord under Eli. In those days the word of the Lord was rare;(B) there were not many visions.(C)
2 One night Eli, whose eyes(D) were becoming so weak that he could barely see,(E) was lying down in his usual place. 3 The lamp(F) of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the house(G) of the Lord, where the ark(H) of God was. 4 Then the Lord called Samuel.
Samuel answered, “Here I am.(I)” 5 And he ran to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.”
But Eli said, “I did not call; go back and lie down.” So he went and lay down.
6 Again the Lord called, “Samuel!” And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.”
“My son,” Eli said, “I did not call; go back and lie down.”
7 Now Samuel did not yet know(J) the Lord: The word(K) of the Lord had not yet been revealed(L) to him.
8 A third time the Lord called, “Samuel!” And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.”
Then Eli realized that the Lord was calling the boy. 9 So Eli told Samuel, “Go and lie down, and if he calls you, say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.
10 The Lord came and stood there, calling as at the other times, “Samuel! Samuel!(M)”
Then Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”
11 And the Lord said to Samuel: “See, I am about to do something in Israel that will make the ears of everyone who hears about it tingle.(N) 12 At that time I will carry out against Eli everything(O) I spoke against his family—from beginning to end. 13 For I told him that I would judge his family forever because of the sin he knew about; his sons blasphemed God,[a] and he failed to restrain(P) them. 14 Therefore I swore to the house of Eli, ‘The guilt of Eli’s house will never be atoned(Q) for by sacrifice or offering.’”
15 Samuel lay down until morning and then opened the doors of the house of the Lord. He was afraid to tell Eli the vision, 16 but Eli called him and said, “Samuel, my son.”
Samuel answered, “Here I am.”
17 “What was it he said to you?” Eli asked. “Do not hide(R) it from me. May God deal with you, be it ever so severely,(S) if you hide from me anything he told you.” 18 So Samuel told him everything, hiding nothing from him. Then Eli said, “He is the Lord; let him do what is good in his eyes.”(T)
19 The Lord was with(U) Samuel as he grew(V) up, and he let none(W) of Samuel’s words fall to the ground. 20 And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba(X) recognized that Samuel was attested as a prophet of the Lord.(Y) 21 The Lord continued to appear at Shiloh, and there he revealed(Z) himself to Samuel through his word.
4 And Samuel’s word came to all Israel.
The Philistines Capture the Ark
Now the Israelites went out to fight against the Philistines. The Israelites camped at Ebenezer,(AA) and the Philistines at Aphek.(AB) 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 of them on the battlefield. 3 When the soldiers returned to camp, the elders of Israel asked, “Why(AC) did the Lord bring defeat on us today before the Philistines? Let us bring the ark(AD) of the Lord’s covenant from Shiloh,(AE) so that he may go with us(AF) and save us from the hand of our enemies.”
4 So the people sent men to Shiloh, and they brought back the ark of the covenant of the Lord Almighty, who is enthroned between the cherubim.(AG) And Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.
5 When the ark of the Lord’s covenant came into the camp, all Israel raised such a great shout(AH) that the ground shook. 6 Hearing the uproar, the Philistines asked, “What’s all this shouting in the Hebrew(AI) camp?”
When they learned that the ark of the Lord had come into the camp, 7 the Philistines were afraid.(AJ) “A god has[b] 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(AK) the Egyptians with all kinds of plagues(AL) in the wilderness. 9 Be strong, Philistines! Be men, or you will be subject to the Hebrews, as they(AM) have been to you. Be men, and fight!”
10 So the Philistines fought, and the Israelites were defeated(AN) 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.(AO)
Death of Eli
12 That same day a Benjamite(AP) ran from the battle line and went to Shiloh with his clothes torn and dust(AQ) on his head. 13 When he arrived, there was Eli(AR) sitting on his chair by the side of the road, watching, because his heart feared for the ark of God. When the man entered the town and told what had happened, the whole town sent up a cry.
14 Eli heard the outcry and asked, “What is the meaning of this uproar?”
The man hurried over to Eli, 15 who was ninety-eight years old and whose eyes(AS) had failed so that he could not see. 16 He told Eli, “I have just come from the battle line; I fled from it this very day.”
Eli asked, “What happened, my son?”
17 The man who brought the news replied, “Israel fled before the Philistines, and the army has suffered heavy losses. Also your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead,(AT) and the ark of God has been captured.”(AU)
18 When he mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell backward off his chair by the side of the gate. His neck was broken and he died, for he was an old man, and he was heavy. He had led[c](AV) Israel forty years.(AW)
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,[d](AX) saying, “The Glory(AY) 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(AZ) has departed from Israel, for the ark of God has been captured.”(BA)
The Ark in Ashdod and Ekron
5 After the Philistines had captured the ark of God, they took it from Ebenezer(BB) to Ashdod.(BC) 2 Then they carried the ark into Dagon’s temple and set it beside Dagon.(BD) 3 When the people of Ashdod rose early the next day, there was Dagon, fallen(BE) on his face on the ground before the ark of the Lord! They took Dagon and put him back in his place. 4 But the following morning when they rose, there was Dagon, fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of the Lord! His head and hands had been broken(BF) off and were lying on the threshold; only his body remained. 5 That is why to this day neither the priests of Dagon nor any others who enter Dagon’s temple at Ashdod step on the threshold.(BG)
6 The Lord’s hand(BH) was heavy on the people of Ashdod and its vicinity; he brought devastation(BI) on them and afflicted them with tumors.[e](BJ) 7 When the people of Ashdod saw what was happening, they said, “The ark of the god of Israel must not stay here with us, because his hand is heavy on us and on Dagon our god.” 8 So they called together all the rulers(BK) of the Philistines and asked them, “What shall we do with the ark of the god of Israel?”
They answered, “Have the ark of the god of Israel moved to Gath.(BL)” So they moved the ark of the God of Israel.
9 But after they had moved it, the Lord’s hand was against that city, throwing it into a great panic.(BM) He afflicted the people of the city, both young and old, with an outbreak of tumors.[f] 10 So they sent the ark of God to Ekron.(BN)
As the ark of God was entering Ekron, the people of Ekron cried out, “They have brought the ark of the god of Israel around to us to kill us and our people.” 11 So they called together all the rulers(BO) of the Philistines and said, “Send the ark of the god of Israel away; let it go back to its own place, or it[g] will kill us and our people.” For death had filled the city with panic; God’s hand was very heavy on it. 12 Those who did not die(BP) were afflicted with tumors, and the outcry of the city went up to heaven.
The Ark Returned to Israel
6 When the ark of the Lord had been in Philistine territory seven months, 2 the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners(BQ) and said, “What shall we do with the ark of the Lord? Tell us how we should send it back to its place.”
3 They answered, “If you return the ark of the god of Israel, do not send it back to him without a gift;(BR) by all means send a guilt offering(BS) to him. Then you will be healed, and you will know why his hand(BT) has not been lifted from you.”
4 The Philistines asked, “What guilt offering should we send to him?”
They replied, “Five gold tumors and five gold rats, according to the number(BU) of the Philistine rulers, because the same plague(BV) has struck both you and your rulers. 5 Make models of the tumors(BW) and of the rats that are destroying the country, and give glory(BX) to Israel’s god. Perhaps he will lift his hand from you and your gods and your land. 6 Why do you harden(BY) your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh did? When Israel’s god dealt harshly with them,(BZ) did they(CA) not send the Israelites out so they could go on their way?
7 “Now then, get a new cart(CB) ready, with two cows that have calved and have never been yoked.(CC) Hitch the cows to the cart, but take their calves away and pen them up. 8 Take the ark of the Lord and put it on the cart, and in a chest beside it put the gold objects you are sending back to him as a guilt offering. Send it on its way, 9 but keep watching it. If it goes up to its own territory, toward Beth Shemesh,(CD) then the Lord has brought this great disaster on us. But if it does not, then we will know that it was not his hand that struck us but that it happened to us by chance.”
10 So they did this. They took two such cows and hitched them to the cart and penned up their calves. 11 They placed the ark of the Lord on the cart and along with it the chest containing the gold rats and the models of the tumors. 12 Then the cows went straight up toward Beth Shemesh, keeping on the road and lowing all the way; they did not turn to the right or to the left. The rulers of the Philistines followed them as far as the border of Beth Shemesh.
13 Now the people of Beth Shemesh were harvesting their wheat(CE) in the valley, and when they looked up and saw the ark, they rejoiced at the sight. 14 The cart came to the field of Joshua of Beth Shemesh, and there it stopped beside a large rock. The people chopped up the wood of the cart and sacrificed the cows as a burnt offering(CF) to the Lord. 15 The Levites(CG) took down the ark of the Lord, together with the chest containing the gold objects, and placed them on the large rock.(CH) On that day the people of Beth Shemesh(CI) offered burnt offerings and made sacrifices to the Lord. 16 The five rulers of the Philistines saw all this and then returned that same day to Ekron.
17 These are the gold tumors the Philistines sent as a guilt offering to the Lord—one each(CJ) for Ashdod, Gaza, Ashkelon, Gath and Ekron. 18 And the number of the gold rats was according to the number of Philistine towns belonging to the five rulers—the fortified towns with their country villages. The large rock on which the Levites set the ark of the Lord is a witness to this day in the field of Joshua of Beth Shemesh.
19 But God struck down(CK) some of the inhabitants of Beth Shemesh, putting seventy[h] of them to death because they looked(CL) into the ark of the Lord. The people mourned because of the heavy blow the Lord had dealt them. 20 And the people of Beth Shemesh asked, “Who can stand(CM) in the presence of the Lord, this holy(CN) God? To whom will the ark go up from here?”
21 Then they sent messengers to the people of Kiriath Jearim,(CO) saying, “The Philistines have returned the ark of the Lord. Come down and take it up to your town.”
Footnotes
- 1 Samuel 3:13 An ancient Hebrew scribal tradition (see also Septuagint); Masoretic Text sons made themselves contemptible
- 1 Samuel 4:7 Or “Gods have (see Septuagint)
- 1 Samuel 4:18 Traditionally judged
- 1 Samuel 4:21 Ichabod means no glory.
- 1 Samuel 5:6 Hebrew; Septuagint and Vulgate tumors. And rats appeared in their land, and there was death and destruction throughout the city
- 1 Samuel 5:9 Or with tumors in the groin (see Septuagint)
- 1 Samuel 5:11 Or he
- 1 Samuel 6:19 A few Hebrew manuscripts; most Hebrew manuscripts and Septuagint 50,070
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