1 Samuel 4–5

The Philistines Capture the Ark

4And the word of Samuel came to all Israel.

Now Israel went out to battle against the Philistines. They encamped at ^wEbenezer, and the Philistines encamped at ^xAphek. ²The Philistines drew up in line against Israel, and when the battle spread, Israel was defeated before the Philistines, who killed about four thousand men on the field of battle. ³And when the people came to the 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 ^yfrom Shiloh, that it¹ may come among us and save us from the power of our enemies.” ⁴So the people sent to Shiloh and brought from there the ark of the covenant of the Lord of hosts, ^zwho is enthroned on the cherubim. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.

⁵As soon as the ark of the covenant of the Lord came into the camp, all Israel ^agave a mighty shout, so that the earth resounded. ⁶And when the Philistines heard the noise of the shouting, they said, “What does this great shouting in the camp of the Hebrews mean?” And when they learned that the ark of the Lord had come to the camp, ⁷the Philistines were afraid, for they said, “A 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 power of these mighty gods? These are the gods who struck the Egyptians with every sort of plague in the wilderness. ^9bTake courage, and be men, O Philistines, lest you become slaves to the Hebrews ^cas they have been to you; be men and fight.”

¹⁰So the Philistines fought, ^dand Israel was defeated, ^eand they fled, every man to his home. And there was a very great slaughter, for thirty thousand foot soldiers of Israel fell. ^11fAnd the ark of God was captured, ^gand the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died.

The Death of Eli

¹²A man of Benjamin ran from the battle line and came to Shiloh the same day, ^hwith his clothes torn and with dirt on his head. ¹³When he arrived, ⁱEli was sitting on his seat by the road watching, for his heart trembled for the ark of God. And when the man came into the city and told the news, all the city cried out. ¹⁴When Eli heard the sound of the outcry, he said, “What is this uproar?” Then the man hurried and came and told Eli. ¹⁵Now Eli was ninety-eight years old ^jand his eyes were set so that he could not see. ¹⁶And the man said to Eli, “I am he who has come from the battle; I fled from the battle today.” And he said, ^k“How did it go, my son?” ¹⁷He who brought the news answered and said, “Israel has fled before the Philistines, and there has also been a great defeat among the people. Your two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God has been captured.” ¹⁸As soon as he mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell over backward ^lfrom his seat by the side of the gate, and his neck was broken and he died, for the man was old and heavy. He had judged Israel forty years.

¹⁹Now his daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant, about to give birth. And when she heard the news that the ark of God was captured, and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she bowed and gave birth, for her pains came upon her. ²⁰And about the time of her death the women attending her said to her, ^m“Do not be afraid, for you have borne a son.” But she did not answer or pay attention. ²¹And she named the child ⁿIchabod, saying, ^o“The glory has departed² from Israel!” because ^pthe ark of God had been captured and because of her father-in-law and her husband. ²²And she said, “The glory has departed from Israel, ^pfor the ark of God has been captured.”

The Philistines and the Ark

5When the Philistines captured the ark of God, they brought it from ^qEbenezer to ^rAshdod. ²Then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it into the house of Dagon and set it up beside ^sDagon. ³And when the people of Ashdod rose early the next day, behold, ^tDagon had fallen face downward on the ground before the ark of the Lord. So they took Dagon and put him back in his place. ⁴But when they rose early on the next morning, behold, Dagon had fallen face downward on the ground before the ark of the Lord, ^uand the head of Dagon and both his hands were lying cut off on the threshold. Only the trunk of Dagon was left to him. ⁵This is why the priests of Dagon and all who enter the house of Dagon ^vdo not tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod to this day.

^6wThe hand of the Lord was heavy against the people of Ashdod, and he terrified and afflicted them with ^xtumors, both Ashdod and its territory. ⁷And when the men of Ashdod saw how things were, they said, “The ark of the God of Israel must not remain with us, for his hand is hard against us and against Dagon our god.” ⁸So they sent and gathered together all ^ythe lords of the Philistines and said, “What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel?” They answered, “Let the ark of the God of Israel be brought around to Gath.” So they brought the ark of the God of Israel there. ⁹But after they had brought it around, ^zthe hand of the Lord was against the city, causing a very great panic, and he afflicted the men of the city, both young and old, so that ^xtumors broke out on them. ¹⁰So they sent the ark of God to Ekron. But as soon as the ark of God came to Ekron, the people of Ekron cried out, “They have brought around to us the ark of the God of Israel to kill us and our people.” ^11yThey sent therefore and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines and said, “Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it return to its own place, that it may not kill us and our people.” For there was a deathly panic throughout the whole city. ^wThe hand of God was very heavy there. ¹²The men who did not die were struck with ^xtumors, and the cry of the city went up to heaven.