CHAPTER 4
Thus the word
of Samuel
came
to all
Israel.
Now the Israelites
went out
to meet
the Philistines
in battle
and camped
at
Ebenezer,
while the Philistines
camped
at Aphek.
The Philistines
arrayed themselves
against
Israel,
and as the battle
spread,
Israel
was defeated
by
the Philistines,
who struck down
about four
thousand
men
on the battlefield.
When the troops
returned
to
the camp,
the elders
of Israel
asked,
“Why
has the LORD
brought defeat on us
before
the Philistines
today?
Let us bring
the ark
of the covenant
of the LORD
from Shiloh,
so that it may go
with us
to deliver us
from the hand
of our enemies."
So the people
sent
men to Shiloh,
and they brought
back
the ark
of the covenant
of the LORD
of Hosts,
who sits enthroned
between the cherubim.
And the two
sons
of Eli,
Hophni
and Phinehas,
were there
with
the ark
of the covenant
of God.
When
the ark
of the covenant
of the LORD
entered
the camp,
all
the Israelites
raised
such a great
shout
that it shook
the ground.
On hearing
the noise
of the shout,
the Philistines
asked,
“What is
this
loud
shouting
in the camp
of the Hebrews?”
And when they realized
that
the ark
of the LORD
had entered
the camp,
the Philistines
were afraid.
“The gods
have entered
their camp!”
they said.
“Woe
to us,
for
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
the Egyptians
with all kinds
of plagues
in the wilderness.
Take courage
and be
men,
O Philistines!
Otherwise,
you will serve
the Hebrews
just as
they served
you.
Now be
men
and fight!”
So the Philistines
fought,
and Israel
was defeated,
and each man
fled
to his tent.
The slaughter
was
very
great—
thirty
thousand
foot soldiers
of Israel
fell.
That same
day
a Benjamite
ran
from the battle line
all the way
to Shiloh,
with his clothes
torn
and dirt
on
his head.
When he arrived,
there
was Eli
sitting
on
his chair
beside
the road,
watching,
because
his heart
trembled
for
the ark
of God.
When the man
entered
the city
to give a report,
the whole
city
cried out.
Eli
heard
the outcry
and asked,
“Why
this
commotion?”
So the man
hurried over
and reported
to Eli.
“I
have just come
from
the battle,”
the man
said
to
Eli.
“I
fled
from
there today.”
“What
happened,
my son?”
Eli asked.
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 both dead,
and the ark
of God
has been captured.”
As soon as
the ark
of God
was mentioned,
Eli fell
backward
from
his chair
by
the city gate,
and being
old
and heavy,
he broke
his neck
and died.
Eli
had judged
Israel
forty
years.
Now Eli’s daughter-in-law,
the wife
of Phinehas,
was pregnant
and about to give birth.
When she heard
the news
of
the capture
of God’s
ark
and the deaths
of her father-in-law
and her husband,
she collapsed
and gave birth,
for
her labor pains
came
upon her.
As
she was dying,
the women attending
to her
said,
“Do not
despair,
for
you have given birth to
a son!”
But she did not
respond
or pay any heed.
And she named
the boy
Ichabod,
saying,
“The glory
has departed
from Israel,”
because
the ark
of God
had been captured
and
her father-in-law
and her husband had been killed.