Eli replied, “Go in peace, and may the Elohim of Israel grant your request.”

There is no one holy like Yahweh. There is no one but you, O Lord. There is no Tsur like our Elohim.

If one person sins against another, Elohim will take care of him. However, when a person sins against Yahweh, who will pray for him?” But they wouldn’t listen to their father’s warning—Yahweh wanted to kill them.

Then a man of Elohim came to Eli and said to him, “This is what Yahweh says: I revealed myself to your ancestors when they were under Pharaoh’s control in Egypt.

“Therefore, Yahweh Elohim of Israel declares: I certainly thought that your family and your father’s family would always live in my presence. “But now Yahweh declares: I promise that I will honor those who honor me, and those who despise me will be considered insignificant.

The lamp in Elohim’s temple hadn’t gone out yet, and Samuel was asleep in the temple of Yahweh where the ark of Elohim was kept.

“What did Yahweh tell you?” he asked. “Please don’t hide anything from me. May Elohim strike you dead if you hide anything he told you from me.”

The troops sent some men who brought back the ark of the promise of Yahweh Tsebaoth—who is enthroned over the angels. Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, came along with Elohim’s ark.

The ark of Elohim was captured. Both of Eli’s sons, Hophni and Phinehas, died.

When he arrived, Eli was sitting on a chair beside the road, watching. He was worried about the ark of Elohim. The man went into the city to tell the news. The whole city cried out.

“Israel fled from the Philistines,” the messenger answered. “Our troops suffered heavy casualties. Your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, also are dead, and the ark of Elohim has been captured.”

When the messenger mentioned the ark of Elohim, Eli fell from his chair backwards toward the gate. He broke his neck, and he died. (The man was old and heavy.) He had judged Israel for 40 years.

His daughter-in-law, Phinehas’ wife, was pregnant. When she heard the news that the ark of Elohim had been captured and her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she went into labor prematurely and gave birth to a son.

She called the boy Ichabod [No Glory], saying, “Israel’s glory is gone,” because the ark of Elohim had been captured and because her father-in-law and her husband died.

“Israel’s glory is gone because the ark of Elohim has been captured,” she said.

The Ark in Philistia

After the Philistines had captured the ark of Elohim, they brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod.

When the people of Ashdod realized what was happening, they said, “The ark of the Elohim of Israel must not stay with us, because their Elohim is dealing harshly with us and our god Dagon.”

The people of Ashdod called together all the Philistine rulers. “What should we do with the ark of the Elohim of Israel?” they asked. “The ark of the Elohim of Israel must be taken to Gath,” the rulers said. So the people took the ark of the Elohim of Israel there.

So the people of Gath sent the ark of Elohim to Ekron. But when the ark of Elohim came to Ekron, the people of Ekron cried out, “They brought the ark of the Elohim of Israel here to kill us.”

They called together all the Philistine rulers. “Send the ark of the Elohim of Israel away,” they said. “Let it go back to its own place so that it won’t kill us or our people.” There was a fear of death throughout the city, where Elohim dealt with them very harshly.

The priests answered, “If you’re returning the ark of the Elohim of Israel, don’t send it away empty, but by all means return it to its proper place with a guilt offering. Then you will be healed, and you will know why he would not turn his anger away from you.”

Make models of your tumors and your mice which are destroying the country, and give glory to the Elohim of Israel. Maybe he will no longer be so hard on you, your gods, and your country.

Elohim struck down some of the people from Beth Shemesh because they looked inside the ark of Yahweh. He struck down 70 people. The people mourned because Yahweh struck them with such a great blow.

The people of Beth Shemesh asked, “Who can stand before Yahweh, this holy Elohim? And to which people will he go when he leaves us?”

The Israelites said to Samuel, “Don’t turn a deaf ear to us! Don’t stop crying to Yahweh our Elohim for us! Ask him to save us from the Philistines!”