Old/New Testament
4 News about Samuel spread through all of Israel.
The Philistines Capture the Ark of the Covenant
At that time the Israelites went out to fight the Philistines. The Israelites camped at Ebenezer, and the Philistines camped at Aphek. 2 The Philistines went to meet the Israelites in battle. And as the battle spread, the Philistines defeated the Israelites. They killed about 4,000 soldiers of the Israelite army. 3 Then some Israelite soldiers went back to their camp. The elders of Israel asked, “Why did the Lord let the Philistines defeat us? Let’s bring the Ark of the Covenant with the Lord here from Shiloh. In this way God will go with us into battle. He will save us from our enemies.”
4 So the people sent men to Shiloh. They brought back the Ark of the Covenant with the Lord of heaven’s armies. Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the Ark of the Covenant.
5 The Ark of the Covenant with the Lord came into the camp. And all the Israelites gave a great shout of joy. It made the ground shake. 6 The Philistines heard Israel’s shout. They asked, “What’s all this shouting in the Hebrew camp?”
Then the Philistines found out that the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord had come into the Hebrew camp. 7 They were afraid and said, “A god has come into the Hebrew camp! We’re in trouble! This has never happened before! 8 How terrible it will be for us! Who can save us from these powerful gods? They are the ones who struck the Egyptians with all kinds of disasters in the desert. 9 Be brave, Philistines! Fight like men! In the past they were our slaves. So fight like men, or you will become their slaves.”
10 So the Philistines fought hard and defeated the Israelites. Every Israelite soldier ran away to his own home. It was a great defeat for Israel, because 30,000 Israelite soldiers were killed. 11 The Ark of the Covenant of God was taken by the Philistines. And Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were killed.
12 That same day a man from the tribe of Benjamin ran from the battle. He tore his clothes and put dust on his head to show his great sadness. 13 When he arrived in Shiloh, Eli was by the side of the road. Eli was sitting there in a chair, watching. He was worried about the Ark of the Covenant of God. When the Benjaminite entered Shiloh, he told the bad news. Then all the people in town cried loudly. 14 Eli heard the crying and asked, “What’s all this noise?”
The Benjaminite ran to Eli and told him what had happened. 15 Eli was now 98 years old, and he was blind. 16 The Benjaminite told him, “I have come from the battle. I ran all the way here today.”
Eli asked, “What happened, my son?”
17 The Benjaminite answered, “Israel ran away from the Philistines. The Israelite army has lost many soldiers. Your two sons are both dead. And the Philistines have taken the Ark of the Covenant of God.”
18 When he mentioned the Ark of the Covenant of God, Eli fell backward off his chair. He fell beside the gate and broke his neck, because he was old and fat. And Eli died. He had led Israel for 40 years.
The Glory Is Gone
19 Eli’s daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant. It was nearly time for her baby to be born. She heard the news that the Ark of the Covenant of God had been taken. She heard also that Eli, her father-in-law, and Phinehas, her husband, were both dead. So she began to give birth to her child. The child was born, but the mother had much trouble in giving birth. 20 As she was dying, the women who helped her give birth said, “Don’t worry! You’ve given birth to a son!” But she did not answer or pay attention. She named the baby Ichabod.[a] 21 She named him Ichabod and said, “Israel’s glory is gone.” She said this because the Ark of the Covenant of God had been taken. It was also because her father-in-law and husband were dead. 22 She said, “Israel’s glory is gone, because the Ark of the Covenant of God has been taken away.”
Trouble for the Philistines
5 After the Philistines had captured the Ark of the Covenant of God, they took it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. 2 They carried it into Dagon’s temple and put it next to Dagon. 3 The people of Ashdod rose early the next morning. They found that Dagon had fallen on his face on the ground. He was lying before the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord. So the people of Ashdod put Dagon back in his place. 4 The next morning the people of Ashdod rose from sleep. And again they found Dagon on the ground! He had fallen down before the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord. His head and hands had broken off and were lying in the doorway. Only his body was still in one piece. 5 So, even today, Dagon’s priests and others who enter his temple at Ashdod refuse to step on the doorsill.
6 The Lord punished the people of Ashdod and their neighbors. He gave them much trouble. He gave them growths on their skin. 7 The people of Ashdod saw what was happening. They said, “The Ark of the Covenant of the God of Israel can’t stay with us. God is punishing us and Dagon our god.” 8 The people of Ashdod called all five Philistine kings together. They asked them, “What should we do with the Ark of the Covenant of the God of Israel?”
The rulers answered, “Move the Ark of the Covenant of the God of Israel to Gath.” So the Philistines moved it to Gath.
9 But after they had moved it to Gath, the Lord punished that city also. He made the people very afraid. God troubled both old and young people in Gath. He caused them to have growths on their skin. 10 Then the Philistines sent the Ark of the Covenant of God to Ekron.
But when it came into Ekron, the people of Ekron yelled. They said, “Why are you bringing the Ark of the Covenant of the God of Israel to our city? Do you want to kill us and our people?” 11 The people of Ekron called all the kings of the Philistines together. They said to the kings, “Send the Ark of the Covenant of the God of Israel back to its place. Do it before it kills us and our people!” They were very afraid. God’s punishment was very terrible there. 12 The people who did not die were troubled with growths on their skin. So the people of Ekron cried loudly to heaven.
The Ark of the Covenant of God Is Sent Home
6 The Philistines kept the Ark of the Covenant of God in their land seven months. 2 Then they called for their priests and magicians. They said, “What should we do with the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord? Tell us how to send it back home!”
3 The priests and magicians answered them. They said, “If you send back the Ark of the Covenant of the God of Israel, don’t send it away empty. You must offer a penalty offering so the God of Israel will forgive your sins. Then you will be healed. When God has forgiven you, he will stop punishing you.”
4 The Philistines asked, “What kind of penalty offering should we send to Israel’s God?”
The priests and magicians answered, “Make five gold models of the growths on your skin. Also make five gold models of rats. The number of models must be the same as the number of Philistine kings. This is because the same sickness has come on you and your kings. 5 Make models of the growths and the rats that are ruining the country. Give them to Israel’s God and honor him. Then maybe Israel’s God will stop punishing you, your gods and your land. 6 Don’t be stubborn like the king of Egypt and the Egyptians. God punished them terribly. That is why the Egyptians let the Israelites leave Egypt.
7 “You must build a new cart. And get two cows that have just had calves. These must be cows that have never had yokes on their necks. Then hitch the cows to the cart. Take the calves home. Don’t let them follow their mothers. 8 Put the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord on the cart. And put the gold models in a box beside the Ark of the Covenant. They are your penalty offerings for God to forgive your sins. Send the cart straight on its way. 9 Watch the cart. It may go toward Beth Shemesh in Israel’s own land. If so, the Lord has given us this great sickness. But it may not go toward Beth Shemesh. Then we will know that Israel’s God has not punished us. We will know that our sickness just happened by chance.”
10 The Philistines did what the priests and magicians said. They took two cows that had just had calves. They hitched them to the cart. But they kept their calves at home. 11 They put the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord on the cart. And they put the box with the gold rats and models of growths on the cart. 12 Then the cows went straight toward Beth Shemesh. They stayed on the road, mooing all the way. They did not turn right or left. The Philistine kings followed the cows as far as the border of Beth Shemesh.
13 Now the people of Beth Shemesh were harvesting their wheat in the valley. They looked up and saw the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord. They were very happy to see it again. 14 The cart came to the field belonging to Joshua of Beth Shemesh. The cart stopped in this field near a large rock. The people of Beth Shemesh chopped up the wood of the cart. Then they killed the cows and sacrificed them to the Lord. 15 The Levites took down the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord. They also took down the box that had the gold models. They put both on the large rock. That day the people of Beth Shemesh offered whole burnt offerings and made sacrifices to the Lord. 16 The five Philistine kings watched them do all these things. Then they went back to Ekron the same day.
17 The Philistines sent these gold models of the growths. They were penalty offerings to the Lord for their sins. They sent one model for each Philistine town. These towns were Ashdod, Gaza, Ashkelon, Gath and Ekron. 18 And the Philistines also sent gold models of rats. The number of rats was the same as the number of towns belonging to the Philistine kings. These towns included strong, walled cities and country villages. The large rock on which they put the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord is still there. It is in the field of Joshua of Beth Shemesh.
19 But some of the men of Beth Shemesh looked into the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord. So God killed 70 of them. The people of Beth Shemesh cried because the Lord had punished them so terribly. 20 They said, “Who can stand before the Lord, this holy God? Where can the Ark of the Covenant go from here?”
21 Then they sent messengers to the people of Kiriath Jearim. The messengers said, “The Philistines have brought back the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord. Come down and take it to your city.”
Jesus Sends Out the Apostles
9 Jesus called the 12 apostles together. He gave them power to heal sicknesses and power over all demons. 2 Jesus sent the apostles out to tell about God’s kingdom and to heal the sick. 3 He said to them, “When you travel, don’t take a walking stick. Also, don’t carry a bag, or food, or money. Take for your trip only the clothes you are wearing. 4 When you go into a house, stay there until it is time to leave. 5 If the people in the town will not welcome you, go outside the town and shake the dust off of your feet.[a] This will be a warning to them.”
6 So the apostles went out. They traveled through all the towns. They told the Good News and healed people everywhere.
Herod Is Confused About Jesus
7 Herod, the governor, heard about all these things that were happening. He was confused because some people said, “John the Baptist is risen from death.” 8 Others said, “Elijah has come to us.” And still others said, “One of the prophets from long ago has risen from death.” 9 Herod said, “I cut off John’s head. So who is this man I hear these things about?” And Herod kept trying to see Jesus.
More Than 5,000 People Fed
10 When the apostles returned, they told Jesus all the things they had done on their trip. Then Jesus took them away to a town called Bethsaida. There, Jesus and his apostles could be alone together. 11 But the people learned where Jesus went and followed him. Jesus welcomed them and talked with them about God’s kingdom. He healed those who needed to be healed.
12 Late in the afternoon, the 12 apostles came to Jesus and said, “No one lives in this place. Send the people away. They need to find food and places to sleep in the towns and countryside around here.”
13 But Jesus said to them, “You give them something to eat.”
They said, “We have only five loaves of bread and two fish. Do you want us to go buy food for all these people?” 14 (There were about 5,000 men there.)
Jesus said to his followers, “Tell the people to sit in groups of about 50 people.”
15 So the followers did this, and all the people sat down. 16 Then Jesus took the five loaves of bread and two fish. He looked up to heaven and thanked God for the food. Then Jesus divided the food and gave it to the followers to give to the people. 17 All the people ate and were satisfied. And there was much food left. Twelve baskets were filled with pieces of food that were not eaten.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.