1 Samuel 4
1And
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.
2And
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.
3And
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.
4So 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.
5And 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.
6And
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.
7And 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.
8Woe
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.
9Be 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.
10And 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.
11And the
ark of God was taken; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were slain.
12And 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.
13And
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.
14And
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.
15Now Eli was ninety and eight years
old; and his eyes were dim, that he could not see.
16And
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?
17And 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.
18And
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.
19And 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.
20And
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.
21And 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.
22And she said, The
glory is departed from Israel: for the ark of God is taken.
