Old/New Testament

Defeat and Loss of the Ark

4 So it was that the word of Samuel went forth to all Israel. Now Israel went out against the Philistines in battle. They camped at Eben-ezer while the Philistines camped in Aphek. ² The Philistines drew up in battle array to meet Israel, and when the battle was fought, Israel was defeated before the Philistines, who killed 4,000 men on the battlefield.

³ When the people came back to the camp, the elders of Israel asked, “Why did Adonai bring defeat on us today before the Philistines? Let’s fetch the ark of the covenant of Adonai from Shiloh that He may come among us and deliver us from the hand of our enemies.” ⁴ So the people sent to Shiloh, and from there they carried the ark of the covenant of Adonai-Tzva’ot who sits above the cheruvim. Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God. ⁵ Now when the ark of the covenant of Adonai entered the camp, all Israel shouted with a great shout, so that the ground resounded.

⁶ When the Philistines heard the noise of the shout, they wondered, “What’s this noise of a great shout in the camp of the Hebrews?” When they realized that the ark of Adonai had come into the camp, ⁷ the Philistines were afraid, for they said, “God has come into the camp.” So they said, “Woe to us! For nothing like this has ever happened before. ⁸ Woe to us! Who will deliver us from the hand of this mighty God? This is the God that struck down the Egyptians with all kinds of plagues in the wilderness. ⁹ Be strong, and conduct yourselves like men, O Philistines, or else you will become enslaved to the Hebrews as they have been to you. Be like men and fight!”

¹⁰ So the Philistines did fight and Israel was defeated—they fled every man to his tent. The slaughter was very great, as 30,000 of Israel’s foot soldiers fell. ¹¹ Moreover, the ark of God was captured, and Eli’s two sons Hophni and Phinehas died.

¹² Now that same day a man of Benjamin ran from the battlefield and came to Shiloh with his clothes torn and dust on his head. ¹³ When he arrived, behold, Eli was sitting on his seat by the wayside watching, for his heart was trembling for the ark of God. When the man arrived to announce it in the town, the entire town cried out. ¹⁴ And when Eli heard the noise of the outcry, he asked, “What’s this noisy commotion?” So the man rushed and came and told Eli.

¹⁵ Now Eli was 98 years old, and his eyes were fixed in a blind stare. ¹⁶ Then the man said to Eli, “I am one coming from the battlefield—I escaped from the battlefield today.”

“What is happening, my son?” he asked.

¹⁷ And the messenger answered and said, “Israel fled before the Philistines and there has also been a great slaughter among the people. Also your two sons died—Hophni and Phinehas—and the ark of God was captured.” ¹⁸ As soon as he mentioned of the ark of God, Eli fell backward from his seat beside the town gate. His neck broke and he died, for he was old and heavy. He had judged Israel 40 years.

¹⁹ Now his daughter-in-law, Phinehas’ wife, was with child and about to deliver. When she heard the report that the ark of God was captured and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she crouched down and gave birth because she was seized with her labor pains. ²⁰ As she was dying, the women attending her said to her, “Don’t be afraid, for you have brought forth a son!” But she did not respond or take it to heart. ²¹ Then she named the child Ichabod^[a] saying, “The glory has departed from Israel”—because of the capture of the ark of God, and because of her father-in-law and her husband. ²² So she said, “The glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God has been taken!”

The Ark Afflicts the Philistines

5 Now the Philistines had taken the ark of God and they brought it from Eben-ezer to Ashdod. ² The Philistines took the ark of God and brought it to the temple of Dagon, and placed it beside Dagon. ³ But when the Ashdodites arose early next morning, to everyone’s surprise, Dagon had fallen to his face on the ground before the ark of Adonai. So they took Dagon up and put him back in his place. ⁴ But when they arose early the following morning, surprisingly, Dagon had fallen to his face on the ground before the ark of Adonai, and the head of Dagon and both palms of his hands were cut off on the threshold; only Dagon’s trunk was left on him. ⁵ That is why to this day neither the priests of Dagon nor any who enter Dagon’s house will tread on Dagon’s threshold in Ashdod.

⁶ Then the hand of Adonai was heavy upon the Ashdodites, ravaging them and afflicting Ashdod and its vicinity with tumors. ⁷ When the men of Ashdod saw what was happening they said, “The ark of the God of Israel must not stay with us, for His hand has dealt harshly against us as well as against our god Dagon.” ⁸ So they sent word and gathered all the lords of the Philistines to them and asked, “What will we do with the ark of the God of Israel?”

They replied, “Let the ark of the God of Israel be carried over to Gath.” So they carried the ark of the God of Israel over. ⁹ But it came about, that after they had carried it around, that the hand of Adonai was against the city causing very great panic, as He struck the people of the city, from the youngest to the oldest, so that tumors broke out on them.

¹⁰ So they sent the ark of God to Ekron. But it came about as the ark of God came to Ekron that the Ekronites cried out saying, “They’ve brought around the ark of the God of Israel to us to kill us and our people!” ¹¹ So they sent word and gathered all the lords of the Philistines and said, “Send the ark of the God of Israel away—let it go back to its own place, so it won’t kill us and our people!” For a panic of death was throughout the entire city, as God’s hand was very heavy there. ¹² The people who did not die were afflicted with tumors, so that the outcry of the city went up to heaven.

Philistines Send the Ark Back

6 After the ark of Adonai had been in the country of the Philistines seven months, ² the Philistines summoned the priests and the diviners saying, “What should we do with the ark of Adonai? Tell us how we should send it back to its place.”

³ So they said, “If you are going to send the ark of the God of Israel back, do not send it empty. For you must surely return it with a guilt offering. Then you will be healed and it will be revealed to you why His hand has not been removed from you.”

⁴ “What guilt offering should we return to Him?” they asked.

So they said, “Five golden tumors and five golden mice—according to the number of the lords of the Philistines, for one plague was on each of you and on your lords. ⁵ So you will make images of your tumors and images of your mice that mar the land, and you must give glory to the God of Israel. Perhaps He will lighten His hand off of you, your gods and your land. ⁶ Why harden your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? When He afflicted them, didn’t they send them away so they left? ⁷ Now therefore get a new cart ready, two milk cows on which there has never been a yoke, hitch the cows to the cart, and return their calves home, away from them. ⁸ Then take the ark of Adonai and place it on the cart; also put the golden objects that you return to Him as a guilt offering in a box by its side. Then send it off so it may go. ⁹ Then watch—if it goes up by the way of its own territory to Beth-shemesh, then it was He who inflicted on us this great harm. But if not, then we will know that it was not His hand that struck us; it just happened to us by chance.”

¹⁰ So the people did so—they took two milk cows and hitched them to the cart, and shut up their calves at home. ¹¹ Then they placed the ark of Adonai on the cart together with the box, the golden mice, and the models of their tumors. ¹² So the cows took the way straight toward Beth-shemesh—they kept along the same highway, lowing as they went, and turned aside neither to the right nor to the left. The lords of the Philistines followed them to the border of Beth-shemesh.

¹³ Now the people of Beth-shemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley. When they lifted up their eyes and saw the ark, they rejoiced to see it. ¹⁴ The cart came to the field of Joshua of Beth-shemesh and stopped there, where there was a large stone. Then they chopped the wood of the cart and offered up the cows as a burnt offering to Adonai. ¹⁵ The Levites took down the ark of Adonai and the box that was with it that contained the gold objects, and placed them on the large stone. Then the people of Beth-shemesh offered burnt offerings and sacrifices to Adonai that day.

¹⁶ Now when the five lords of the Philistines had seen it, they returned to Ekron that same day. ¹⁷ So these are the golden tumors that the Philistines returned as a guilt offering to Adonai: one for Ashdod, one for Gaza, one for Ashkelon, one for Gath, one for Ekron. ¹⁸ The golden mice also corresponded to the number of all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five lords—both the fortified cities and their country villages—as far as the large stone on which they had set down the ark of Adonai. It remains to this day in the field of Joshua of Beth-shemesh.

¹⁹ Then He struck down some of the men of Beth-shemesh because they had gazed into the ark of Adonai. He struck down the people—70 out of 50,000 men—the people mourned because Adonai had struck the people a great slaughter. ²⁰ So the men of Beth-shemesh asked, “Who is able to stand before Adonai—this holy God? To whom should it go up from us?” ²¹ So they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kiriath-jearim, saying, “The Philistines have brought back the ark of Adonai. Come down—bring it up to you.”

Sending Out the Twelve

9 Now when Yeshua called the twelve together, He gave them power and authority over all the demons and to heal diseases. ² He sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal. ³ And He said to them, “Take nothing for the journey—no walking stick, no travel bag, no bread, no money, nor even to have two shirts. ⁴ Whatever house you enter, stay there and depart from there. ⁵ And whoever does not receive you, when you leave that town, shake off the dust from your feet as a witness against them.” ⁶ So they went out and began traveling throughout the villages, proclaiming the Good News and healing everywhere.

⁷ Now Herod the tetrarch heard all that was happening. He was very confused, because some were saying that John had been raised from the dead, ⁸ but others that Elijah had appeared, and others that some prophet from among the ancients had arisen. ⁹ But Herod said, “I beheaded John, but who is this about whom I hear such things?” And he kept trying to see Him.

A Hungry Crowd in a Desolate Place

¹⁰ When the emissaries returned, they described to Yeshua all they had done. Then He took them along and withdrew privately to a city named Bethsaida. ¹¹ But the crowds found out and followed Him. So Yeshua welcomed them and began speaking to them about the kingdom of God and curing those in need of healing.

¹² Now the day began to wind down, and the twelve came and said to Yeshua, “Send the crowd away, so they might go into the nearby villages and countryside and find food and lodging; for we are in a desolate place here.”

¹³ But Yeshua said to them, “You give them something to eat!”

But they said, “We have no more than five loaves of bread and two fish, unless we go to buy food for all these people.” ¹⁴ For there were about five thousand men.

Then Yeshua said to His disciples, “Have the people recline in groups of about fifty each.” ¹⁵ They did so, and all reclined. ¹⁶ And He took the five loaves and the two fish; and looking up to heaven, He offered the bracha and broke them. And He kept giving them to the disciples to set before the crowd. ¹⁷ Then they all ate and were satisfied. And what was left over was picked up, twelve baskets of the fragments.