1 Samuel 4

1And the word of Samuel came to all Israel. Then Israel went out to meet the Philistines in battle, and they camped at Ebenezer, while the Philistines camped at Aphek.

2The Philistines drew up to meet Israel, and the battle spread out, and Israel was defeated before the Philistines; and they struck down about four thousand men in the battle line in the field.

3When the people came into the camp, the elders of Israel said, “Why has Yahweh struck us down today before the Philistines? Let us bring here from Shiloh the ark of the covenant of Yahweh, so that it may come into our midst and save us from the hand of our enemies.”

4So the people sent to Shiloh, and they carried from there the ark of the covenant of Yahweh of hosts, who is enthroned above the cherubim. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.

5When the ark of the covenant of Yahweh came into the camp, all Israel shouted with a great shout, and the earth resounded.

6When the Philistines heard the sound of the shouting, they said, “What is this great sound of shouting in the camp of the Hebrews?” And they knew that the ark of Yahweh had come into the camp.

7The Philistines were afraid, for they said, “God has come into the camp.” And they said, “Woe to us! For nothing like this has happened before.”

8Woe to us! Who can deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods? These are the gods who struck Egypt with every plague in the wilderness.

9Be strong and be men, O Philistines, lest you become servants to the Hebrews as they have been to you. Be men and fight!

10So the Philistines fought, and Israel was defeated, and each man fled to his tent. The slaughter was very great, and thirty thousand foot soldiers from Israel fell.

11And the ark of God was captured, and the two sons of Eli died, Hophni and Phinehas.

12Then 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.

13When he came, behold, Eli was sitting on the seat by the road, watching, because his heart trembled for the ark of God. And the man came to report it in the city, and the whole city cried out.

14When Eli heard the sound of the outcry, he said, “What is this sound of the uproar?” And the man hurried and came and told Eli.

15Eli was ninety-eight years old, and his eyes were fixed so that he could not see.

16The man said to Eli, “I am the one who came from the battle line, and I fled from the battle line today.” And he said, “What happened, my son?”

17The messenger answered and said, “Israel has fled before the Philistines, and there has also been a great slaughter among the people; and your two sons also are dead, Hophni and Phinehas; and the ark of God has been taken.”

18And it happened, when he mentioned the ark of God, that Eli fell backward from the seat by the side of the gate, and his neck was broken and he died, for the man was old and heavy. And he had judged Israel forty years.

19His daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant, about to give birth. When she heard the report that the ark of God had been taken, and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she bowed down and gave birth, because her labor pains came upon her.

20And about the time of her death, the women standing by her said, “Do not fear, for you have borne a son.” But she did not answer, nor did she take it to heart.

21And she named the boy Ichabod, saying, “The glory has departed from Israel,” because the ark of God had been taken, and because of her father-in-law and her husband.

22And she said, “The glory has departed from Israel, because the ark of God has been taken.”