1 Samuel 4

Samuel’s word came to all Israel. Israel went out to battle against the Philistines and camped beside Ebenezer, while the Philistines camped at Aphek. The Philistines drew up in battle array against Israel. The battle spread, and Israel was defeated before the Philistines, who struck down about four thousand men in the battle line in the field. When the people came back to 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 from Shiloh, so that it may come among us and save us from the hand of our enemies.” The people sent to Shiloh and brought from there the ark of the covenant of the LORD of hosts, who is enthroned above the cherubim. Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God. When the ark of the covenant of the LORD came into the camp, all Israel raised such a great shout that the earth resounded. The Philistines heard the sound of the shout and said, “What is this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews?” Then they learned that the ark of the LORD had come into the camp. The Philistines were afraid, for they said, “God has come into the camp.” They said, “Woe to us! Nothing like this has happened before. Woe to us! Who will deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods? These are the gods who struck Egypt with every kind of plague in the wilderness. Be strong and be men, Philistines, lest you become slaves to the Hebrews as they have been slaves to you. Be men and fight!” The Philistines fought, and Israel was defeated. Each man fled to his tent. The slaughter was very great: thirty thousand Israelite foot soldiers fell. The ark of God was captured, and Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, died. A man of Benjamin ran from the battle line and came to Shiloh that same day, with his clothes torn and dirt on his head. When he arrived, Eli was sitting on his seat beside the road, watching, for his heart was trembling for the ark of God. When the man came into the city and told the news, the whole city cried out. Eli heard the sound of the outcry and said, “What is the sound of this commotion?” The man hurried over and told Eli. Now Eli was ninety-eight years old. His eyes were fixed, and he could not see. The man said to Eli, “I have come from the battle line. I fled from the battle line today.” He said, “What happened, my son?” The messenger answered, “Israel has fled before the Philistines, and there has been a great slaughter among the people. Your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are also dead, and the ark of God has been captured.” When he mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell backward from his seat beside the gate. His neck broke and he died, for he was an old and heavy man. He had judged Israel for forty years. His daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant and near 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 crouched down and gave birth, for her labor pains came upon her. As she was dying, the women attending her said, “Do not be afraid, for you have borne a son.” But she did not answer or pay attention. She named the boy Ichabod, saying, “The glory has departed from Israel,” because the ark of God had been captured, and because of her father-in-law and her husband. She said, “The glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God has been captured.”

Rights and attribution